Stitching on the Go!

The above title can have more than one meaning. I going to talk about three different situations that you might find yourself in and want to have your stitching along with you. For the best experience a little planning can go a long way.

For each of the three scenarios I will share a photo of an example for that situation and talk about bag choice, tools and the project. Choosing a bag first helps you to start getting an idea of the project that will fit inside that bag. Tools are chosen next, more like eliminated, what will fit in your lap in the car, what’s allowed on the plane… And finally the project can be chosen based on the bag size and tools available.

Daily Life

The bag in the photo above fits inside of my purse and goes everywhere I do. This way I am prepared to keep my hands busy if needed. Even on a trip to grocery store it’s in there. You never know when lines are going to be longer than expected or if the car is going to break down. I’ve used this project bag in both situations. This bag measures 6.5″ / 16cm wide by 9″ / 22.5cm high and 3″ / 7.5cm deep.

Inside I have a folding pair of scissors and a stitch holder that are attached to a ring. There are tiny pockets but due to how the bag is treated, nothing stays in them. I also keep tissues and business cards in there so that I can just grab that bag and go inside somewhere.

The small bag and limited tools means a simple project. I have had socks, finger-less mitts and am currently carrying baby hats in it. These projects are all on double pointed needles and I always keep those in these tubes so they don’t get broken. All of these projects require small amounts of yarn, often in one color. The patterns are simple and usually committed to memory or have mile stones and changes written on a note card.

Road Trip, Walking Trip

On my most recent road trip I had the bag above in the front seat, the canvas bag, pictured in the photo below, easily accessible in the trunk so I could place finished items in it and get more yarn and the blue bag in the back seat. I’ll start with talking about the blue bag.

The blue bag is a good sized bag, it measures 12″ / 30cm wide by 10″ / 25cm tall and 5″ / 12.5cm deep. It has enough space to hold a sweater or large shawl project. For this trip I had a couple of books, graph paper, pencil, yarn, needles and notions. Everything I needed to continue the swatching process for a lace design I was currently working on. This wasn’t was work. This was if I had some down time or needed my brain to work on a puzzle. I never even opened this bag on this trip. I will still take something like this on future trips. If I have room, I’d rather have it and not need it, than need/want it and not have it.

For this same trip the canvas bag had 5 balls of DK weight yarn, 1 skein of sock yarn, a crochet hook and a half finished sock. My goal was to make 5 baby hats and 5 pairs of booties while we were driving. The socks were to be the project that filled my hands while we walked and waited. The canvas bag measures 10″ / 25cm wide by 14″ / 35cm tall and 9″ / 22.5cm deep.

On the way to our destination, 10 hours, I finished 2 hats and matching pairs of booties. That night in the surf shack I packed my walking bag for the next day. It has an adjustable strap and can be worn as a cross body bag. That is what I use this bag for most. In it was water, my hat, wallet and the sheep bag. In the sheep bag was that sock and a baby hat. It makes it tight but it will hold both. We were in a situation that having a back-up is what I wanted. On day 2 of this trip I was glad I did. I was ready to divided the sock for the heel and discovered that if I wanted to keep the pattern even I was short stitches. So in the bag it went and I worked on the baby hat. Back at the car I traded out the started sock for the sock yarn and started its mate, with a new number of stitches, so I was ready for day 3.

Being that this trip was driving and walking, I didn’t bring any projects that required large tools. I have in the past taken spinning wheels, yes, more than one on the same trip, a loom and very often my swift and ball winder. This is where planning comes in. What is your destination and purpose of travel. The places that I take these larger items is fiber festivals. I set this stuff up in the hotel room as soon as we get there. Then my fresh bought yarn isn’t stuck at the winding station, wonderful service for many, but I run upstairs, wind it up and start my new project. I always take a wheel that is easy to set up so I can carry it to a spot in the lobby where others are hanging out.

Air Plane Trip

I’ve traveled with my stitching on an airplane twice for one trip. It was to a fiber festival so I had to really plan strategically.

I packed my backpack and a carry on suitcase. The tools were minimal due to I didn’t want to check anything, so it had to be allowed on the plane. I took a sock with short double pointed needles and some kind of crochet project as back-up if the sock got taken away.

I also took a tiny Turkish spindle for spinning and a design project for the hotel. Nothing was taken on either end. Short needles and circular needles are less threatening. Folding scissors are very small and usually have no problem getting through.

On the way back I checked that carry-on suitcase and carried the blue bag from the photos on to the plane. I bought it on that trip. All my new yarn was in it too.

I had enough stitching for that trip and knew that I would have access to some good stuff if needed.

Be sure to check with TSA and the airline before you head for the airport. Things change often and I know I saw a headline for some recent TSA changes about what is and isn’t allowed.

If you have time to plan ahead, do it. You will be less stressed and have your stitching with you. Yes, life happens and last minute trips are a thing. Put that daily bag in you suitcase and hope for a good yarn store on the other end.

This info should be a good jumping off point to plan a stitching project for most any excursion. Share in the comments what you’ve done or seen others do.