What quilting projects do you take to a quilting retreat?
 

Just wondering what you take when you go to a week-end quilting retreat. I've taught all day classes on a specific block or quilt but never gone on a week-end quilt retreat. I know sewing machine, iron, etc but what kind of projects?
Thanks

I am going on a 4 day retreat next week. I am taking 2 - 3 projects. I try to have everything cut and ready to sew. I do not take anything that is tedious to work on. I live easy projects so I can start and stop to visit with others. I am taking materials to make an Irish Chain and also to make a Chevron quilt as shown on Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial. Have fun and enjoy your retreat, I know I will mine.

I'm leaving in a few hours - can't wait! There are so many projects I wanted to bring that I had a hard time narrowing it down. I ended up with fabric and pattern for a queen sized quilt that I designed a while back and have been wanting to sink my teeth into it. I know I'll need a few breaks from it, so I also brought a few blocks (okay, about 20) all kitted up and ready to make. Since the retreat is right near my LQS I can always pop in there if I get bored with what I brought. I just loaded my quilting stuff in the car and only have to shower and pack - yippee!

I'm going this next week to a week long retreat! I go to several a year. I take mindless sewing projects that I can chain piece or sew big blocks. Too much gabbing and fun going on to concentrate on math and matching. One project I do, have a ten minute blocks all cut and ready to sew. I give one block kit to each person and ask them to make it and sign it. It doesn't take them but a few minutes and many haven't made one before and think it's great.

I try and have things mostly cut and ready to sew. The main things I don't take are paper piecing and any actual quilting. Paper piecing just makes a huge mess and you generally don't have a huge amount of space to quilt anything very big.

To the last retreat I took a bed runner that all the paper pieced blocks were done and the rest just needed put together, a small paper pieced wall hanging that just needed put together and a shop hop quilt that hadn't been started yet. I got the bed runner together, the wall hanging together and all but 3 of the shop hop blocks done.

Bellaboo, I like the idea of the 10 minute blocks for everyone to make and sign.

If it's my annual week long retreat I take a variety of projects - sometimes blocks that need assembling into a top and I don't have the floor space at home + 3 or 4 quilt projects that are in various stages lrading to done.
Next month I'm on a 3 1/2 day retreat I'm taking a mostly already cut queen star quilt and a twin sports quilt for a teen aged boy, already cut.

I take way too much when I go on retreats. My fear is I'll run into an issue and won't have anything to work on. Or I'll get bored and want to work on something else. One year I took 4 quilts which just needed finishing up -- a few rows added or borders. Got them all done. Haven't done so well since then. This past year I only worked on one quilt -- I made setting blocks to go with my sampler blocks and started sewing the top together. I didn't get it finished, but it was close.

I try to get all the cutting done ahead of time if I'm working on a new project. I want mindless piecing so it's easy to pick up again after getting distracted by all that is going on around me.

And I learned we always take CHOCOLATE :)

Snacks are very important to take to a retreat. I am always worried that I will run out of things to take so I pack way too much. My favorite thing to do is to take my UFO's and see how many tops I can get finished in one weekend.

Everyone always brings too much snacks. That's for sure. I notice one gal brings quite a few quilts that are almost done. I think that is smart. She just has a little work to do and they are finished. I brought a kit and had to cut it out and sew it and had most of it done by the end of the three day weekend, but I didn't get to enjoy visiting as much as I would have liked to, because I wanted to finish the dang thing. So, for now on, I'm bringing works in progress. I think that is the smart thing to do. I notice a few gal do that. Get their UFOs done. Maybe take one quilt in case you want to work on a whole quilt, but you always find yourself gabbing and admiring what everyone else has brought and drinking wine and eating and time just flies by. It seems more about the comrarderie than the actual quilting. We always run to town to a quilt store or two also. So, bring extra cash.

I am going on a five day retreat next week. I am taking a Debbie Maddy project that is precut for a two day workshop.
I hope to finish that top. I am also taking my Star Struck quilt blocks to sew in rows and add the borders. I will also take my My Blue Heaven blocks to sew in case I finish the other two projects. I love coming home with tops finished except for the long arming.

and of course wine!

retreats have power cuts too--take some hand work embroidery hexagons etc-+-camera got some great pics from my last trip

I have my 1st Crafting retreat coming up on November 2nd-4th, 2012!!!

I'm SUPER excited!!

I'm taking any sewing/quilting tools I think I might need (including 2 sewing machines, just in case), and all the projects I need to get done for Christmas.
Which include:

1 full-size 9-patch quilt
4-6 doll/action figure quilts
as well as several other multiple sized quilts...

I know what I won't take next time--a large cutting mat, an iron, and so many rulers. My guild provided all of those items and more. I learned that less is more. I will also bring my coupons and samples of fabrics I am trying to match because we went to a huge quilt store daily.

I agree with the simple, easy projects that are already cut out. Chocolate, check! No wine, though - we usually end up at church retreat facilities and they don't allow alcohol, which is a bummer.

One year I brought an applique project that I had cut out. I sat with my paintbrush and my starch and got all the edges of every single shape prepared and ready for sewing. It worked out great! It's such a tedious job, but since I was doing it while chatting it went quickly. Another year I brought a simple flannel 9-patch, precut, and had a finished top by the end of the retreat.

I don't think I know anyone going to my retreat...and I'll be going in an empty car...so I better fill it up!!
lol

I usually take my UFO's. It is a great way to get them finished. Last retreat I went to in May, I finished 3. It felt sooo good.

Whatever I take it is precut! I just plain 'ol don't cut well with others. I'm too distractable. Also, I don't want others telling me how to do it. I bag my projects so that I can easily find what I want.

I like projects that can be done with the chain piecing method. It seems to go faster for me that way.

If there is a TV at the retreat site it is also nice to take some handwork that you can do while watching your favorite show or movie with friends.

ali

If I am taking my machine, I make myself a kit with everything all cut out. (I do take the extra fabric in case I have a whoopsie) Sometimes, I just prepare a lot of hand work if I don't want to lug everything on a plane. Have fun!

I take something that is simple and all pieces are cut out and ready to piece. Nothing complicated or anything I have to "figure out".

I usually lurk and don't post, but I did want to add something. I try to take already cut and ready to go stuff so that I feel confident in what I am doing, but sometimes I also take something that makes no sense to me at all and ask for help. The retreat I go to is at a small bed and breakfast in Hamilton NY and the owner specializes in quilt retreats. She can only take about 6 participants and so with such a small group it is easy to get help and feel good. I always come home refreshed, excited and feeling good about my quilting abilities. I just went there last weekend; now I am back to the real world of work and trying to fit in some quilting.

This reminded me of a retreat I went to - one of my friends brought a pattern that NONE of us could figure out!!! It looked deceptively simple, but the instructions were not clear and it was incredibly hard to figure out which way the pieces were supposed to go from the illustrations. There were 14-15 of us standing at that design board, reading the instructions, turning the pieces this way and that. 200 years of quilting experience in one room, and we could not figure that darn quilt out.

QB is great, you are giving me so much to think about. Counting down to next Friday. It sounds like most of you take pieces cut and ready to go sew/quilt. We will be on the Oregon Coast and plan to walk on the beach and take many pictures. And of course, CHOCOLATE, I don't drink wine but other do and that's fine for them.

Wow, that's definitely time to hunt up the designer and get clarification and let them know nobody could figure out the instructions!

Somebody almost always brings a pattern or quilt they're stuck on to retreat to get help figuring it out.

Thanks Peckish and Scissor Queen, taking a difficult pattern is a good idea, even if I don't take the fabric to make it.
QB is great:)

I try to bring UFO's, unfinished objects. That way, some of them get done! LOL :) My friend runs a retreat for us gals twice a year, and we agree before the retreat on a quilt pattern to all work on as well, or she will teach us a new pattern. On my first retreat with her I had packed SIX UFO's plus the fabric for the quilt she was going to teach us. I realized no way was I going to be able to do all that in 3 days!!! Over-reaching again! Or, maybe being optimistic. So, I brought 2 small projects and the one we were learning and that was just right. But, even if you bring more than you can work on, you can still have a show and tell with your projects. I hope you have fun!!!

Always UFOs. It's the only time I have for finishing these up. And, like others mentioned here, plenty of them so I don't run out of things to do. Better too much than not enough!

I agree with the posters above. Cutting requires a lot of room which may not be exclusively yours during the retreat. Short jobs and trimming are fine but cutting out a whole quilt can be problematic. I like to take projects that are cut out and organized or come in small increments like a set of blocks of the month. Do one at a time.

Some retreats are cramped for sewing space too so for those retreats I dont want to be trying to manipulate a whole quilt while sewing large borders. Again blocks or small projects are great.

If you have any kind of back issue, consider taking your own rolling sewing chair. Mine is big but fits in the back seat and I roll it into the retreat. Only one retreat I go to has comfortable chairs with back support.

Dont forget your clothes like I did for the last retreat. Got 3 hours away from home and had to backtrack to meet up with husband and get clothes and medicine. Dont lock your keys in the trunk like I did a couple of years ago. Easy to do. I was lucky and had most everything out and he overnight mailed me a key.

They are truly wonderful vacations. Oh, and try not to do too much. After one hard working retreat, even with stops and chats, I was in terrible pain for a week getting over the bad chair, bad posture, too much repetitive motion while sewing a whole quilt of paper pieced string blocks. Never again will I work so hard and so long.

Am going next weekend to a retreat and I'm in charge of chocolate! I plan to take only 2 things: a quilt top to mark for quilting and a table runner to learn how to cut. I plan to mostly quilt as my GD is graduating from college in Dec. and I have a beautiful top ready for quilting. When else can I find 3 uninterrupted days to quilt? Have fun, everyone who is retreating right about now. May the gremlins leave you alone and may you accomplish lots.

Last year I took Christmas projects, including felted wool mittens, pillowcases, napkins and table runners. EVERYTHING WAS PRECUT AND READY TO SEW. Be sure to have all the correct threads, needles and extra fabric that may be needed. Someone on an earlier post said NOT to bring rulers, an iron etc., but unless you've been there before, and know for sure that those supplies are there for you to use, I would bring ALL of that. The place I go to doesn't provide anything but the ironing boards and a couple irons. Even if they do have all of that there, you might find yourself waiting in line to use them. Have fun wherever you go....there's nothing like it!

I go to a UFO camp in July and almost everyone brings UFO's. In September I go to another one and just take projects I want to work on. Like many others I take more than I can finish but that way I never run out. Usually I try to precut but didn't get that done this year so I worked on small projects I could cut at my table.

By all means, be sure your name is on whatever equipment you take. No matter what you think, it does get all mixed up. At one retreat, I "lost" a ruler that had my name on it. Turns out it was buried under a pile on my retreat neighbor's sewing table! Since it had my name on it, I was able to reclaim it.

If you are driving, take more projects than you might get done and leave them in the car. If need them or get bored can take some to car and exchange for another one.. I host retreats in my home for up to 8 people, and they do that and it doesn't get in the way of others in the sewing area. Great time to get help if needed but don't forget other want to get things done too. have a great time.

I hadn't thought about putting my name on everything and I didn't think about taking my clothes.......clothes are a good thing to remember!

I have only had the opportunity to go to one but I learn much from my guild friends before I went. Take all work precut as has been mentioned many times. Make a list of what you use when you are quilting and take it with you including extra machine needles, bobbins, thread and scissors and rotary cutter and mat. My guild actually passes out a list of basics that often get forgotten when going on retreat. It is usually the obvious that we forget. I brought my own iron but we did have 5 or six ironing stations spread about the room. I won't take it again.

I took my cues from the pros that bring four or five either UFOs or projects that could be finished in a day like sudoko or D9P and get'em done. It feels so good to throw open the door at home and have three finished quilts or three finished quilt tops that have been nagging at you. If you forget a ruler or other tool, you and plan on someone having something you can borrow. Oh, yes, label your items. I have seen many a ruler with a return address label on on end. Items wander and can't find their way home even on one day work days let alone at a multi-day retreat.


I found that I took too many projects. I did not want to become bored by one so I had 5 and only worked on one all week-end. Most important, enjoy your time, the friendships and comradeship at the retreat. It is worth the price of the event.

I too, am getting ready to head for our guild's annual retreat. I have one main project, all cut out, and many small ones. I always take way too many projects with. But, like someone else said, I may have an issue with one, or get bored and don't want to not have something to work on. Don't take anything that takes lots of brainwork. Way too much talking, laughing and drinking going on to take something that isn't an easy project.
We have a meeting before hand to see who is bringing what food items. Always need snacks. We have to bring our own bedding, it takes up lots of space, but needed.
Thread, can't have too much thread. I like to do thread painting things, so I always have a large selection of thread with me. My mind is spinning with ideas on what I have to pack. I better get my list out.
Don't forget your machine cord! One gal did that and had to go home for it.
It is always such a fun time, enjoy!

I am going to a retreat on monday. Good to have all these reminders. Everyone is saying easy projects but I have to have 12 blocks made by the end of the month and this is the only time to do them. They are the most difficult thing I have done. Oh well, we all do what we have to. I think I will get the binding ready for a quilt so I will have some hand sewing to do. I might take some knitting along too. This retreat is only about 4 miles from my house so I can always go home if I forget something. I'd better get busy and do some more cutting!