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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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The Mobile Living Room

October 22, 2013 4 Comments

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The Mobile Living Room - Hands Occupied

Keeping two dogs happy on a road trip is no easy feat!

Being from North Dakota, the most important car lesson I learned growing up is winter travel safety. A survival kit including food, water, jumper cables, snow pants, and more is essential. With both sides of my family living a 12+ hour car ride in opposite directions, my husband and I have developed our own survival kit of sorts for when we bring the dogs for the long haul. Our survival kit helps make our dogs feel at home in the back seat of our Kia Optima, our mobile living room.

The Mobile Living Room - Hands Occupied

A shot from last winter’s drive home to North Dakota for the holidays. Brr!

Our doggie car trip survival kit:

  • seat belt harnesses – Ours hook into the human seat belts in the car, and we can clip their leashes to the harnesses before unhooking the harness from the car. That way, there’s no risk of them jumping out of the car in a strange area.
  • leashes & poo bags – The potty break essentials.
  • an old sheet – To simplify car cleanup.
  • a foam dog bed – The better for them to sleep!
  • 1-2 favorite toys per dog – Help keep boredom at bay.
  • rags – Keep snow and dirt out of the car.
  • food & water bowls in the trunk – A dog’s gotta eat!
  • treats in the cab of the car – For 2/3 to 3/4 through the trip when the pups really need a bit of something good to power through to the end.
  • a paper cup in the cab of the car – It’s easy for dogs to get dehydrated on long road trips. My dogs will barely eat or drink among all the distractions at roadside gas stations. The paper cup in the car trick is a necessity in my humble opinion. Pro tip: If you stop for some human sustenance at a drive thru, save your cups. You can tear the top 80% off by hand and fill it with some water (or snow!). Your dogs might think it’s a fun treat and not just water.
  • doggie booties (optional) – If you’ve got a dog with particularly sensitive-to-cold paws like my bearded dog Storm, you’ll want to remember to toss in dog booties. Nothing’s worse than the guilt of hearing your dog shriek in pain when ice gets in the pads of their feet.

The Mobile Living Room - Hands Occupied

This post is sponsored by Kia.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored Tagged With: cars, dogs, keep dogs happy on a road trip, kia, road trip, sponsored, the mobile living room

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Lael

    October 26, 2013 at 10:53 am

    You’re not stoking up Storm on a latte–are you?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 26, 2013 at 3:58 pm

      It’s just water, I swear! :)

      Reply
  2. Chrystal Johnson

    November 4, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    We also include a “Doggie First Aid ” kit . You never know when you may need one while traveling or even out for a day trip to the dog park or beach.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      November 4, 2013 at 4:08 pm

      Good call!

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010
🧶 Really into intarsia
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop the latest patterns ⤵️

Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts
At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater At long last! I can share the Spiral Hill Sweater Vest, my contribution to the new book Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: The Official Knitting Guide to Halloween Town and Christmas Town, out now! 🎃💀 
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I’m hosting a knit along (KAL) October 1-29 for anyone who’d like to knit this vest along with a group & learn a little about intarsia while we’re at it. I’ve got weekly tutorials planned to help you knit this worsted weight sweater vest, and there’s a prize package giveaway at the end for KAL participants too. Details are on my site - you know where to find the 🔗 I think. 😉
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Book by @tanisknits 
Publisher @insighteditions 
Yarn @brooklyntweed Imbue 
Find it wherever fine books are sold. 
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#handsoccupied #nightmarebeforechristmas #intarsia #sweatervest #knittingpattern #knittingbook #spiralhill #knitting_inspiration #knitting
Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs Since there was some interest in stills of my WIPs closet after this weekend’s quick tutorial, here are few. ✂️ The tutorial is one post back in my feed as a video.
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As you can see, I didn’t worry about the wire hangers all being perfectly uniform, but it doesn’t matter to me. Also, this closet holds a lot! Despite that, it is already at capacity. Since the hanging bags don’t appear to be recyclable, I want to reuse them as long as possible. Who knows, maybe this will be a way to limit my WIPs? 😅
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P.s. In the third photo you can see how I use this system to store the original swatches, scraps, yarn ball bands, & notes from a design project all together. 
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#handsoccupied #wips #craftstorage #yarnstorage #yarncrafts #knitting_inspiration #craftstudio #craftroom #craftcloset
How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with jus How to convert a closet into WIPs storage with just a few supplies ✂️
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When I was a librarian, we would use these hanging bags to circulate books with audiobook CDs. They came to mind when I wanted to develop a filing cabinet-like system for my differently-sized WIPs. To fit in my studio closet, a standard bedroom closet, they just needed custom hangers. 🤙🏻 
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HOW TO MAKE THE HANGERS
1. Carefully cut approx. a 9” (23 cm) length of flexible 3 mm aluminum wire.
2. Near the end of a large knitting needle or dowel, wrap the wire around it as you would a twist tie. 
3. Bend the other end into a hook shape, perpendicular to the circle shape you just created. 
4. Hang like a hanger in a closet, as shown. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadelife #knitting_inspiration #craftcloset #craftroom #craftroomorganization #craftroomstorage #craftroomdecor #crocheter #latchhook #knittersofinstagram #wip #wips #hangingstorage
It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! T It’s time for the monthly review and giveaway! This go around, get to know two new sister yarns from @manosyarnsusa, Marla and Sami, and enter to win a skein of each to try for yourself. 
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What makes these yarns sisters is that, while dyed differently, they’re the same weight and come in intentionally coordinating color palettes. For my review, I opted for a sky-inspired combo of Sami in Natural and Marla in Nube. 🌧️ 
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Check out the full review & enter the giveaway at the link in my bio. 
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#handsoccupied #yarnreview #manosdeluruguay #knitting_inspire #crochet #yarngiveaway #knitters #yarn #crochetersofinstagram
If only knitting a whole project took 39 seconds… 😮‍💨 
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In this video, you can see how the Intarsia Flower Pillow pattern knits up - two flat panels, one with intarsia, both are blocked, and then they’re seamed. Find the pattern on @hi.ravelry & my website, just search Intarsia Flower Pillow. 🌸 
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P.S. I’m really smiling in this video while seaming the pillow, so I guess I’m proving last week’s claim that I truly enjoy that sometimes-dreaded task. 😆🫣
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