Getting Ready for a Quilt Retreat

I haven't had much time for sewing lately. I am prepping to attend my first quilt retreat. Over the last few weeks I've struggled with what to bring along. Since I'm new to a retreat, I did some online research as to what to expect. The first thing I took note of was that it is suggested that you cut all your fabrics before you go so you are ready to just sew. That was helpful to know, but I still didn't know what projects I would bring. Then over the weekend, I just had this crazy notion; don't try to complete projects that are already started, just start fresh. So I dug out some of the patterns on my 'want to make' list and matched up fabrics to go with them. It was so fun.

Since I worked in a quilt shop, cutting quilt kits was something I am comfortable doing. I went crazy pulling fabrics, cutting, and prepping everything into individual kits. After a few days of prepping, I had 7 kits ready to go. I am certain that is overkill but I have to say, it was a liberating process knowing some of my favorite fabrics were going to get used up.

Before I cut these kits, I was sort of paralyzed as to what to pack. Now that I know what I will be sewing, the packing part has become much easier. I know what size blocks I will be squaring up so I know what size rulers to bring, what color threads to bring, and everything else is falling into place. So my lesson learned was to pick the projects, then pack the supplies and equipment.

After all that cutting, my garbage bin sure looks pretty - ha!