Rain and luggage do NOT mix when traveling. In fact, I’ve thought about investing in hard-sided luggage when my suitcases give way. Even though I’ve scotch-guarded the outside of them every so often, especially during the winter rainy/snowy/wet months –if a soft sided suitcase or traveling quilt duffel bag sits on a wet belt or luggage truck when being transferred plane to plane, or from plane to baggage claim, water can still seep in.
I knew the bags were damp on the bottom when we loaded them into Carol’s car --- but luckily the quilts are packed INSIDE the large duffels with “extra tuff lawn and leaf bags” in pillow case fashion! One bag on one end, another bag at the other end, overlapping somewhere in the middle hoping to keep damp out!
And look.,…TSA left me another “Happy travels, we are so glad to see you” Notice! LOL! What do you think made them suspicious? Is it the clear acrylic rulers this time? or the fact that I had an ott type light with a cord, a travel iron with a cord, and all the other quilters paraphernalia that goes with going off for a retreat weekend? Never fear, this little TSA card will find itself being repurposed into more hexagon papers….
Nothing in the big suitcase was wet…but the duffels needed to be unloaded and dried over night! Where was I going to hang them??
How about the coat rack on the laundry room wall!?
I had to laugh as I came back in from dinner. This reminds me of some scene from “return of the body snatchers” and their pods! LOL!
But what’s worse is what the bag wrapped quilts looked like laying about on the sitting room floor!
I can hear it now! “Body #1 was found behind the recliner just past the front entrance, Sarge!”
“As for body #2? Hard to explain why it was right up against the entertainment center partly obscuring a bunch of quilt books, magazines and quilting games.”
Identities yet to be found, but all seem to be scrappy in nature!
All in all though…though I’ve thought and thought and searched about how to better transport these quilts, this just seems to be the best way I’ve found. I’ve seen some quilters using golf club cases..but those weigh so much. It would mean less quilts for the trunk show. To me a trunk show with 6 quilts is not MUCH of a trunk show! In this case, more IS better! As for the card golf travel cases -even though they have wheels, ((Which would be nice!)) you can’t get 50 lbs of quilts in one bag. And they charge you extra $$ for over sized luggage in some cases.
I can fly with 3 checked bags and no baggage fees if I keep going the way I keep going. So I’ll stick with this until something better comes along!
Bonnie you need the stuff that is sprayed on tents to keep them from leaking. Scotchguard is to keep things from getting stained.
ReplyDeletewow....three checked bags and no fees??? I flew a few weeks ago and had one checked bag....25.00. Seriously. That is good for you Bonnie....I only know of one airlines that does not charge and around here it is Southwest.....what is your secret??? LOL
ReplyDeleteAnd....on that same trip....every, and I mean EVERY bag I had all the handles ripped off....just like that....broke, ripped. I got home and tossed them all. Maybe you are right, need to invest in hard sided luggage!
What about those vacuum bags they always show on tv for your things inside? They say that they are water tight. You can actually roll or press the air out instead of vacuuming them. And hey just imagine what you will be able to pack into that suitcase then!!! Twice as much!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a seasoned traveler, looks like you have it pretty much figured out. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious if TSA has ever inspected your quilt bags. I'm also curious as to how many quilts you have inside those trash bags.
whew, for a minute there i thought you were at a murder mystery camp!
ReplyDeleteIt happened to me once! I got lots of my stuff wet. The good thing is that I went to my mom's house in Brasil, so I knew I had "back-up" if I needed. However, I bought a white towel for my brother, and that one got damaged. I have to remember to put a plastic bag around!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad no quilts were harmed in the making of this drama. : )
ReplyDeleteI went to a quild meeting with a "trunk show" recently and she just showed pictures of all but one of her quilts . It was nice to see the pictures, but pretty boring as we couldn't really see the detail or in the closeups, how it fit into the quilt. All in all, everyone sitting around me was pretty disappointed, as was I. When I drove to see your shown the Seattle area, I was so pleased and happy to SEE your quilts. Thanks for the extra effort.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the quilts aren't where the TSA can see them....you might just get a little handwritten note on one of those tags that says,,,Nice quilts...sorry to have bothered them
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if they were concerned about your rulers, are you allowed to pack rotary cutters and scissors, and pins and oh my what a terrorist.
ReplyDeleteI just bought some stuff called PUL (puleeze don't ask me what that stands for), that is a type of coated fabric used on the outside of cloth diaper covers and to make things called "wet bags". It would really keep those quilties dry. You should google it and maybe make a few bags. You want to look for sites that sell yardage rather than sites that sell what are called "diaper cuts".
ReplyDeleteMy husband travels with a hardsided suitcase because he uses a CPAP - only because I refuse to sleep in the same room unless he does :~) Unfortunately, it does add weight and it does limit packing space. Soft sided is much more forgiving when packing. Sounds like you need to get an engineer involved. hee hee
ReplyDeleteThose body bag pictures are so funny -- Glad they keep the quilts dry!
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny! If nothing else, you always have a good story to tell from your trips! What a busy life you have.
ReplyDeletePUL stands for polyutherane laminate.It is a laminated polyester knit fabric. The stuff for diapers would probably not be tough enough for airport abuse, but maybe it comes thicker?
ReplyDeletea ps to my last post-This stuff makes a great backing for your picnic blanket!
ReplyDeleteA friend had some of her quilts temporarily in black trash bags. Her husband thought the bags held garbage, so out they went. They were long gone to the landfill by the time she realized what had happened!
ReplyDeletePlease use clear plastic trash bags if you must use plastic bags!
You definitely DO NOT want to use hard sided golf bags....the wheels break off VERY easily (ask me how I know!), and they don't fit in just any old vehicle's trunk.....you need a monster trunk, or a minivan! You are much better off with how you are doing it! Sleep well in confidence! :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious too, does it appear that TSA opens the quilt bags?? I bought the vacuum bags but have not tried them yet. Seems like they would work pretty good for bedding type quilts.
ReplyDelete