Not OT: Am I crazy?

Easy..just take me with you, and together we'll get through the entire basket :)

-Irene

Take it all! DH and I went on a 4 day quilt retreat a couple of weeks ago. I:

1. sewed the binding on a twin-sized quilt to be given away the following week to a children's home.
2. finished a baby quilt top to be given away.
3. Completed a wall hanging for myself, that I hadn't planned on doing but I had all the material with me!
4. pieced 3 rows of a new quilt (after making a quick trip to a local fabric shop for background)
5. Gave to someone else some completed squares and coordinating fabric from a project I couldn't figure out, but she redesigned the top and almost finished it.

DH worked on his paper piecing top and appliqued 1 square for a quilt he designed.

The lady across from me cut, sewed and completed 1 large quilt top from all the projects she had brought.

The point is you never know how smoothly everything your sewing will go so take plenty and don't be upset if you only complete one project. Take time to walk around and see what everyone else is working on. You get great ideas and gives your back a much needed break!

Kathleen in TX

sounds about right to me :-)

I'm off on a retreat in march and will be taking at least 4 ready cut projects with me, I'll be taking a class and will probably hit the LQS there too (and so will have less time to work) but when I'm on a roll I can do 4 quilt tops in a few days if already cut. and ,more importantly who knows what you might want to do when you get there? sometimes one colour is better than others to suit your mood.

if you have the time to do a thorough sort out before you go, then I would, then you can have things organised and pressed, so you are ready to just sew, but if you don't have the time to dedicate to being very organised, then being partially organised seems like a recipe for leaving an essential bit behind, or just not wanting to do a particular project, so I'd go for either full organisation or bringing the whole basket along.

Anne

If you've got room, take it all. I like to take my own chair when I go to quilting retreats. I have an adjustable chair on wheels and the place where I go for retreats just has regular chairs.

Julia > Next weekend I'm going to a quilting retreat in Barry, IL. We bring our own

Bring the whole basket, and work on whatever moves you at any given time.

JMNSHO

On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:56:11 -0600, IMS wrote (in article ):

I'm happy to have you along Irene. Let me know what time you are arriving.

Maureen

On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:18:42 -0600, Bob & Kathleen wrote (in article ):

Good advice, especially about taking breaks. One thing that I definitely know has to go with me is a pile of blocks from a BOM I did in 2005. I'm definitely going to want some other "eyes" to help me put it together.

Maureen

Well, you could spend the first 2-3 hours of your retreat deciding what to work on. Or you could do some of that now. But no, you are not crazy for having started so much. For myself, I'd probably pick one project where I could reasonalby get the top fully pieced, then another few for different moods. Maybe a hand piecing one too, in case there's any down time. Roberta in D

"Maureen Wozniak" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@news.spf.sbcglobal.net...

You should definitely have a good idea of what you want to start working on -- perhaps prioritize your projects before you go. But I'd still take as much of it as you have room for, so you can be flexible if you run into problems with one of them or simply feel like doing something different for a while.

Julia > Well, you could spend the first 2-3 hours of your retreat deciding what to

On Sat, 24 Feb 2007 06:26:58 -0600, Roberta Zollner wrote (in article ):

Well, I reevaluated a bit today. So really I'm down to about 9 or 10 now. Which seems a bit more reasonable. If I'm lucky, I'll get one of them, a wallhanging, basted tomorrow. If I come out of this with something entirely finished, I'll be feeling pretty good.

Maureen

On Sat, 24 Feb 2007 06:47:42 -0600, Julia in MN wrote (in article ):

I've been doing at least some mental prioritizing. Out of the 9 or 10 I'm down to in the basket, 3 are ones I'd really like to get done. I'm really looking forward to this. I just hope the tickle in my throat doesn't turn into a giant cold.

Maureen

Oh! what a timely thread [pun not intentional, but what the heck, I'll take credit for it!]

I usually take a hand-work project, some thing that is piecing by machine, applique project. WIP with definite goals. If there is something I am doing but am undecided on colors or design, take the pattern and all your fabric choices along and get feedback from other people. Like someone already said, if you get your prep work done ahead you can devote your time to actual sewing. I like to see what others are doing, and look at their machines, but my machine is "Scout" my teal blue Singer 15-91 knockoff I got from eBay for $16. Straight stitch only, forward and reverse, heavy as all get-out but a wonderful little machine.

Take a lamp that will give you the optimal lighting for you. Take a surge protector and extension cords. Take your chair if you can. I also take my CD player so I can listen to that and "zone out" sometimes.

G> Next weekend I'm going to a quilting retreat in Barry, IL. We bring our own

geez, Ginger, i guess as you dont have to cook, you wont need to find room for the kitchen sink, eh. have fun, jeanne

On Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:44:59 -0600, Ginger in CA wrote (in article ):

Dont' think I'll have room for the chair, since three of us are going together. Hadn't thought of either handwork or my cd player. But my EPP project is very small and can definitely fit in one of my bags. I'm thinking of bringing a ball of yarn and needles to make yet another dishcloth (how many do we really need?) in case I need to do something truly mindless. I'll have to sort through some cds today to find a couple to throw into the mix. Or maybe I should just steal David's iPod.

Maureen, wondering whether to ask for the vacuum cleaner or an iPod for my birthday in April.

Maureen: Take the whole thing! It is good to have projects needing different tasks, so you can move around a bit. Cut here, sew there, etc.

You will want some 'easy' projects for those times when you want to talk and sew, or for when you are tired at end of day. You will want some more advanced projects for early in the day when you are fresh and bright eyed.

Have fun! PAT PS: PIP = ??

Maureen Wozniak wrote:

Howdy!

Wait a minute, wait a minute!!! Maureen, before you go: have we settled the question--- Are you crazy?

Ragmop/Sandy--nodding my head p.s. have a great time!

I am not known as a speed-sewer. My projects and goals fill a need inside me, and thank goodness I do not have to rely on my output craft- wise for a living.

To me retreats are a time away from the stress of everyday life as I know it, a time to re-connect not only with old friends but also with myself. A time to make new friends. A chance to learn new techniques or tweak existing ones. A reaffirmation of the very real need [for me, anyway] to create with fabric and words.

After my first retreat, I have been lucky to do a couple more of the Creation Station's Brown Bag retreats, and also a few single day retreats. After the first one, they are called a re-treat, for the gift I give myself to go to them.

G> geez, Ginger,

On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:30:44 -0600, Ginger in CA wrote (in article ):

What a nice way to think of this. Guess I'm not a speed piecer either.

I can't begin to say how much I've been looking forward to this. I'm going to start packing tonight. I've got scuba on Wednesday night, and we leave Thursday morning.

Maureen

P.S. the stash is currently under lock and key, an after the the 'puter, stereo, etc. theft precaution. Although, since the sewing room is also the QI's favorite playroom/napping spot. I'm sure for suitable bribes they will be happy to show any stash-raiding pirates where the key is kept.