It is just not space efficient to try to bring an entire quilt top onto a plane, and even if you were afforded the space, the airlines may have some questions for you.  So we noticed that many quilters have been picking up smaller side projects to work on while they’re on a layover (or even while they’re on the Promenade Deck waiting for dinner to be served!).

The most popular answer we received while asking around was knitting or crochet.  All you need is some yarn and a needle or two and you’re ready to make a project.  In fact this has been becoming a more popular way to travel, and it’s even allowed on board a plane!  Check here for TSA’s web site and you’ll see that the needles are allowed, although any cutting tools you use must be check-point friendly!  If you’re interested in picking up a few hints and tricks, Karen Combs will be teaching “Knitting for Quilters” on our Western Caribbean 2013 cruise! 

Another quick and portable project is Paper Piecing.  For this project you’ll need a little more gear, and perhaps some forethought.  If you have all those little pieces of paper and fabric pre-snipped, your shapes can go together simply and quickly.  One of our quilters, Chris T., managed to Paper-Piece her way through 24 days in the Mediterranean!  The Paper Pieces folks have been generous enough to provide paper piecing packs for our quilters for the last several years, and Chardel of Quiltworks Northwest demos them on board!

You may find this hard to believe, but Kim and I have picked up little African Folklore Embroidery kits from Quiltworks Northwest.  These colorful kits come with everything you need–colorful thread, black pre-marked fabric and even a needle!  Chardel taught us the chain stitch and we were on our way.  It was simple enough to do on an airplane, although embellishing should wait until you get home–I lost a few beads on a flight between Ft. Lauderdale and Dallas due to turbulence. 

Let’s not forget those dedicated to handwork, like Mary Sorensen, who promote Needleturn applique.  Mary will be showing off this technique in August of 2012 on our Spain & Portugal Quilt Seminar, and again in February of 2013 on our Western Caribbean cruise.  Although a beginner may be wary of trying to stitch on a background fabric at 30,000 feet, I’ve seen it done, and done well!  Again, this is a project that you would want to put in some homework for, having those little pieces snipped out ahead of time will help!  (Stay organized with little Zip-lock bags!)

Don’t forget, we want to see these projects at our Show-and-Tell party as well!  What other little projects are your tried-and-true travel buddies?  What little tips and tricks are you willing to share?  We want to know!