Crafting on the run---on the plane, train, bus and car---projects while traveling!

Yes, I confess, I'm that crazy woman you see knitting, crocheting or embroidering at the airport or train station. I just go batty waiting. If I have sit idle while doing so there is danger of me exploding (and this seems to be frowned upon in public places). At times I'm even tempted to take my knitting along to church and sit in the back pew. I haven't yet but I keep teasing our minister that if he gets any more long winded in his sermons I just might have to start. (The minister is a good friend so I can get away with saying things like that to him) His answer to me was that he would like a pair of brown wool socks for Christmas that would fit his size thirteen extra wide feet to perfection. (Naturally I won't knit them for him in church, but I have a pair on the go for him... just about half way done...) The only reason I mentioned this is because it was this talk that we had a couple of weeks ago that gave me the idea for this hub.

I've never been too comfortable in large crowds and idle gossiping is just not my thing. So when I'm invited to a large gathering of some sort, the kind where I do not have to help out, I bring along my knitting. I find myself a cozy comfy spot from where I can people watch and then I pull out the project of the week. This keeps my social anxieties at bay, my hands busy, something to talk to strangers about (as they usually wonder what's being created) and best of all I get some work done on my projects. Many a baby blanket was produced at these large wedding and baby showers. (funny thing happened over the summer, when one of the aunts of the future bride-to-be called me up and asked if it was okay for her to come sit by me with her knitting... I guess the word has gotten out because at that particular wedding shower we had five of us knitting and crocheting in the corner)

My children all live a few hours away from me, so every once in a while rather than having to drive especially in the snowy or blizzardy winter I hop on the train. I love it, if you haven't taken a train for a weekend trip lately, I highly recommend it. It's well worth the price of the ticket for two and a half hours of knitting, reading and relaxing. It's just a couple of dollars more to have all this great relaxing time when I'm off to meet with friends up in Toronto. Over the summer I paid almost a hundred dollars for parking over the three day weekend. By the time I add up the gas and the parking taking the train would only have cost twelve dollars more... not mentioning the aggravation, wear and tear on the car etc.

There is nothing more natural then taking a knitting, crocheting, crazy quilting or embroidering project on the bus. Last year three of my friends and I went to a quilting retreat weekend up in Bala Ontario. Instead of either one of us having to drive we decided to take a Grey hound trip (bus). It worked out fabulously. Naturally it's the smaller projects that work the best while traveling. Knitting socks is just one of those great projects. Even if you do like I do and knit both socks at the same time (For some unknown reason I like both socks to be the same... chances are that I can get both to a certain stage together before I have to set them aside... having arthritis in both my hands, my tension from one week to the other can be notably different...) Socks even when on the needles take up very little room. If you prefer to embroider, try to remember to cut your floss a bit shorter so your arm won't have to stretch out as far. For some reason or other (I'm not sure why) but your 'next-seat-neighbor' will appreciate you not poking them after every stitch. You should also try to get a seat next to the window preferably on the right side of the bus (if you stitch with your right hand is your stitching hand)

As far as I know, officially it's allowed to bring knitting on airplanes, however I have not taken a chance of having my needles confiscated. I haven't heard anything about crochet hooks being banned, but because I would definitely go nuts if I had to sit in an airplane for hours on end with nothing to do but twirl my thumbs I wouldn't take a chance on them either. What I have taken along is my embroidery and I haven't had any problems so far.

My friend who is an avid 'petite point' artiste and not wanting to 'rock the boat' (better said airplane) agonized weeks before her trip then found that she was able to work well enough with a plastic embroidery needle. She hunted high and low and eventually found a company that makes them in different sizes.

If you're a knitter the best tips I can offer are to pack your work in your suitcase and bring along a pattern book or two so you can design and plan your next project on the flight. However if you're going to take a chance do not take your favorite set of needles along, you know, the once that you would miss if they were confiscated. I would also think that bamboo needles might be better to take along than aluminum etc.

Even though you might not be able to work on your project on the plane, you can always find a shop at your destination where you can buy a pair of needles... so make sure you know the exact size you're using on your ongoing item.

These family gatherings drive me nuts so having handy-work at my finger tips generally keep me from going over the edge. However these project have to be simple projects as trying to concentrate. When one of the Aunts comes at me nattering with a vengeance it's almost a 'mission impossible' not to make mistakes. I save the one coloured, easy patterned afghan for just these get-togethers. These 'no-brain-nor-eyes-needed' knitting projects have saved my sanity on many a family fracas. (sorry Aunts, I know the truth can hurt at times)

I have quite a few friends that are involved in crafting and quilting etc. We often plan on weekend retreats where we all work on our project and have a great time of companionable chitchating and idea sharing. We craft, yak-e-dy-yak, we eat, we share recipes, and have a drink or two of coffee, tea, wine or... some lovely weekends for just girly stuff especially when they're football, baseball, curling

Project for car trips can be tricky at times. I always have to remember to bring stuff that doesn't need great light. More often than not we plan on coming home on time but because we end up chitchating our days away we need to travel home when it's already dark. As clenching a flashlight in my teeth for hours on end is not my idea of fun again one of those 'no-brain-nor-eyes-needed' knitting or crochet projects are best suited for these occasions too.  Embroidery and sewing rely too much on the stitches being placed in just the right place.

Over the years I have made many a project bags. Not all of them worked out just the way I had planned them to work. I now have a universal type that I have fine tuned for each of the types of crafting that I do... for knitting, crochet, embroidery, crazy quilting etc.... Here is what I found works for me. (I will put a hub together soon, [after Christmas] in which I'll make up a new bag for myself, with pattern, dimensions and how to pictures)

• The bags should not be too large (if you're like me, you over-estimate how much you can accomplish in the time you're traveling and then try to stuff in way too much into the bags)
• Just like they say when you live in small spaces you should have a home for everything so that you're space is not cluttered, so should your project and travel kit have a spot for everything. Make a bag for yourself that has at least 6-8 zippered pockets either on the outside or the inside of the bag. (mine has 3 on each of the sides on the inside and again 3 on each of the sides on the outside plus one on each end... one of these on the ends I use for my cell phone and the other one on the other end is a larger flat one that I use for my travel tickets etc.
  
• Each of the zippered pockets is a home for something particular.

I always put the bag down in the same direction at my feet that way I won't have to fumble and hunt for just the right tool that I'm looking for.

Here is the list of items in my knitting bag:

• Room for the knitting project
• Room for extra balls of wool
• Knitting needles (extra sets, same size [just in case I lose one], smaller/larger [just in case the work just doesn't seem right... especially if starting a new project)
• Knitting pattern x2 (an extra photo copied set just in case I lose the original)
• Thread ships {(I use small nail snips so that they will not be confiscated at the airports)make sure you try them out at home to make sure that they work on thread (a friend found a 3" small pair of children's scissors made out of plastic works well too}
• Scissors (if not traveling on plane)
  
• Small pincushion
• Safety pins, pins
• Large big eyed sewing needle (to assemble/finishing)
  
• Small wooden ruler/measuring tape
  
• Pen, pencil, small pad of paper (I never know when an idea for a project comes to my mind and if I don't write it or draw it down it is lost forever)
• Clothes pins (work well to keep pieces that need sewing etc together)
  

Here is the list of items in my crochet bag:

• Room for the crochet project
• Room for extra balls of wool or crochet cotton
  
• Crochet needles (extra sets, same size [just in case I lose one], smaller/larger [just in case the work just doesn't seem right... especially if starting a new project)
• Crochet pattern x2 (an extra photo copied set just in case I lose the original)
  
• Large big eyed sewing needle (to assemble/finishing)
• Thread ships {(I use small nail snips so that they will not be confiscated at the airports)make sure you try them out at home to make sure that they work on thread (a friend found a 3" small pair of children's scissors made out of plastic works well too}
• Scissors (if not traveling on plane)
  
• Small pincushion
• Safety pins, pins
• Small wooden ruler/measuring tape
  
• Pen, pencil, small pad of paper (I never know when an idea for a project comes to my mind and if I don't write it or draw it down it is lost forever)
• Clothes pins (work well to keep pieces that need sewing etc together)
  

Here is the list of items in my embroidery bag:

• Room for my embroidery project on a small hoop or stretcher bars
  
• Extra hoop or stretcher bars
• Embroidery needles of various sizes
• Embroidery floss
  
• Beeswax
• Thread ships {(I use small nail snips so that they will not be confiscated at the airports)make sure you try them out at home to make sure that they work on thread (a friend found a 3" small pair of children's scissors made out of plastic works well too}
• Scissors (if not traveling on plane)
  
• Thimbles (I use thimbles whenever I sew and embroider and they like to disappear so have a number of them in my kit)
• Small pincushion
• Safety pins, pins
• Small wooden ruler/measuring tape
  
• Pen, pencil, small pad of paper (I never know when an idea for a project comes to my mind and if I don't write it or draw it down it is lost forever)
• Clothes pins (work well to keep pieces that need sewing etc together)
  

Here is the list of items in my crazy quilting bag:

• Room for quite a few pieced, pinned and pressed squares or ready to applique squares.
  
• Hand sewing needles in various sizes
• Quilting needles again in various sizes
• Embroidery needles in various sizes
  
• Regular hand sewing thread
• Small pincushion
• Safety pins, pins
  
• Quilting thread
• Embroidery floss
  
• Beeswax
• Thread ships {(I use small nail snips so that they will not be confiscated at the airports)make sure you try them out at home to make sure that they work on thread (a friend found a 3" small pair of children's scissors made out of plastic works well too}
• Scissors (if not traveling on plane)
  
• Thimbles (I use thimbles whenever I sew and embroider and they like to disappear so have a number of them in my kit)
• Small wooden ruler/measuring tape
  
• Pen, pencil, small pad of paper (I never know when an idea for a project comes to my mind and if I don't write it or draw it down it is lost forever)
• Clothes pins (work well to keep pieces that need sewing etc together)
  

I will put a hub together soon, [after Christmas] in which I'll make up a new handy, trendy, craft travel bag for myself, I'll share my pattern, the dimensions I like and how to pictures.