The quilt retreats I've been to are self-hosted, meaning we aren't organized by a quilt shop or guild. We rent a place for a 3-day weekend, usually a church retreat. We bring our machines, thread, seam rippers, scissors, pins, etc., a project or two to work on, snacks, music, slippers. Sometimes one of us will teach a technique we've learned, and we have a member who is a nurse, so we usually have a charity project we can work on for her to donate to the hospital. It's ALL voluntary, we don't have to take the class or work on the charity project if we don't want to. Meals are provided by the retreat center, which is awesome - no food prep or cleanup!

We have a bunch of folding tables set up in one large room, usually in a circle so we can see and talk to each other. We have 3-4 pressing stations at the outer edges of the room - ironing boards with irons and starch. We have 2 or 3 cutting stations with mats and various rulers. Some of us volunteer our boards, irons, and mats, so we all share. We utilize what we can for design boards, sometimes we just lay blocks out on the carpet in the center of the tables. For the sleeping arrangements, we have a couple of members who prefer not to share rooms, so we usually try to go to places that can accommodate us with single and double rooms. We have no set schedule. Sometimes we'll decide we need to get out, so we'll carpool to the closest LQS.

For projects, we bring whatever we want. Last time I brought a flannel 9-patch to work on. I had it all cut out and ready to go, so all I had to do was sew it up.

I love my quilt retreats. They are better than family vacations for rejuvenating my soul!

Lorraine, I also live in Utah and I am going to a retreat in April. The one I am going to is the one sponsored by Pie Plate Patterns, this is my third year, I just love them. What is the retreat you going to in April ? Kathie