Final run from Colleen's packing shed on Salt Spring Island • In 14 active carts • 27 left
Colleen's Hand-Quilted Camper Van Weekender
Colleen's Hand-Quilted Camper Van Weekender
Dispatched within 2–3 business days
90-day money-back guarantee
Free shipping across Canada
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Colleen's Hand-Quilted Camper Van Weekender
Hand-Quilted In An Old Apple-Packing Shed On Salt Spring Island
Colleen Sinclair, seventy-four, Salt Spring Island, BC. Forty-two years of the same bag, by hand. This is her final collection — her neck won’t bend over the quilting hoop any more.
“In 1971 I hitchhiked from North Bay to the Pacific. Twenty-three rides, and five of them were painted vans. Every bag I’ve ever made carries one of them.”
— Colleen Sinclair, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
What arrives
The Weekender
One hand-quilted bag in your chosen design
Numbered Tag
Hand-written, stitched into the inner pocket
Colleen’s Note
Which 1971 ride your design comes from
Plain Packaging
Packed by Rory on the old sorting table
Four things a machine can’t do
Ten Stitches To The Inch
Quilted by hand in a wooden hoop, the way Agnes Purdy taught her in 1971. Eleven hours a bag. The tight stitching keeps the bag in shape for decades.
A Real Van From 1971
Every design is a painted van that stopped for Colleen on the Trans-Canada. Cut and sewn on by hand, piece by piece. Never printed.
The Full-Length Grip
The handles are padded all the way along, not just in the middle — comfortable on the long walk from the car to the ferry.
The Two-Ferry Size
About 22 litres, under 2 pounds. A weekend of clothes. Fits as a carry-on on most domestic flights and lies flat in a full trunk.
“Hand-quilting at ten stitches to the inch is the old prairie standard — it’s what kept farm quilts in daily use for fifty years. Almost nobody works at that density any more, because it can’t be sped up. What Colleen Sinclair makes is a piece of that tradition you can actually carry.”
— Dr. Janet Halloran, Textile Historian, Western Canadian Quilt Heritage Project
Five designs, five rides from 1971
What people actually use it for
Why it outlasts the store-bought version
✓ Eleven hours of handwork. Cut, quilted and finished by one pair of hands in one packing shed.
✓ Proven at thirty years. A bag bought in 1996 has been to Jasper every summer since. One new zipper pull in all that time.
✓ No two identical. A wheel a little bigger, a flower slightly to one side. That is how you know a person made it.
✓ Cotton and polyester batting. Soft in the hand, keeps its shape packed full.
✓ Wraparound zipper. Opens wide, so packing is easy.
90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Colleen insisted on it: if it isn’t right for you, send it back within ninety days, no questions asked. She wants these bags out on the road, not in a closet.
A word on handmade. These are not factory pieces. The placement of the van, the wheels and the flowers shifts a little from bag to bag, and the quilting lines are not machine-straight. That is the point, not a fault. This is a final collection — when the shelves in the packing shed are empty, there is no restock.
Details
| Material | Cotton outer and lining, polyester batting |
| Construction | Hand-quilted in a wooden hoop, ten stitches to the inch, hand-cut applique |
| Designs | Five: Flower Power Caravan, Sunset Strummer, Stay Wild Forest, Coastal Surfer Camper, Cherry Blossom Glamping |
| Dimensions | 18 × 9 × 10 in (45 × 23 × 25 cm) |
| Capacity | About 22 litres — a weekend of clothes, a wash bag, a book and a thermos |
| Weight | 820 g (under 2 lbs) empty |
| Opening | Wraparound zipper, padded fabric handles |
| Carry-on | Fits most domestic carry-on allowances — check your airline |
| Care | Wipe with cool water and mild soap, dry flat out of direct sun. Do not machine wash. |
| Made by | Colleen Sinclair, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia |
| Made since | 1984 — 5,400 bags in the ledger |
| Shipping | Free shipping across Canada |
The Last Run
The Last Run
A note from the packing shed:
Colleen Sinclair has hand-quilted camper van weekenders in an old apple-packing shed on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, since 1984 — 5,400 of them, every one quilted by hand in a wooden hoop at ten stitches to the inch and logged in a ledger that starts at #001. Every design is a painted van that picked her up when she hitchhiked across Canada in 1971.
Fifty years of looking down at the hoop have worn out her neck. Her hands and eyes are fine, but she can only bend over the work for two hours a day now, and a bag takes eleven. So in 2023 she closed her honesty stand and spent three years making one final batch. That final run comes to 480 bags. There is no restock, because there is nobody left to make them.
Free Shipping Across Canada
Free Shipping Across Canada
Free shipping right across Canada
- Dispatched within 2–3 business days
- Every bag is packed by Colleen's grandson Rory and mailed from Ganges, Salt Spring Island
- 18 × 9 × 10 in (45 × 23 × 25 cm), about 22 litres, under 2 lbs empty — a full weekend of clothes
- Fits most domestic carry-on allowances, and it lies flat in the trunk
- Hand-quilted cotton with polyester batting, wraparound zipper, padded fabric handles
- Spot-clean only, air dry, no machine wash
- 90-day money-back guarantee — just email info@craft-folk.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@craft-folk.com. We answer Monday to Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday mornings 10am–1pm Pacific Time. Every order is packed by Colleen's grandson Rory on Salt Spring Island, so if you need something changed before it goes out, just say so.
Can I return it if it's not for me?
Can I return it if it's not for me?
Of course. 90-day money-back guarantee. Take it away for one weekend, and if it isn't right for you, email info@craft-folk.com within 90 days for a full refund. No forms, no argument.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Colleen quilts every bag by hand in a wooden hoop, at ten stitches to the inch — the rule her teacher Agnes brought from the Saskatchewan quilting bees. About eleven hours of handwork each. Cotton outer, polyester batting, and the tight stitching is what keeps the bag in shape for decades. The van on the front, whichever of the five designs you choose, is hand-cut and sewn on piece by piece. Never printed. Each bag carries a hand-numbered tag stitched into the inner pocket.