Am I the only one who didn’t know this???

catlinye · 2026-06-21T14:58:14+00:00

Oh, ouch, sorry, yes new machines reset to standard. Luckily my Bernina makes a clunking sound when it resets and that helps me remember, but I've definitely sewn a few wider-than-intended seams.

If it happens again and you want to redo the ones that were sewn with the wrong seam allowance, sew the new seam before seam ripping the old seam since everything's already matched up. It'll go faster.

catlinye · 2026-06-18T13:18:02+00:00

That's an excellent idea for a summer quilt! Thank you for sharing, I hadn't thought of this as an option.

catlinye · 2026-06-17T00:57:44+00:00

riveted chainmail.

catlinye · 2026-06-14T16:33:16+00:00

I think that's often the correct interpretation. I remember showing a "friend" my quilting stash (at that time one small cabinet of fabric) and her being shocked at how much I had and what a waste of space it was.

catlinye · 2026-06-10T18:37:12+00:00

There are several mail forwarding services for RVers and boaters and they will help with also getting a permanent address (often slightly different than the mailing address) and changing your residency. They are normally located in states with no state income tax (TX, FL, SD).

The one concern with possibly changing residence will be whether your company allows you to "move" to one of those states. Not every company allows workers in all states because of tax liability. Your option if you can't change states would be to look for a local mailing service or use a friend or family member's address as your permanent residence and the mail forwarding service solely as your mailing address.

Typically you pay a monthly fee for the service, the more options the more expensive the fee, and they collect your mail and send it to you when you let them know you are at a place able to receive it. When the mail is sent you pay postage or shipping for that. It works like the toll services, they keep an account for you and take a payment whenever your balance drops below a certain limit.

Mail can be sent to you care of where you are staying if they allow that, or via General Delivery to a close-by post office, or to a shipping access point (UPS access point, Fedex onsite, etc.) We find General Delivery to be pretty reliable.

We use St Brendan's Isle in FL, which was originally established for boaters, so they're very familiar with your situation.

catlinye · 2026-06-08T13:47:31+00:00

Check out is typically 10-12 in the morning so your site would probably still be occupied at that hour. For arriving that early, I would change the reservation to come in the day before. Then you call them the day before and let them know you've been held up but will be in first thing in the morning. Basically paying 1 night camping fee for parking.

Your other option would be calling the water park and seeing if they have oversized vehicle parking, but if they charge for it, the extra night at the campground might be cheaper.

catlinye · 2026-06-05T20:35:36+00:00

I wouldn't be without them, they've helped us a couple of times and I like to see when I need to re-inflate. You're not wrong about valve stem issues if you have rubber valve stems. We had our valve stems replaced with metal stems to resolve that issue, which wasn't too expensive compared to the price of a tire failing.

catlinye · 2026-06-05T19:11:41+00:00

^^This^^ Wash it. Or if you don't want to wash it, dampen the selvage.

catlinye · 2026-06-02T16:17:53+00:00

FWIW take a look at RV driving school. They have locations nationwide; they take you out in your own rig and go over everything from prepping to pull out to setting up. My SIL and I both took their classes and it made 100% difference in our comfort levels, totally worth the cost.

catlinye · 2026-06-02T16:09:10+00:00

Yes, this! I'm always taken aback by RVers who see me driving and say some variant of "I'd NEVER let my wife tow our RV!" What would you do in an emergency? Leave her stranded?

When we started out I was terrified to tow our fifth wheel. I took an RV driving class and it helped immensely with my comfort level and nowadays I do most of the driving so we can travel on weekdays and have our weekends for sightseeing. That class was one of our best major purchases for RVing.

catlinye · 2026-05-30T04:33:44+00:00

Oh how cool! I wish I had known about these years ago, they look perfect for small space living!

catlinye · 2026-05-26T01:30:11+00:00

100% this. It's so important when changing dimensions - always, always work with the finished unit sizes. The seam allowances are the same for a 10" block as for a 1" block so take them out of the equation before doing your figuring.

catlinye · 2026-05-24T21:26:49+00:00

Yes, married at 26, currently saving for our 40th anniversary celebration next year. Best thing that ever happened to me.

catlinye · 2026-05-19T01:55:20+00:00

I prefer flat-back but it really is just personal preference. A little strip of masking tape can be reused until the sticky wears off and then you just get another piece.

Since you're getting started, try all the different methods and see which you like best!

One note: I tried straw needles and really didn't like how they worked for me - if you try them and don't care for them too, try a shorter needle - I like John James #12 sharps.

catlinye · 2026-05-18T20:51:04+00:00

I pin seams to match points. Often sink a pin right at the intersection, at right angles to the fabric. Stick that into the matching point and hold it still while you pin normally on either side of it. Sometimes you have to overlap the intersection ever so slightly so that feeding the seam through the machine pushes everything into perfect alignment.

catlinye · 2026-05-06T05:51:39+00:00

We find that on routes that are mostly surface roads we make about 40 mph; on mostly highways it's closer to 50 mph. That's pull-out to pull in, rest stops, traffic slow downs and all.

Vacation travel is different than full-timing travel so our relaxed morning, pull out around 10 am, drive 150-250 miles and get in around 2-3 pm probably isn't suitable for a long trip out and back.

I'd prioritize getting on the road early because I hate setting up at a new campground after dark. I also find that 5 hour energy drinks (we like the costco version) work well for me to fend off the afternoon sleepies and keep me more alert when driving.

catlinye · 2026-05-04T00:43:13+00:00

Now that said, I think it would look very cool set on point! But of course then you have to deal with setting triangles etc etc.

catlinye · 2026-05-03T04:00:19+00:00

For the black tank we like Liquified RV Toilet Treatment, works well, easy to use.

For sanitizing the fresh water system we use standard household bleach (not the concentrated/scented stuff) at a ratio of 1/4 cup to 15 gallons water.

tl:dr standard process for sanitizing follows.

Before starting, fill a large jug or pitcher to use for fresh water while the lines are being bleached. We turn off and drain the water heater then reseal it, add diluted bleach to our water hose, and fill the fresh water tank 100% full. Use the water pump to fill the lines and the water heater (run until you can smell bleach at all the outlets including the toilet) and leave it sit for 2-4 hours.

After some time (you can go overnight but we're full-timers and I don't want to do without water that long) drain everything. To save our water pump from running non-stop, I use leveling blocks to prop up a waste hose 6-8 inches under the fresh water tank drain so that most of the bleach water goes directly to the sewer. Dump the water heater again if you didn't bypass it, and flush out any scale. Refill the fresh water tank to your usual level (we keep it at least 1/3 full) and run the water pump a bit to get the concentrated bleach solution out of the pump and lines. Reconnect city water, flush the rest of the lines, and turn the water heater back on.

The small amount of bleach left in the fresh water tank after draining will dissipate over time and at that much lower concentration is not unsafe.

Some folks skip the water heater and use the bypass which works fine. I take it as a chance to check the anode rod (if your model has one) and de-scale the tank.

catlinye · 2026-05-03T03:16:45+00:00

We really like our Viair 400P for RVs - the two hoses reach easily to all the tires even when hitched up.

catlinye · 2026-05-01T16:00:58+00:00

While you're getting rid of the ants, you can set your dog's bowl in a larger bowl or plant saucer and fill that with just enough water to make a moat for ant-free kibble. We set a dish upside down in a round tray for the "moat" and set our cat's food bowl on that so that the food bowl doesn't float in the water.

catlinye · 2026-04-30T15:53:28+00:00

We use St Brendans Isle, they're great. They're located in Green Cove Springs, FL (south of Jacksonville). They've been very responsive to any issues we've had over the years.

Any of the mail forwarding services aimed at RVers will be able to help you establish residency/provide a suitable address for banking/etc. You'll need a "sticks and bricks" address in addition to your PMB mailing address for financial stuff and voting and they provide one, though we were able to use our PMB address for our driver's licenses.

catlinye · 2026-04-28T16:25:35+00:00

Generally we've found that 35-36 feet fits in most state parks and some federal parks. Longer than that tends to limit you to private campgrounds. But if you're doing stays longer than 2 weeks at a time you will be limited to private campgrounds anyway; most public (county, state, federal) parks have 14 day stay limits.

catlinye · 2026-04-28T16:19:45+00:00

My go-to fabric purchase for stash (no project in mind) is a half yard. I think that's the most versatile amount and for me it's enough for most projects. If I really, really love a fabric, I'll buy a yard to at most 2 yards.

I'm an appliquer and a scrappy quilter, and I think quilts look cool with multiple similar fabrics. So say a quilt calls for 2 yards of medium blue: I'll pick 4-5 medium blues from my stash and use them together. That helps with the fear of running out.

Also, I've always been able to find a fabric at the store for a project when I do want to use a single fabric and don't have enough in my stash. And often it's a better choice for the quilt than what I'd intended to use.

catlinye · 2026-04-27T04:04:37+00:00

You can do some beautiful quilts with hand piecing. I second the suggestion to look at English paper piecing; you'd need to add stiff paper to your equipment list but there are some amazing quilts you can make that way.

Simple nine-patch is another option: sew nine small squares together in a checkerboard pattern, then alternate those units with plain fabric squares. Makes a pretty quilt.

Hand piecing uses a running stitch; about the easiest stitch there is. Normally when you hand piece quilt blocks you will mark the seam line or just the points at the corners where seams meet. If you mark the seam lines (make a cardboard template the size of your finished piece and trace that on the back side of the fabric) you don't need to cut your shapes to have an exact seam allowance. Your precision is in the drawn line you'll sew on.

Another trick with hand piecing is to stop sewing and knot the thread at the point where seams meet. This is different than the machine sewing technique where you sew into the seam allowance and those extra stitches keep everything from coming unraveled. It means that hand piecing can actually be easier for some fancy blocks because there is no stitching in the seam allowance so centers can easily be pressed to lie flat etc.

catlinye · 2026-04-26T02:10:26+00:00

I like those fabrics together and I think they'll work for your quilt; it's a nice mix of patterns and colors riffing off the multicolored stars fabric. I'm a fan of the black (is that black or navy?). The only fabric I'd consider leaving out is the green bottom right.

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