The Curious Quilter is a Camping Quilter!

 I have always brought handwork along whenever I travel. But then I discovered the RV Quilters group on FaceBook and saw pictures and read stories of people piecing and quilting in their RVs. A whole new world opened up for me.

I began to develop this fantasy about driving around the country in an RV, pulling into a quilt shop parking lot, setting up my machine and starting to sew away.  Well, I'm almost there. I've become a Quilting Camper! 

I bought my little TearDrop in July. I named her Trudy and began taking her on trips - for a few days to a week. After the first trip I started bringing my sewing machine and quilting set up. I've fine tuned my set up over the months and now I have something that works well for me.

On most (ALL) of my trips, I look for new local quilt shops to visit. I have found that visiting a quilt shop makes it possible for me to feel like I already have a friend in the area. When I tell the shop ladies that I'm camping near by, it really gives us something to talk about. 

There are so many quilting inspirations to see while camping. Nature, colors, patterns, art, and architecture. In Manatee Springs, the park building had this great Barn Quilt -  Inspiration is all around!

I'm a bit hamstrung by the weather. I used to be a fair-weather snow skier. Now I'm a fair-weather Quilting Camper. No rain, of course. not too windy. Neither too hot nor too cold. But just right!

Most campgrounds have picnic tables. I have a selection of cute, seasonal vinyl tablecloths that I immediately put on the picnic table. First comes my smallest Bernina machine - the B325. Its great for traveling, workshops, and retreats. It has enough of the stitches I use on a regular basis. I always laugh a bit when I look down at my foot pedal and see it sitting on the grass, gravel, or sand. Next comes my cutting mat and ironing mat, usually to the left of my machine. My tool box sits on the bench on my right. I use rulers, my phone, my solar lanterns, and the occasional glass of wine to hold down my fabric and paper pieces that threaten to blow away in the breeze. I even have a little bleacher pillow to sit on to cushion my rear from the hard bench.

Projects? As you probably already know I love to work on lots of projects simultaneously. That method doesn't lend itself to camping where space is usually limited. But I get bored fairly easily when working on one project.  So, how to provide diversity of projects while limit the space required for lots of projects? So far, the answer to my dilemma is a complex Quiltworx project  - in this case Dinner Plate Dahlia. It's got lots of varied shapes, fabrics, and techniques to keep me on my toes. And it all fits into one double Art Bin tote. 

So my set up works well, but I don't usually sew for more than a few hours at a time. I have knitting and hand work along if the weather is iffy, or after dark (in my tent by lantern light).

I love being a Quilting Camper! Campfires, sight seeing, visiting quilt shops, and sewing. It doesn't get much better than this.

Curious about campsite quilting? Come join me for a day or 2. Either locally or on one of my adventures further away. It's so fun!