Retreat goodies
 

What type of items would you like to receive in a goodie bag from a quilting retreat? We usually put together a small bag for each member that attends our retreat. Do you have any suggestions of items you would like to receive? Or don't you think they are necessary to have? I would love to hear some of your thoughts please.

The last retreat I went to last month I got a fabric tote filled with an embroidered dish towel, mug rug with our name embroidered on it with matching mug filled with Kisses, cute chicken pin cushion, samples from Paper Pieces for hexagons, marking pen, pressing sheet, package of Titanium coated machine needles, and a coupon from a nearby quilt shop wrapped around a fat quarter. One retreat we were told to bring a goody bag filled with items of our choice. The bags were put on a table and everyone got to choose one bag. Everyone liked that.

I think they are nice, if there is something in there I really want. If it's just a bag of junky stuff then it's more work for you than its worth. The one quilt weekend I went to had a really nice bag but they are really large. We each got a fat 1/4, a pattern, pad & pencil or pen, coupons to the local quilt stores, a name tag holder that went around the neck, map of the college, survey for the end, I'm sure there were other things in there but thats what I remember. Some hard candy or mints would be nice. Oh, there were samples of different battings from Warm Co. They also had a table set up with things you could pick up. Guess it depends on how big your retreat is and how big the budget.

I like the idea of the pen or pencil & paper; small pincushion with a few pins; map of important things in the area....closest quilt shops (coupon from them would be extra nice), nearest emergency hospital or out-clinic, restaurants that do take out if you are not planning meals (most do) and closest WalMart, Target or other discount store; any other quilty ideas - patterns, copies of free patterns would be a bonus. And a name tag of some kind is a must, even if everyone is from the same guild. There will be someone there who just cannot remember everyone's names.

Don't forget the M&Ms....my group gives us a little bowl of them and tells us to take our quilting vitamins.

I always love getting a bottle of Best Press. Pen and paper are great.

Please check the post of Paperprincess on a mug rug bag. I would love to receive something like that with a bit of chocolate.

For our guild x-mas party each table (5-6) has a center piece that is then raffled off.This yr I'm making mug wraps that have little pockets to hold many items.You can put in a few quilting items,candy,pencils,etc,etc. Pattern is Simpicity 2450 Very easy and fast to make.......

I would like a nice tote bag (grocery bag size) or even a coffee cup with, something salty and something sweet, paper & pen, simple map showing quilt shops, restaurants, drug stores or Walmarts. Something else fun would be fuzzy socks. I'm a barefoot girl. I also love a pajama day. But that's not a gift item, just an idea. If everyone gets the same coffee mug, it would be nice to include a little tag with a ribbon that they can write their name on it.

For smaller guilds those retreat bags listed would be a huge job. We used to put things like needle threaders (for hand or machine) type of things in ours.

You could include a challenge FQ with a certain deadline, for a show and tell, on a certain date, then everyone meet up for coffee to compare results on the end date....

The purpose of a retreat is to get quilts done while still having fun and taking time out for fabric acquisition. You don't want the organizer or each person to have to put too much work into the retreat ahead of time while they're trying to plan and gather stuff to do. I might not be opposed to having each person make one something in advance to give out.

So, I would focus on things that are useful for the retreat - a ring pincushion (purchased), a wrist pincushion (made), a tote bag with the name of the quilt guild or the individual names embroidered on (if someone has an embroidery machine, Custom coffee cups, Chocolate, a thread catcher (a ceramic tile covered with fabric with a fabric pocket which hangs off the edge of the table and stays open). Lots of other good ideas here.

Chocolate, nail file, seam ripper, ...

This year we all brought bags with "retreat" items (see all items above, price limit $15) and played "dirty Santa". Everyone only had to bring 1 bag and left with 1 bag. In years past we have brought a yard of fabric and divided it between everyone there (ours is a small group). Most times we bring items to be used at the retreat (rulers, blades, marking pins, seam rippers ...)

At the retreats I had attended, we all brought a gift in a bag, whatever you wanted to put in it. Then the hostess read a poem for the game to get your new gift bag. The hostess read a story, while we all stood in a circle, that had us passing our bag to the right or left. The poems were always a riot to hear and our original bag never came close to getting back to us. That way you would only have to have a story with a LOT of rights and lefts in it, silly story works very well.
Let us know when you decide on what you will do.

What about one of these gauges? They are absolutely fantastic to see if people are actually using a 1/4 inch seam... And you can use them to do a fun little seam test at the start of your retreat. You give everyone 3 pieces of 1.5" x 2.5" scraps of fabric. You sew two pieces together along the long edge, and if you are using the correct 1/4" seam, the third piece if fabric will fit along the top exactly. Once sewn together, the square will measure 2.5" x 3.5".

I would put a small tube for hand lotions. A small box of coffee candy. Some sanitized hand wipes. Life savers, wintergreen or peppermint.

I think "goodie" bags are fun. The things I've gotten that I like the best were: Thread, Mini bottle of Best Press, Machine needles, and a thimble......lots of fun ideas here

Me too! Our Guild retreats have "favors" at each meal time--the giver will hang back while the others troop off to meal and when we get back there's a "little something"--a mug rug, a mini lotion bar(homemade); a cornbag heat pad(which caused a stampede to the microwave!); always at least one pin cushion, always a little bag of candies; a thread catcher, etc. It's just so amazing what the ladies come up with! The committee is responsible for the favors, but over the years, others also have brought a goodie so it makes it a bit easier.

The best retreat I've attended had no retreat bags. We went to work and work we did. We did bring snacks and goodies to see us through lunches which were not provided. I have never gotten so much done at a retreat or had so much fun! It actually was nice not to have extra "stuff" to pack up for my return trip home.

I think items that are 'consumable' for a quilter would be awesome! Like marking pens, paper templates, spray starch.

I also made some special beaded safety pins for myself that would mark the rows/column of my quilt as I was assembling it. I used jewelry pliers to attach a bead on the closed end of the safety pin (the part with the round loop). For first row it was 1 bead, then 2 for the second row, 3 for third, 4 for fourth, and then a special one for the 5th row. Then 6th row was special one plus 1 bead. If you had a small group I think those would be really special. Probably too much to do for a large group....

I love this gauge when doing binding for measuring the 1/4" from end of corner.
Jeri

The December 2014 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting has a pattern for a beautiful wrist pin cushion on page 114. The cushion is large enough to be truly useful, and the use of artificial flowers' petals makes each look a lot like a fully open peony bloom. I'll be making several of these as guild holiday party prizes.