Quilt Away Days

Yesterday was my guild's monthly Sew In Day. I love Sew In Days! But as I lugged my bags and sewing machine from my home studio to the car etc it got me thinking about what I am lugging around exactly? Why are those bags so darned heavy!

Frist of course there is the bag - a nice big bag to fill with all of your crap - I mean quilty supplies. This is the Sewing circle Tote I made last year, this thing has been amazing! I am so glad I took the plunge and made it.

Now, in the tote I usually have several smaller pouches.

What's in these you ask? Well I always carry my wonder clips with me. You just never know when you are going to need those handy suckers (especially yesterday when I was planning on doing some binding).

In the other, I had thread. Now I don't always carry a pouch full of thread, but I usually always have at least a spool on my machine and a back up in my supplies. Yesterday I was also planning on quilting but had not decided on pattern or thread so I brought a variety for a consult with my guild friends.

Then the main pouch - the big kahuna - has all of my tools. Isn't this pouch sweet by the way? this is a pouch made by a member of the Victoria Modern Quilt Guild. We swapped pouches with them recently and I love mine!

For tools, first of course there are the sharp cutty things. Rotary cutter (with a couple of spare blades), scissors (two sizes because I am anal like that), and a seam ripper. I started marking my tools with a bit of Washi tape because I travel quilt quite a bit and it is an easy way to recognize your own tools.

Next - the marky stuff. A pencil, a frixion pen and a chalk marker for those dark fabrics. Oh and sticky notes, I love me some post its!

Then, pinny things - pins of course, extra sewing machine needles, just in case, and of course bobbins! You can't pin anything with a bobbin of course, but they looked good in this picture. You can't pin anything with that tape measure either. Maybe this pic was not such a clever grouping after all!

Then there is some beauty / getting old stuff. I have approximately 50 lip balms around my domain, so of course there should be one in the quilty travel kit, some Burt's bees for cracked fingers and yes, a pair of glasses. I may or may not be hitting a milestone birthday this year, and it seems that threading the needle on the machine is just a tad easier with some magnifiers on my face!

Last, but not least, in the pouch you will find my quilting gloves for those Michael Jackson moments, an old makeup brush that I use to snag big clumps of lint from my bobbin case in between cleanings and the handy baby screwdriver for changing feet.

Man that little pouch carries a lot of stuff! Other items that are always in my quilting away bag is tape and extension cords. You never know when you will need these!

And of course you cannot quilt anywhere without a mat and rulers. I usually have three rulers in my bag, what I consider my essentials...as for the cutting may, I have a smaller mat that is usually good for travelling, but this one has a handle, which makes it a good choice when you have lots of other things to carry.

And of course my Sewing Machine! And, depending on where I am going to sew, my iron if I need it.

Oh, and don't forget your projects to work on! Yesterday I was quilting my Fox Frenzy and hoping to finish piecing a plus top.

Well, now I know why I feel weighed down on Quilt Away Days! So much stuff - and yet, I can't imagine leaving the safety of my studio without one of these items. I love Sew In Days for another reason too, seeing how people cart all of their supplies to Quilt Away Days. Some clever folks use a suitcase to cart it all (Sewing machines fit in there!). Some have fancy custom sewing machine tote bags, and some, like, me, have what seems like twenty bags slung over arms and shoulders, hoping everything stays balanced until you get to the room where you can drop it all!

So do you Quilt Away from home? Do you take your whole sewing room like me, or just a few things? What are your "can't leave home without them" items? Tells me everything!

Thanks for dropping by
Adrienne

Linking Up with Lily's Quilts for Fresh Sewing Day