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Today I am heading out to a Quilt Retreat with a small group of women who I have stitched with for over 20 years! Whether you are new to retreats or you have been going on them for years, they offer a chance for empowerment. I am not only talking about retreats...as in packing up and heading out to sew somewhere other than your home, but also a self imposed retreat at home. The noun retreat means to go to a place where you can be alone and get away from it all. The issue with a retreat at home in my case, is that the house tends to put up a racket...laundry is crying to be done and meals are waiting to be made. At a quilt retreat that is not in your home, you don't have to cook or clean...you can eat cereal for dinner, LOL. But then, you may be more disciplined than me.
Having spent the last few days packing, prepping and going over lists for the retreat, what I realize is that when you designate a set amount of time for stitching, you want to be organized and productive...especially if the retreat is not at home. Over the years our retreats have evolved from traveling several hours and shop hopping along the way, to renting a house just down the road where you spend less money and get more done!
My process for getting ready is to get my laundry basket out (aka project basket). Then I decide what the focus of the retreat is going to be...this means I have to really look around my Bee Hive and decide which projects are making the most racket. This retreat I decided to focus on the many tops I have done and plan on doing some quilting. Which means getting the batting and backing ready! I prep my handwork ahead of time so I only have the joy of stitching and relaxing.
Before you even leave home you start to feel the power of the retreat. As you decide which projects to take you are reacquainted with projects you forgot about and slowly your sewing space starts looking a little more organized!!! Before getting ready I couldn't see any surface in the Bee Hive but as I slowly started prepping, digging and reorganizing retreats projects I found my cutting mat, LOL.
I will check in next week with a full accounting about how much power was released from retreat!!!
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Love,
Mary in Texas
I just got back from a four day three night retreat about 2 hours from home. First day I made an improv design for a backing. Second day I prepped four quilt tops to be quilted, one including my improv back. Then started finishing two block swaps incorporated into one top which was finished by day three's end.
Then I started to think of laying out another set of blocks before heading to bed. But first cleaned up my work space. Oh I also prepped background strips for an appliqué border.
Next morning I looked at my swap quilt and did a bit of restitching on a wobbly border and decided to leave the blocks of the next swap alone. Time to go home not start another project and get dtuck in rush hour traffic. Good choice has we had heavy rain and windstorm start as I got home.
Have a great time at your retreat Anna!
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