I vary a lot in what I travel with. I actually have a number of totes (10 to be exact) set up to carry the different projects. One I carry when flying would be with color pencils, pencil sharpener, grid paper, magazines and idea books. Another would be for the various stuffed animals I have designed - this one carries all the cut pieces, sharp needles, good scissors and thicker thread for sewing the fake & real fur. And yet another tote big enough for a 18x24 cutting mat, with rotary cutter, favorite 5x24 ruler, fabrics, pattern, clippers, straight pins and post-its to jot notes down.
Though I have many totes ready to go the one I always carry in the car is for my applique which consists of a number of little projects in individual zip bags along with their threads and needles. And to make things a bit neater, I covered a thin 10x10 board with flannel so I can lay my pieces out on them to organize them before sewing. This keeps most of my fabric pieces from slipping all over the place and getting lost in my travels.
The tote I carry to class is deep enough to carry my double sided unit that has a cutting mat on one side and ironing pad on the other, along with numerous pockets for all my tools. This I designed and made for myself.
I gave up smoking 20+ years ago and found that sewing is the only way to keep my hands busy now. I also cut out many of my projects while watching (listening) to TV shows or movies.
Over the years I received many totes and found the one I designed for myself has been my favorite. You might try making one just for you.