Check before bringing your iron; some places to which I've been on retreats are afraid of allowing that much power draw, so the number of irons is restricted. The retreat sponsor should be able to inform you of some "don'ts." One item I don't have, but which I've seen others bring to retreats is a quilted item with pockets that sits beneath your machine (reducing noise); the pockets hang in front of you with small items such as seam ripper, with one that can be used for thread disposal. I'm hoping to make one some day, but probably won't get to it before the next retreat. Another item that I've seen some folks bring is a collapsing rolling wagon to transport machine and projects from the car to the retreat room in one trip.