We took a mini-vacation to Grayton Beach last weekend, and I brought my quilting with me. I love the beach in winter. In between walking on the beach and socializing with friends, I cut and sewed triangles for a new quilt. It was only a 2 1/2 day trip, but I got a lot done. The secret to vacation quilting is prep. Before I left, I picked a pattern, pulled fabrics from my stash, ironed them, and cut fabric strips. The last thing you want to do is haul a lot of yardage on a road trip. I pared my sewing supplies down to a canvas tote bag of supplies and a portable sewing machine.
Here is my kit (sewing machine not shown):
I have an old rotary cutting mat that warped (they do that when exposed to heat); I glued it down to plastic cutting board so it lies flat and won't bend and it is now my travel cutting mat. I also brought a couple of rulers, rotary cutter (forgot an extra blade, have to remember that next time), scissors, seam ripper, extra thread, fabric strips, calculator, mini-trash receptacle, and the pattern book. I skipped the iron and ironing pad this trip--I knew I wouldn't be gone long enough to need them. Most hotels have irons in the room, but we were staying at a cabin in a state park, and I was pretty sure they wouldn't have one (they didn't).
Here is the pile of half-square triangles I pieced:
Here is the pile of half-square triangles I pieced:
I may save the rest of the project for my next trip. I have a couple of other projects in the works that I've been pulling fabric for.
