Hobbies – Quilting in an RV
Being in an RV in a small space could really limit what you can do when it comes to hobbies. But for me, quilting is what I love to do. It wasn’t going to stop me from quilting just because we were going to live in an RV full time!
Mark knew in order to convince me to come on the road full time with him, he would need to determine how my quilting passion could come along with us. When we attended RV shows to decide which RV would meet our needs, Mark would show me where my sewing machine and fabric bins could be stored. I then could imagine how my hobby of quilting would work on the road!
In order to bring quilting with you on the road, you will need to make some concessions because your sewing room is usually bigger than your RV! This was definitely the case for me in our home before we sold it.
5 Things to Bring With You From Your Quilting Room
Here are five things to help you downsize your quilting hobby into an RV:
- Sewing Machine – I have a Husqvarna Quilt Designer and it fits perfectly in our bedroom closet! I found the owner’s manuals on the internet, so I can refer to it if needed. If you have more than one sewing machine, you may consider downsizing to one machine.
- Fabric – As quilters, we collect lots of fabric and I definitely had a very large stash of fabric! When I took inventory of my fabric, I found out I had a large collection of 80’s fabric that I didn’t even like. All my fabric I brought with me went into two large storage bins and are stored under our bed. I donated the rest of my fabric to a local church quilt guild to make quilts for children in hospitals. They gave me a receipt for tax purposes. The best part for me is when my fabric bins get low, I can find a quilt store and purchase more fabric!
- Quilting Projects – After 30 years of quilting, I had lots of unfinished projects! I decided that I will work on only three projects when on the road. One project will be a large quilt and the other projects will be smaller projects. Currently, I’m working on a quilt for my Mom, the second one is a Christmas present for my daughters and the third is a wall hanging. When I finish a project, then I can start a new one!
- Quilting Gadgets – As quilters, we collect gadgets and tools that save us time during the quilting process. I went through all of my gadgets and found that I really didn’t need all of them. Coming with me are a cutting mat, rulers and gadgets that fit into a small plastic container. What I didn’t need, I donated to other quilters or to my local Saver’s Donation Center.
- Iron – We all have our special iron that works great to press our seams. However, the ironing board is something I couldn’t bring with because of its large size. Mark made me a fabric-covered TV tray ironing board measuring 24″ x 18″. The DYI instructions can be found on this link on American Quilting.
There isn’t much room to get a large quilt ready to be quilted, so when this needs to be done, find a community center or a campground that has a project room. There are many quilters in campgrounds and they want to find you to create community.
Quilting Retreats
Recently, I was at a quilting retreat at Lake Beauty Bible Camp in Long Prairie, MN. At its essence, a retreat is an opportunity to focus totally on your passion. It may be a weeklong retreat, a cruise with a well-known teacher, a guild activity or a weekend at the campground. Whatever it is, look for opportunities to get together with others so you can speak “quilt”.
Hope you enjoyed my first quilting blog. If you are a full-time on-the-road quilter, I hope I can meet you so we can discuss what you brought with you. Let me know in the comments section what you would like to learn more about in future blogs.
Finding Joy in the Journey – Heidi
This is awesome Heidi! I wondered how you’d be able to quilt. I like that Mark understood your passion enough to make it work! I love how you downsized your fabric. I found selling/downsizing for me was very FREEING. You find out so much of what you have that you don’t want/need, like your ’80’s fabric! We didn’t downsize to an RV, just a smaller house and yard and no pole building.. it was a smart move into our new chapter. We camp often and have taken some longer camping road trips. Phil loves his work shop. I love having my garden, yard and neighbors and roots so we like keeping a house but we’re on the road a lot camping!
I found ways to make my passion and profession of painting work in our camper too!… I have a travel bag of paint tubes and brushes, water container etc so I too can continue to paint whenever we camp! I think I’d actually be SAD camping if I couldn’t paint!… Just like I bet you’d feel if you couldn’t quilt. Our camper has a dinette booth I sit at with GOOD LIGHT (the older you get the better light you need) and I always make sure I have one or two smaller sized paintings going that I can bring with me. If it’s nice out I paint out on the picnic table (has to be not too windy or sunny or buggy) and if not I paint inside. It’s especially nice when it’s raining out or we have down time and Phil is reading.
This post should help others who like to quilt see how it can be done! What does Mark like to do for hobbies and how has he made it work for him I wonder?
Hi! Thanks for the information. How do you power your sewing machine on the road?
Just ran across your site. I am currently living in a 34′ fifth wheel. I am really struggling trying to quilt in here. Right now I’m trying to find a way to put up a design wall. Any ideas? I was thinking of some sort of roll up one but not sure if the blocks would stick to it very well since it would not be very rigid.
I”d love to fit a long arm system in here, but I think I’d loose all my sitting space as I’ve already taken over one full pullout and turned it into my sewing nook. I have way more supplies then space, so that has been a huge battle right now. Thankfully Im able to park at my mothers place and she had a small shed where I put everything right now. But I”m still not able to really stretch out.. and feel really confined. Plus it seems very dark in here – mainly because the lighting is more yellow light then UV and I have a RV carport over the rv which makes it darker as well. Would love to see more of your set up if you don’t mind sharing, on where you work to quilt, and your storage, etc.
Thanks for reading our blog about quilting! You definitely have to change your mindset for quilting in an RV! Regarding a design wall, I just use our queen bed to layout my quilt blocks. A roll up design wall definitely sounds doable. Regarding a long arm system, I seriously checked into that as well, but it would just take up too much room. Maybe if I was by myself, but I also have to consider my husband! Instead, I bought a new sewing-quilting-embroidery machine by Brother which I’m going to try to quilt using a monster hoop. Take a look at my latest blog I just released: How can you quilt in your RV? Hope it answers some of your questions you have. If not, feel free to contact me via email: hello@lovingthervlife.com
I just moved an RV full-time and wanted to bring my longarm machine, I traded my 10ft frame and machine for a sit/stand Handi-Quilter Capri machine. I love it. I converted a Bunkhouse floor plan so I have a craft-room (Happy Place).