50 ways to keep a quilter happy while on vacation 41, 40, 39, 38 by Elaine Theriault July 18, 2015 written by Elaine Theriault July 18, 2015 606 Isn’t this exciting! So many ways to keep us quilters amused over the summer. Today’s tips will help pass the time on those rainy days when you can’t be outside or need some downtime. Number 41 – Assemble a jigsaw puzzle For whatever reason, you’re stuck inside? Why not assemble a quilt related jigsaw puzzle. This is an excellent exercise for matching colors and shapes. Oh yes – a great exercise for quilters and who knows you may get some of the family members to help you. Sewing themed jigsaw puzzle Number 40 – Get an adult coloring book and have fun! Adult coloring books are all the rage right now. Buy yourself a nice set of markers or pencil crayons. Set your kids up with their own coloring books and play with color. Photocopy some of the pages and try different color schemes. What a great way to learn about color and have fun at the same time. Then use the great color schemes you discovered or patterns in the book as inspiration for your next quilt. Adult coloring book and pencil crayons Huge selection of adult coloring books Number 39 – Plan the road trip around quilt shops Before I headed home from PEI, I did a bit of research and bought myself a GPS. I planned my route home based on the locations of various quilt shops. Yes – there was a much faster route home, but the way I took was much more fun. I have many memories about that trip home, I got to see a lot more of the countryside and small towns. You miss so much of what the area is like when you take the big highways! Be prepared to stop and turn around if you see something that you want to check out. I did that several times and it wasn’t even quilt related. (Promise.) The number of small towns, art work, bridges, buildings, etc. that I saw made the trip so much more interesting. Granted – I would NOT want to drive across the country on those secondary highways as it can be tedious, but take one day and drive through the countryside and let the location of the quilt shops dictate the route. Way more fun and way more to see! A GPS is a MUST for this – do not rely on any family member to “know” the way. It just doesn’t work. The GPS is rarely wrong. GPS Number 38 – Visit a quilt shop The quilt shop for today is Quilting B and More in Charlottetown. A nice shop with a great variety of things to browse. FQs in gorgeous colors Row by Row Fabric on the left side of the shelf Fabulous buttons Whew – so many great ideas, and the 50 ways countdown continues… Remember – if you have a great tip on how quilters can stay happy over the summer, let me know. I’ll try to work it in. Stay tuned – we’ll be visiting more great quilt shops and more tips. Have a great day! Ciao! See all the articles in our “50 ways to keep a quilter happy while on vacation…” series! Print this page or save as a PDF fabric storefat quartershappy quilter on vacationquilt related jigsaw puzzlequilt shopsquilting booksquilting fabric FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Elaine Theriault Elaine Theriault is a teacher, writer and pattern designer who is completely obsessed with quilting. Elaine’s Tech Tips column (originally published in A Needle Pulling Thread magazine) is now available online in e-book format at QUILTsocial.com. When not quilting, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Lexi and Murphy, or can be found cycling across the country. Her blog is crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com. previous post The 3 Most Important Tips for Binding next post 5 stellar features on a NEW entry level sewing machine YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... 8 Insider Tips for Mastering Guided Pictograms |... Stitch regulation on the PFAFF powerquilter 1600 Don’t miss it! Courtepointe Québec celebrates its quilting... Finishing a quilt block to size: Here’s what... Half filled bobbins and spools: what are they... Twin needles: the smart way to store them The hardest part about making a memory quilt:... How sock hangers ‘work’ in your quilting space Don’t throw away those leftover fabric binding strips Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.