The Canvases I'm Packing for Vacation

As I prepare to head out of town for a much-needed vacation, I thought I would give you a little peek at the canvases that I am packing. Frankly, I haven’t had enough time to stitch my own projects because I have been so busy with orders (thank you all!) This is a great problem to have. 

If you're new here and want to learn a little bit more about me, check out this blog post.

Side note: the last time I was on vacation I was considering taking the leap to launch Morgan Julia Designs. I'm SO happy I did!

Before we get started, I wanted to fill you in on a little secret: I will be launching a new collection of canvases this Winter. I brought a few of those to stitch, and I’ll note which ones, but they won’t be available for sale until early 2020. If you sign up for our emails here, you’ll be the first to know when they launch.

 If you’re interested in how to pack your needlepoint for a trip, my friend Jessica from Lycette has a wonderful blog post on the topic. 

I’m including some of my extra tips below. 

Traveling with Scissors:

• Always pack your canvases in your carry-on to ensure they can’t get lost.
• As Jessica stated, TSA will let you travel with scissor blades under 4 inches for domestic flights. The bamboo scissors I sell are TSA safe and travel approved!
• International countries may not allow small scissors. If you’re traveling internationally, pack other items that can cut your thread such as a dental floss container, nail clippers, or a thread cutter.
• If you check a bag, throw an extra pair of scissors in there. In the rare case that your scissors are confiscated on your trip down, you can have a back-up pair for your trip home.
• If I have time (and remember) before I pack, I’ll choose one project and cut threads for it. That way if I lose all my scissors, I can still stitch.

Traveling Tips:

• Separate your projects into individual bags with the tools you need. That way, you can pull out the project bag instead of having to dig through your carry-on for all your supplies. You can read about my favorite project bags on this blog post.
• Pack a few needles in various places: your wallet, a Zip-lock, in a project bag, etc. Needles have a tendency to go missing – especially during travel.
• Remember if all else fails and you lose supplies on your way down, Amazon ships almost everywhere so you can easily buy supplies.
• Take more canvases than you need! That way you have more to stitch in case there are delays.
• Upgrade yourself to first class so you have plenty of room to stitch. (Just joking…kind of)

Okay, now the moment you have been waiting for, here are a few of the canvases that I am bringing to stitch.  

Canvas #1: Champagne Dreams

I have been wanting to stitch this canvas for months. I worked on the design for over 2 weeks (this is probably my record) just playing with colors, font, size, etc. The background was originally a forest green and off-white stripe, but I think the two-toned pink fits it much better. It is on 13-count mesh and meant to be finished as a sleeping mask. I have been working on 18-count mesh a lot lately, so I think this will be a nice break and it should be a fairly fast project.

This is a retired Morgan Julia Designs Canvas.

Canvas #2: Champagne Bucket

Can you tell there may be a theme to this new collection? On vacation, I love to start every day with a mimosa. This canvas reminds me of that. It is on 18-count mesh and the size of an ornament, but it could be finished as anything. I’m really excited about this canvas because it’s a great way to get creative with thread. I’ll be stitching the green bottle with velvet and the ice bucket with sparkly thread.

This is a new Morgan Julia Designs Canvas

Side note: One of the places we love to vacation to is the Ritz Carlton in Cancun. (I know Cancun doesn't have the greatest reputation, but it's a wonderful resort destination). Last spring, we were sitting in the club level drinking champagne. I was stitching Pip and Roo’s Whispering Angel canvas, and a little girl came over and sat right next to me. The first thing she says is “I LOVE your napkin-thingy”. I kindly explained that it was needlepoint, she watched me stitch for a bit, then went back to her parents. It was a really cute moment and we joke about it now. Maybe I should re-name this canvas “Napkin-thingy”. Thoughts?

Canvas #3: Oysters on the Half Shell

Remember how I said I was so busy? I haven’t had a chance to properly stitch any canvases from my last release. I’ve done some test stitching to make sure the colors and designs looked good – but it’s just like a draft and I haven’t had a chance to nicely stitch them for finishing. I’m so excited to stitch these oysters. This canvas has been a best-seller from my most recent collection and it will sell-out before the holidays, so if you’ve been thinking about grabbing one get one now!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen I picked up Frye Werks FT25. Nicole Letts (@NicoleMelv on Instagram) mentioned I should use it for the oysters and I think I’ll do just that!

Canvases 4-7:

I’m a notorious overpacker, so of course I’m packing extra canvases (even though I don’t need to and probably won’t even touch half).

• My boyfriend requested another belt so I’m bringing that to stitch. The design spells out a phrase that he asked for in sail flags. Gotta love a man who appreciates a needlepoint belt & sail flags.
• I am also bringing an American Sails canvas to stitch for a patch on a Boat & Tote.
• I picked up this adorable Lycette canvas that I want to put my own spin on. As you know, I love gold bamboo, so I picked up some thread to make the border gold. I love that the foo dogs are in my favorite colors: light blue & navy blue.
• The final one I’m bringing is a secret. It’s the only canvas I’ve had time to stitch lately and I am about 75% finished. I promised myself I would finish it on this trip so I won’t touch the others until this is done. It will be available in my winter collection and I may even post a picture of it on Instagram, so follow @MorganJuliaDesigns to see. 

Okay, that’s all! And that’s more than enough. Who knows if all 7 will actually end up in my bag (probably not), but at least you get to see a glimpse of what I’ll be stitching over the next few months. Let me know which is your favorite in the comments below – I love seeing which canvases other stitchers love. 

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