How to Travel with Your Needlepoint This Summer

Written By Natasha Sewell

There is a reason so many stitchers reach for their project bag the moment they start packing a suitcase. Needlepoint is one of the most travel-friendly hobbies around: compact, quiet, and endlessly satisfying during the long stretches of waiting that travel always seems to involve. In episode three of Oh, Stitch, Natasha and Alonsa are recording together in person for the first time, and the topic feels exactly right for summer. This one is all about stitching on the go.

They also have thoughts on Airbnbs. Many, many thoughts.

What They Are Stitching Right Now

Alonsa: Veuve Clicquot Canvas

Alonsa's new WIP started with a text message. Natasha was visiting the Needle Nook in La Jolla, California, a shop with an entire wall of Veuve Clicquot canvases behind the register, and she sent Alonsa a photo. Alonsa had been looking for one for months and her local store did not have any in stock. The canvas she chose features the iconic champagne bottle covered in two-tone geometric circles in greens, pinks, and blues. The sisters kitted it together using mostly Essentials thread on 18 mesh, with a metallic thread for the foil at the top of the bottle. Matching the orange label was the real challenge, and they landed on a color called Cheese, which turned out to be exactly right.

Natasha: Fendi-like Penelope Bag Canvas

Natasha has a blank Penelope canvas shaped like a Fendi-style bag, complete with hardware and a strap, from needlepoint designer Heather Rae. She has owned it for a while and has still not decided what to stitch on it. The tension is real: a repetitive pattern would be easy but boring, while a more artistic design would be more interesting but harder to plan. She is putting it out to listeners: if you have ideas, she wants to hear them.

Natasha: Love Canvas — Finished

In honor of Pride Month, Natasha finished and framed the Georgie and Lottie Love canvas, with a rainbow heart as the O in the word love. She stitched the whole thing on a train and framed it in a simple wood frame from World Market. It is cheerful, quick, and exactly the kind of project that travels well.

Oh Did We Say That: Airbnbs vs Hotels vs All-Inclusive Resorts

This episode's hot take is one a lot of people have opinions about.

Natasha and Alonsa are not anti-Airbnb. They are clear about that. For families with young children, for big group trips, for anywhere a shared kitchen and a washer-dryer make life significantly easier, an Airbnb or VRBO is often the right call. They have used them plenty and understand the appeal.

But there is a catch. When you stay in an Airbnb, someone still has to cook. Someone still has to clean. Someone still has to wipe down the counter and deal with the dishes. For the person in the household who usually handles those things, an Airbnb is not really a vacation. It is just home in a different zip code.

This is where the all-inclusive resort argument gets compelling, especially with kids. You pay once, everything is covered, and nobody has to ask permission to get a snack. There is a kind of freedom in that, both for parents and for children who can grab what they want without the constant back and forth.

For trips without kids, or for any situation where truly relaxing is the goal, their answer is simple: a hotel. Someone makes the bed. Fresh towels appear. The bed is probably better than yours at home. That, Natasha says at 53, is what a vacation is supposed to feel like.

The episode also briefly touches on cruises as an all-inclusive alternative that lets you travel between destinations while unpacking only once, and Alonsa's son's sailboat trip through the British Virgin Islands as a compelling argument for the best of both worlds.

Off the Frame: Packing Tips for Summer Travel

Natasha is heading to a retreat in Maine called Summer Camp, run by Sabrina Gebhardt, to teach needlepoint and she is trying something new for packing: the Sudoku method.

The concept works like a nine-square grid. Each row is a complete outfit with a bottom, a top, and a layer. Items are arranged so that diagonal combinations also work, which means everything can mix and match. Nine pieces, multiple outfits, one carry-on. Natasha is committed to the method with one amendment: she is bringing two pairs of white jeans, because Maine means lobster, and lobster means melted butter, and there is simply no universe in which that does not end up in her lap.

Both sisters are carry-on packers by nature. Neither over-packs. Natasha travels to and from California regularly and has developed strong opinions about what to leave behind.

How to Pack Your Needlepoint for Travel

The section most stitchers will want to bookmark.

Choose smaller projects. Large canvases are cumbersome, hard to fit in a project bag, and genuinely difficult to stitch in transit. If you want to bring more than one project, take two or three smaller ones instead. They fit better, travel easier, and give you options depending on your mood.

Use a dedicated project bag. Georgie and Lottie offers two options, including the Darling I'm a Stitch Queen bag, which has a handle and a wide zippered opening. The handle makes it easy to grab and go whether you are heading to the beach, the pool, or the airport gate.

Pack a rescue kit. Georgie and Lottie's rescue kit includes a Snag Nab It tool for pulled threads, a needle threader, a seam ripper, small snips, needle minders, and extra needles. The bottom is magnetic, which makes needle storage easy, and the scissors are TSA approved. The blade must be under four inches and must have a cover. If you would rather skip scissors entirely, there are thread-cutting discs that look like small metal wafers with grooves that cut thread cleanly without a blade.

Bring extra needles. Travel is exactly when needles disappear. Dropping anything on a plane means it is gone forever. Pack more than you think you need.

With a project bag and a rescue kit, you are fully equipped for any travel situation. Beach, pool, train, hotel bed at the end of a long day. Your needlepoint goes everywhere.

Restock News

Georgie and Lottie has restocks available now. If you have been waiting on a canvas, go check the shop. And if something you love is still out of stock, signing up for the wait list does more than just notify you. It also helps Natasha and Alonsa understand demand so they can order smarter going forward.

Summer is the perfect time to start a new project. Pack it well and take it with you.

Special Offer

Use code OHSTITCH10 for 10% off your first order at georgieandlottie.com.

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Natasha Sewell
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The Needlepoint Boom Is Real And So Are the Growing Pains