Looking for tips from other snowbirds
 

Hi there,
We are heading up to New England soon after our first winter as retired snowbirds. I am looking for tips on how to make the transition easier. I have a dedicated sewing space here and a machine that will stay here. I have a machine waiting up there. I quilt and knit, mostly. It's starting to drive me a little crazy trying to plan what I will need there and what I can leave here. We are driving and taking some time to visit parts of the country we haven't seen yet. Here, in Florida, I have easy access to two favorite quilt shops and a big Joann's. There, we will be in a more rural area with those places a bit of a drive. (This is not really a big problem. It will be easier on the budget and I'll be able to use more stuff up).
So...I welcome any suggestions that have worked for you!
Thanks,
lots2do

I'm not in your shoes (2 homes) BUT I would think it would depend on how long you are planning to be in either location. Would it make sense to just make up some kits to take to whichever location you spend the least amount of time? Or, since you'll be doing some traveling along the way, pick up 'stash' type stuff for the second location? Do you have a second set of needed tools in the second location so you're not transporting that type stuff back/forth each trip? Just a couple of thoughts.

Enjoy your travels and shopping adventures.

we have been doing the snow bird thing for over ten years now.

I still fret bout what to bring with us and what to leave behind (from both locations). Car space is a factor and so is spousal irritation about how much I think I have to have.

u

I would organized my projects into these niffy scrapbook cases by Iris that I got at JAF. Make sure you have all the basics to work on that project: pattern, fabric , thread and notions. Be sure you packed everything and then take plenty of basic sewing supplies.

It took a while for me to develop a fully equipped sewing area in both houses so for the first few years I carried more things back and forth. I now have a stash in both places along with supplies. It takes time and in the meantime carry some things back and forth and also adopt the attitude that if you don't have it in one place you either get it or do without. Doing without hasn't been a problem as I'm usually able to come up with a solution. The biggest challenge is looking for something, knowing that you have it only to find it later in the other place.

Happy retirement!

My situation/sentiments exactly!!

I'm not a snowbird, but living in AZ I have met a lot. The easiest, they say, is to duplicate everything and not drag anything back and forth. Those that have the really big travel trailers, just keep everything on board. And if you have duplicates of the big hard items, most anything else in the fabric or yarn line can be purchased on-line.

These are the best containers for projects. If you keep your eyes open or get on Michaels mailing list you can get these once in a while 3/$10.00. Either way these are great. I put a kingsize sheet in to see if it would fit that much fabric and it does along with your intended pattern and any notes. Easy to carry. I get the clear clear (not clear/color) but your choice. You can also use them as light boxes. Throw in an led and have a go at it for tracing. Mine from Michaels are 14"x14"x3".

This year, stuff i took to Florida and brought back:

The laundry basket full of interlock fabric for my guys' "comfy pants" - made three pairs while in Florida
My hand grommet press and grommets
The jar of big buttons
My Pfaff 1473 sewing machine
My heritage rag cutter scissors

Took and left - the Viking 905 serger

Brought back to give to daughter - some little pillow forms that need covers
Brought back for son - A shrunk wool blanket I was going to use for pot holder innards for his car

Things I have duplicates of:

Cutting mats
Rotary cutters
Rulers

I have been accumulating for "a while" - but one can get by with a lot less than I have.

Cutting mats and rulers stay in both places. That way they don't get warped/broken. I leave behind a FW in PA, and sometimes pack my Pfaff, depending on what I plan on doing. Also keep a rotary cutter in both places. Just the basics. The project cases are a good idea for taking if you have it all ready. Usually, we stop at Row by Row shops and I buy the kit (if I like it) and that keeps me busy enough.

I think how much one brings back and forth depends on a few things -

1) how much "stuff" one has available and if one has the money available to have duplicate sets of rulers, mats, and
cutters?

2) does one have a "permanent" place to migrate to - or does one need to rent a different space each year?

3) how important is it to have quilting supplies with one?

Start slow and you'll learn as time goes by. I started my very first quilt on a trip to our cabin in N. Minnesota about 5 yrs. ago. I packed the quilt pattern, fabric, rotary cutter & mat, needles, thread, scissors (not the batting as I wouldn't get that far that weekend), and that was probably about it. I mentally retraced my needs for that trip and starting that first quilt. Yup, I was certain I had everything I would need for that trip. Oh my, I forgot to pack my clothes. Thought of it half way through the trip! It all turned out fine. Hubby & I had a few good laughs over that one. Enjoy your 2nd home and your quilt adventures!

We haven't done the snowbird thing yet, but in my mind I see myself piecing and making tops in one location, then sandwiching and quilting in the other. Supplies for those activities would be in that location. I buy most of my supplies online anyway.

I used to go for days in my caravan. I had a bag which contained all my mats rotary cutter and notions and patterns I would needed. Then when I came home anything I had forgotten went in. This bag became my away bag and items in it I felt would never be used came out. Fabric was a different matter. I tried to get each project in some kind of box ( couldn't afford new boxes) with required fabric and pattern plus any essential notion, interfacing etc to complete. Sewing machine had its own bag, full of threads bobbins needles etc which stayed together.
i took time filling the boxes and bags and ended up with a complete second set of equipment which was also useful to take to classes.

I'm not sure where you are going in Maine, but where I live there are 3 or 4 quilt shops within a 30 minute drive and a Joann's.

Although I don't move from one state to another, we live on an island during the summer months (off the coast of Maine) and so I do have duplicates of my regular tools, cutting mat, rulers, seam ripper etc... so that I don't have to transport items back and forth. Since I have less time to quilt in the summer, I have already prepared a few projects that I can work on. I hope you enjoy your road trip. Maine's quilt show is the last weekend of July in Augusta.

I also forgot to bring the extra clothing - that was back in the day when DH and four kids would go "camping" with some of the rest of the family! It was a cold, rainy, miserable weekend - and my boys had to wear their girl cousins things.

I love the stories about forgetting clothes! Before I retired, I got a second machine that is the clone of my original one so I have machines in both places. I also scored a second Arrow table on sale and with a gift certificate at Joann's a year ago that is already up there. I have cutting mats in both places. I left some fabric in Maine. I won't have as much of a dedicated space up there (more company, more often) so I'll need to be more efficient. I'm starting to think that using a few under the bed boxes might be the best way to store fabric and notions etc.
The cottage has been in the family for a long time. We've shared it for quite some time but now own it solely. So now I can have more than just a tote and a machine up there. I'm getting excited!
JMoore, if there was a Joann's in North Conway, I'd be all set! Love the Maine Quilt Show too and am planning to demo there for a friend.
Hopefully our car won't look too much like the Clampett's truck from the Beverly Hillbillies!
Thanks for all of your suggestions. I've been able to empty some plastic boxes to pack up a few projects that are already started.

I have a cottage on the river we stay at most of the summer. I have duplicate mats, cutters, blades etc there. I decided to take just charm square packs, fat quarters and solid yardage to the cottage with patterns for projects. I made two quilt tops last year while working to renovate it. I met other full timers and the quilters packed up their projects in bags and boxes for when they couldn't get to a quilt store. Good luck.

We have a vacation location but don't move there for months at a time, so I just take along the specific project I want to work on while there.

My best suggestion is to make a master list. Keep updating the list with what you wish you had brought along. If you check it while you're packing, those things you know you won't need this time can just be crossed off, but if they aren't on the list, you could easily forget them. I keep my list(s) on the computer and edit out what I won't need before I print it out for packing. I section my list off ... clothes/food/craft supplies, etc. with specific notes of what to take to certain locations, like when we visit DDs.

Enjoy your retirement!

I usually ship fabric or projects down. We fly and just do carry ons. I always end up sending fabric back north. Any quilts go in my carry on. There are such wonderful quilt shops here that I can never resist adding to my stash. Next year I am planning on bringing down an extra machine and my extra surger. Those I will package good and check them in. I have a few outfits that I bring back and forth. Have a wonderful summer!

I agree with those who say have the basics at both places, scissors, rotary cutters/mats, etc. I am a snowbird, and I have found that ordering online at JoAnne's, Marshall Dry Goods and Fabric.com all work well. For batting, I have ordered the soft and natural through Amazon Prime -- no postage required. Actually, Amazon Prime is great for snowbirds-- you can get almost anything you want and it will arrive in no more than 2 days. BTW--I have lots of bins of fabric at both homes. Someday I will use it all up (I hope).

Scrapbook cases
 

These are great cases and I use them to organize my projects and tools for those projects. I think a lot depends on what you are working on and developing tools at both ends as someone said is a great idea;no hauling back and forth. There are many great quilt shops in New England ( I live in Mass and just moved to another section of Mass) to obtain supplies. Also you can use Amazon- in both places. There is lots to do so don't burden yourself with supplies

ha ha ha...your forgetting clothes was worse than mine (sorry, I know I really shouldn't enjoy that.. but you did make me laugh! Our quilting supply packing is obviously more of a priority!

We're not snowbirds, but have gone through transitions where we shuttled between two houses while in a prolonged moving process. I think nobody mentioned an iron and surface for ironing and those are cumbersome but necessary things. I think I would try to have those and one machine at each location if at all possible. In picking which machine you might want at each place, it would be helpful if they both use the same type of bobbin. For cutting I have found that a sturdy folding table that you can place on bed risers to get a comfortable height is very useful.

Go through your supplies and ask yourself which items you use most frequently. You might even discover duplicates. A frame of mind that leans toward simplifying is helpful. If you almost always use just a few neutral thread colors, such as a particular shade of white, gray and beige, you are more likely to keep an adequate supply on hand without having to consider multiple possibilities for packing, and you won't bring a half done quilt and then realize you don't remember what brand or color that thread was that you forgot to bring back with you.

Happy trails!

I go back and forth between NJ and SC, I keep a basic set of quilting tools at both locations, and an inexpensive no frills (or not many frills) in NJ, where we visit family on a regular basis. We still have our NJ house, since my DH can't bring himself to sell it - a subject for another time.

Fabric: Several ways to handle that. a) make two quilt kits (more if you want) and take them with you in your car.
b) Either order fabric or a kit on line and have it shipped to your New England address so you have something to work on. Timing is important for this option, as you don't want a package laying out on your porch for one or two weeks. If you have a friend or relative close to where you will be staying, ask your friend if you can have it shipped to them. c) go to a local quilt shop and buy fabric after you get there. I mostly visit the Walmart when I am in NJ and get a few fabrics to use to make a charity quilt, but have used all of the options i listed.

Once I took a work horse Brother sewing machine along, but it was packed precariously and fell out of the car. There was no saving it, so I stripped it for parts that can be used in other machines. It was the one I started quilting on, so was sad to see it go in the trash. Now I keep a Brother mechanical machine in NJ and just use that when we are there.

Empty cereal boxes make nice project boxes, and they are free. I tie them closed with selvages, and tape a note on the box to tell me what's in it. The fabric in the cereal boxes is for a quilt I will work on soon, so I don't worry about the box not being acid free. The big boxes will hold a lot of fabric!

For many, space available is a major consideration.

I like to iron/press as I go - but most full-size ironing boards/tables are not very attractive and take up a lot space. There are small, table-top ironing boards available that do not take up much space. There are smaller irons available, too.

Some significant others are not sympathetic to having sewing stuff around for extended periods of time - the person has to set up and take down after every session.

I consider myself fortunate that I can have my stuff out and available all the time.

I get my project boxes at Costco - they come in a stack of five, multicolored for $20.00. They are 12 x 12 inches and are great to store and carry individual projects. At JAF they are $19.99 each (the only difference is that the JAF boxes have handles).

Thank you all for your tips and ideas. I think I'll get a duplicate Creative Grids ruler to bring up there. I'll also bring my double sided thread box. I've filled a garbage bag with fabric more suitable for Maine so hopefully that will fit into the car.
We brought a chair and ottoman down this fall in the moving truck and don't have room for it here so that will take up a lot of room. The spouse is usually very accomodating and appreciates how important quilting is for me but I don't want to stuff the vehicle either to the point of being uncomfortable or unpractical.
I love the idea of a master list. I've started a list of what I want to bring back in the fall on my I pad.
Best wishes to you all!

I think my mind must work differently!!! I would just have north quilts and south quilts...and leave it at that...if you're up north work on those projects...down south..work on those! The last thing I would try to do is lug fabrics back and forth...always something forgotten, always too much extra...I would just go with the flow and have 2 quilting camps!!!!!!

Donna, you make a good point. I am hoping to make quilts for each bed up in N.E. and
pillowcases too with the pinecone, blueberry, moose etc. fabric I've bought over the years. What I don't want to create are UFOs in both places. Now that I'm not working, I want to be finishing!