Vacay

I’m on Vacay.

What? My age was showing. Again.

Apparently — according to Google — “vacay” is a colloquial term for a vacation or short leisure trip taken for relaxation and enjoyment.

Ah. Gotcha.

Did you know the last two weeks of July are some of the most popular vacation weeks of the year? Yep. Whether you’re packing a suitcase or enjoying a staycation (a vacation spent at or near home), we’ve got the perfect little quilt project for you.

Home on the Road — Free Pattern Download

From July 15 through July 31, you can download our Home on the Road runner pattern — absolutely free.

Measuring 44″ x 17″, this playful runner features a mix-and-match combination of blocks: traditional piecing, easy paper-piecing, and raw-edge fusible appliqué. You can create all the blocks or select your favorites to customize your project.

Want your project to look just like our sample? We have kits available featuring the same cheerful fabrics, including the adorable travel trailer print from Riley Blake Designs, for only $45.99 plus free shipping.

Go to the 2025 Sew Along page and scroll to the end of the July 15 post for the pattern download link.

The Story Behind the Pattern

I first designed Home on the Road in 2016 for a Shop Hop. It was a free Row Pattern for visitors to In Between Stitches in Livermore, CA. Shop Hop participants collected row patterns from various stores and then assembled the rows into a quilt.

When Riley Blake Designs released this charming travel trailer fabric line, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I rewrote the pattern — I’m a much better pattern writer now than I was nine years ago! — and added borders to turn it into this delightful runner.

We printed and tiled the full size runner to double check appliqué sizes and paper-piecing templates. KC was lending a hand, I mean, nose.

A Road Trip Through Your Stash

Want to mix it up? The Home on the Road pattern’s blend of piecing, appliqué, and paper-piecing makes it perfect for using up those favorite scraps you’ve been saving for just the right project.

When I’m on vacay, I buy fabric as a souvenir. Have you done the same? I have fabric from Vancouver, Canada, to Key West, Florida. I recently pulled out some manatee fabric I purchased in Clearwater, Florida, to sew a Grocery Tote for a young bride. She loves manatees. The grocery tote is not a Material Girlfriends pattern but a free download that uses three fat quarters. I found Crystal’s instructions to be easy to follow, and I had a cute gift in a very short time.

With what fabrics would you like to sew during your staycation? Is it a fabric bundle that made its way to your door from Discovery Bay, California? Or sea turtle batiks you picked up in Maui?

After Lora made the kits for the Home on the Road runner, she used the border and coordinating prints to create 3-yard kits. Our 3-yard kits include an additional 1/2 yard for binding. They are so cute! I might make a couple of grocery totes for myself out of one of the kits. It would also be very nice made up in the 3YD Bravo pattern too. 3YD Bravo showcases border prints so well. It’s hard for me to decide. What would you sew with this cute vacay fabric?

Souvenirs

Fabric is my favorite souvenir. Do you collect any memorabilia on your vacays? Did you notice the cute salt and pepper shakers on the Home on the Road runner? Lora has a salt and pepper shaker collection from all over the world. The cute travel trailer set on the runner was from Lake Tahoe, California.

I’d love to know what you collect. Visit us on our Facebook Material Girlfriends Gang page. Share a picture of your current project and tell us what treasures you’ve brought home from your vacay travels. Do you have travel fabric purchases too? What is the furthest piece of fabric in your stash? We’d love to hear from!

Shopping!

Enjoy free shipping on all orders over $35 at the Material Girlfriends online Shop. We’re also having a wonderful sale on our Etsy shop! All digital download patterns on the Material Girlfriends Etsy shop are 20% off!

Come see us in person!! Mention this blog and we will give you a free Material Girlfriends 3YD pattern ($8.99 value) with any purchase at our booth at the Delta Quilters Show, August 9-10, 35 Oak Street, Brentwood, California. We hope to see you there!

Happy Trails!