How to pack a mini studio for your travels

When people ask me about my 100 Day Project—100 Days of Stitching Found Objects and Fallen Pieces—they ask “if” and “how” I take a project like this with me when I travel. 

The answer to “if” is: "Yes. I take this project on the road and I do stitch daily."
The answer to “how” is: make yourself a mini stitching studio. Here’s how I do it. 

Zipper pouches are the perfect travel companion for a Studio On-the-Go.

Taking your studio on the road

Zipper pouches are perfect for a traveling stitching studio. I’ve made a number of pouches over the years—with specific fabric choices, leftover fabrics from other projects, or an orphan quilt block. They can be made in various sizes and shapes. They hold quite a lot of supplies in them and tuck easily into a tote, overnight bag or suitcase.

My go-to pattern for zipper pouches is the Chunky Wee Zippy Pouch by Sam Hunter of Hunter's Design Studio.

Zipper pouches in various shapes and sizes.

Tools and supplies for travel

For my 100 Days of Slow Stitching, I gathered a variety of colors of embroidery floss, perle cotton, sashiko cotton, and 12 wt threads. Sandwich and snack size plastic baggies are great for skeins of floss and cut floss strands because the contents are easily seen and the bags are resealable.

Tools and supplies for a travel stitching studio.

My tools include small embroidery scissors, seam ripper, glue pen (for EPP projects), a metal tin (or needle case/needle book) for needles, pins, safety pins, and other small objects like bobbins, a thimble, needle threader, etc.

Conserving space by sliding spools into cones.

I like the cotton sashiko thread from Cosmo, but the cones are rather large for travel purposes. However, I discovered I can insert the perle cotton spools into the sashiko cones to conserve space in the zipper pouch. 

For the 100 Day Stitching Project, I packed a baggie of miscellaneous scraps, trimmings, and other ephemera for the road. But I quickly discovered all kinds of overlooked “fallen pieces” at hotels, restaurants and other places on my trips—soap wrappers, restaurant coupons, hotel card key folders, advertising flyers, and the like. 

When packing for EPP [English paper piecing] projects, like my 100 Days of 3/4-inch hexies, I pack paper templates, acrylic window templates, and fabric scraps in a clear sandwich or snack bags. If there are multiple shapes or sizes of pieces, each shape will have its own baggie.

Clear plastic baggie for English paper piecing [EPP] travel projects.

One of my zipper bags is always ready to go with supplies and tools for making fabric twine. I periodically refill this pouch with fabric strings and trimmings as needed.

Zipper pouch with fabric twine supplies.

Fabric twine pouch ready to travel.

Other mini tools and supply options

While we're talking about mini travel studios... you can find other "travel size" items that are handy for your creative endeavors when traveling but still conserve space in the suitcase. Visit your local quilt shop and ask them what they have or what they can order for you.

Mini cutting mats.

Along with an extensive selection of threads, hand-dyed floss and perle cotton, stitching yarns, and notions, I found this great plastic zipper project bag at Patches and Stitches, a needlework and quilting shop in Huntsville, AL.

Clear zippered project bag. 13" x 9"

Buy two... or more!

The basis of the saying, "Buy two—one to use and one to lose," holds true for mini travel studio(s). Each of my zipper pouches has a dedicated pair of scissors, appropriate sewing needles for the thread and task, and any other supply that is specifically needed for the type of project or technique. There is nothing worse than opening up a travel studio in the hotel room to find you have no _____ (fill in the blank).

Happy trails!

The making of a needle book, a Make Nine finish

When I rediscovered English paper piecing [EPP] during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, I was following several EPPers and EPP stitch-alongs on Instagram. In addition to the brilliant tips and cleverly pieced projects found in the posts, I was in awe of the beautiful, handmade needle books I discovered. A needle book was swiftly added to my Project Wish List. 

Assembling a needle book.

My needle book: gathering materials and requirements

Excited to get a new needle book underway, I decided to source materials from the stash for this project. Gathering various fabric bits—a pile of 3/4" hexies from an EPP online sew-along, fabric samples and leftovers, orphan EPP pieces and a package of felted wool charms—I set off to cobble together my own needle book.

The size of the needle book was dictated by the pieced patchwork of 3/4" hexies. This piece was used on the book's outside cover.

A patchwork piece of 3/4 inch hexagons for the outside cover of the book.
The Husky dog is from Best in Show from PBS Fabrics.

Book pages were made from favorite fabric scraps from several fabric companies I rep. Wool charm squares were attached to book pages for various needles and pins it would store.

Wool felt hand stitched on yarn-dyed woven from Diamond Textiles.

Wool felt charm squares for needles and pins.
Squares are hand stitched on cotton fabrics.

Orphan diamonds from an unfinished EPP block were perfect for pockets.

Appliqued pockets from orphan EPP star. Fabrics from M&S Textiles.

A zippered pocket was a handy addition.

Zippered pocket on the inside cover. The floral is a digital print from P&B Textiles.
The background fabric is from a collection from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Book assembly and finishing

I debated whether to nest the folios into a single signature vs. to bind them separately. Referencing a bookbinding book, I decided to sew them to the cover as individual signatures.

Sewing the signatures to the cover.

The other dilemma was how to close the book. I tried several configurations and options but the final outcome was a button-and-loop closure.  A seam in the cover was unpicked to insert a knit fabric button loop.

A knit fabric button loop created the closure.

With the signatures stitched to the cover, it was time to appliqué the hexagon patchwork to the outside cover. Sewing on the button was the final detail.

Appliqueing the hexagon patchwork to the cover.

A Make Nine 2021 finish

Here is the finished needle book. Another Make Nine 2021 finish! This project fulfills my "Wild Card" prompt. I like the fussy-cut image of the Husky on the front as it reminds me of our Yuki dog... making it extra special.

Completed Needle Book. A #makenine project for 2021.

Great progress, I must admit. Six of my 2021 Make Nine projects are now complete. I'm feeling pretty confident that the goal will be met this year.

Make Nine 2021 progress grid. 6 of 9 projects complete.

Memorial Day 2021

Remembering and honoring the fallen who served our country. Our freedom does not come for free.

Red, white and blue hexagons.

A needle book for EPP

When I rediscovered English paper piecing [EPP] during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, I began following several EPPers and EPP stitch-alongs on Instagram. I picked up several handy tips and was amazed by the clever piecing these EPP experts shared on line. I was also in awe of the beautiful, handmade needle books they showed. A needle book was destined for my EPP future!

The pieces of my new needle book are waiting to be assembled.

Needle book progress

This weekend I decided to work on my Needle Book and I've made great progress: 

• a zipper is installed,
• four pockets are appliquéd,
• several wool felt squares are hand stitched into place.

A few kinks still need to be worked out: 

• how to assemble the signatures (saddle stitching or coptic binding??),
• how to attach the book cover to the signatures, 
• and I need to devise some kind of closure for the book.

I know I'll get a lot of use out of this needle book, so I hope this will be a Make Nine finish very soon!

Slow Stitching Mindfulness

"Hand stitching is for people who like to be busy,
but busy in a calm and relaxing way."

I saw this quote on social media recently. Those of us who enjoy handwork can identify! With that, I thought I'd inventory and share my current hand stitching WIPs [work in progress].

Seed stitches with perle cotton on a garment-to-be.

Mix-It top
I'm using the rice stitch or seed stitch to add color and pattern to a new Mix-It top [The Sewing Workshop patterns]. The base fabric is from the Denim Studio by Art Gallery Fabrics. It is a nice weight for hand stitching and needles well. I do use an embroidery hoop for this work.

Hand seed stitches on a cotton from the Denim Studio by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Big Stitch quilting
The Sandy Creek print from M&S Textiles Australia is perfect for adding colorful accents of 8wt Eleganza perle cotton [WonderFil Specialty Threads]. I've combined free-motion quilting by machine with big stitch hand quilting.

Big stitch quilting.

By echoing the lines of this Sandhill print [M&S Textiles Australia], no marking is required! Gotta love the organic patterns in this fabric collection!

Big stitch quilting.

Hand embroidery
Just a little more embroidery to do on this Bee Kind canvas tote bag panel [Northcott Fabrics]. I also have the September Morning panel waiting in the queue. You'll love stitching through this canvas substrate.

Hand embroidery on a canvas tote panel.

Visible Mending
This is a visible mending upcycling project—the proverbial Boyfriend Shirt. 

8 wt. perle cotton for stitched embellishments and visible mending.

Paper piecing
I'm still enjoying my 100 Day Project of focus cutting three-quarter inch hexagons. 

English paper piecing.

Threads for hand stitching projects
The threads I've used for these hand stitching projects include:

• 8 wt. Eleganza perle cotton from WonderFil Specialty Threads; 
• Valdani 12 wt. perle cotton; 
• 6-strand embroidery floss and Valdani Wool Thread for hand embroidery; 
• cotton sewing thread for paper piecing.

8wt perle cotton by WonderFil Specialty Threads.

If you haven't tried Valdani Wool Thread (100% virgin Merino wool) for embroidery, I suggest you give it a needle. These threads were recommended by my friend, Vicki McCarty at Calico Patch Designs. This thread has a lovely loft and springy-ness that comes with being a wool fiber. The stitches sit higher from the canvas, giving the work more dimension. The variegated colors are especially appealing.

6 strand embroidery floss and Valdani Wool Thread for hand embroidery.

The weather is beautiful here today. I just have to decide which mindful stitching project to take outdoors with me.

Combining free-motion machine quilting with big stitch quilting.

Enjoy a little bit of nature—whether outdoors or on your stitching projects.

Garden blooms.

Completing The 100 Day Project: my thoughts and observations

Back in January, I committed to participating in The 100 Day Project. It started January 31, 2021. The 100th day was May 10. Here are the results of showing up every day for 100 days: 

243 three-quarter inch, selective-cut, English paper pieced hexagons.

243 hexagons for The 100 Day Project 2021.

My thoughts about The 100 Day Project

It takes commitment to "show up every day" for 100 days! This was precisely the point of Michael Beirut's assignment to his graphic design grad students. Through this project, I discovered I had just enough stubborn tenacity and focus to see it through. Here are my thoughts...

• The 100 Day Project does take commitment, but it is rewarding.
• It is about the process, not necessarily about the results. You often have to make bad art before the good stuff surfaces. It's about the practice of making.
• I began to look at fabric in a different way. Searching for small motifs to selectively cut, or larger motifs that could be partially cut or subcut for an interesting pattern.

Selective cutting partial motifs.

• I learned to notice the color value of fabrics, especially when laying out the hexies all together.
• I liked the frugality and recycling aspect of using small fabric pieces, swatches and especially trimmings from other projects. 
• At first, I thought I'd do much more glue basting on these EPP hexagons. I found myself enjoying the thread basting and did handwork for most of these, especially the last 25-30 days.
• It's OK to switch gears! I also thought I'd do just one hexie a day and have 100 at the end of the project. That was a self-imposed rule up front which I abandoned early on. Glad I did.
• It got to be fun finding corresponding backgrounds on which to photograph the hexagons.

Finding fun backgrounds for the hexagons.

More interesting backgrounds for the hexagons.

• I found myself trying to come up with interesting layouts for photographing the hexagons.

Various layouts for the hexagons.

• Occasionally, the commentary accompanying the daily IG posts reflected on real life.

Some days you need a crystal ball and some days you wish it was a caldron.

• Admittedly, there were days when it was challenging to find the energy to stitch at least one little hexagon. So, I'm glad I chose a do-able project and one that was also portable. 
• It is often said, if you work on something for short periods of time on a regular basis, a lot can be accomplished. Every little hexagon made a contribution to the whole.

In the end, I was rewarded with 243 of these fun little fabric gems, daily photo documentation, and milestone blog posts of the project. 

A possible option for using the hexagons.

Now that the 100 days have concluded, I don't know how (or if) I will put these hexagons into a final project—or multiple projects. But I consider this project a success—and even a "finish"—because The 100 Day Project is all about the process.

I showed up!

----------

Milestone progress photos of my 100 Days of Hexies can be found in these blog posts: 7 days, 33 days, 50 days, 75 days, 90 days.

At 90% of The 100 Day Project

It felt a bit "draggy" around the 70-80% mark... and I was pushing myself to stick with it... but now, at over 90%, I can't believe it's nearing the 100 Day finish line.

221 three-quarter inch hexies at day 90 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At the 90% mark, this is 221 three-quarter inch hexagons for one of my 100 Day Projects. 

Past mileposts are: at 75%.

Day 75 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At 50%

Day 50 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

At 33%

Day 33 of the 100 Day Project 2021.

After the first week.

The first week of the 100 Day Project 2021.

And, the 2021 Stitching Success Tracker has moved into the month of May.

Starting May 2021 of the Stitching Success Tracker calendar.

The background fabric is a canvas panel called "September Morning" from Northcott Fabrics. I'm contemplating a slow stitching zipper bag or possibly a combo of hand and machine stitching. Mood and inspiration will dictate.

The 100 Day Hexie Project at 75%

These are the fruits from Day 75 of my 100 Day Project. These little gems are three-quarter inch hexagons. Each with an image that is selectively cut from the fabric.

193 hexies for the 100 Day Project.

A more organized view:

193 three-quarter inch English paper pieced hexagons.

The 100 Day Project for 2021 will conclude on May 10.

Happy Easter Bunnies with EPP

Happy Easter. Happy Spring. 

Three-quarter inch EPP hexies from the 100 Day Project.

These English paper pieced [EPP] bunny hexagons are for Day 64 of my 100 Day Project. 

And my 2021 Stitching Success Tracker is looking colorful for the first quarter of the year. 

Off to a great start! The first quarter 2021 of the Stitching Success Tracker.

The weather is getting more Spring-like and the days are growing longer. I'll be enjoying stitching handwork as well as a little more sunshine today.