Planning and prepping for retreat

What to take on retreat?

Oh, if I could only just live in pjs the whole time then I wouldn't have to worry about what to pack for clothing. It's hard enough to plan what to work on.

There is the never ending Hearts and Hands.  

I have about 50 or more of these prepped and ready to paper piece.

I pulled out a bunch of 9-patches that were from an exchange years ago and my goal is to find fabric for the alternating blocks and get a quilt top done in these.  

I have 133 of them.  So do you think I have enough?!!!

The rules of the game at the time were to make the 9-patches at 6" finished using Robin Pandolph fabrics.  

I think what has been holding me back on this one (other than the fact that I have way too many UFOs) is that I wanted to make a custom designed quilt.  

I even made a center, basket block.

This block was going to be the center to something "similar" to this quilt in a McCall's Quilting magazine that I have had rolled up in a bag with all the blocks.  The pattern is called Baskets Galore.  I didn't plan on making all those baskets since I had so many 9-patches, but something like this.  

I think I am changing my mind now...so many years later.  I just want to use up what I have.  

I even have a dozen blocks where some of the sewers did not follow the rules.

I think these gals just wanted to use up their fabric.  I think these will end up in a charity quilt or an NICU quilt.  Hmmmm....maybe I can do that really quick.  There are a dozen of these.  

So, anyways, I am now thinking of just adding a variety of floral alternating blocks.  I will make it a queen-sized quilt and need to figure out how many blocks I will need and then how much fabric I will have to purchase.  

Then there is the commissioned quilt I have taken on.  "I" don't need any "new" projects, but a co-worker asked for a baby quilt and I said as long as I had freedom to pick the pattern and the fabric, then I would go for it.  So.......

...I purchased this pattern on-line; and today picked up these fabrics for it.  

The first fabric is the binding, the letters are the focus fabric for the front AND the backing, the array of colors is for the little borders around the focus fabric, then there is the bone colored fabric to outline each block and the background is the soft green.  I am going to get this cut out and ready to go for retreat.  

I think that is plenty to be working on for a four-day retreat.  What do you think?  I can already see my Hearts and Hands being set to the side since making one of them takes so long and then  I feel like I have accomplished nothing.  Maybe I will have to make a pact with myself and set aside so much time each day to work on them or maybe one whole day dedicated to just them.  

In the meantime here at home, I have picked up the thimbles quilt again and have stitched on two borders. 

These were straight borders and easy peasy. (Just a reminder, I am doing this quilt by hand) 

The next two borders I am thinking I will have to applique the thimbles onto the borders because there is that zigzag effect.  

I still have to work out just how I am going to do this.  But two borders away from being done has motivated me to get it completed.  

Ok, so I think I am almost ready for retreat.  Now...I just need to cut out the baby quilt and figure out how much fabric I will need for the 9-patches alternating blocks and I will be ready to go.  

Better get packing,  Oh yeah......it's still 3 1/2 weeks away.  That's ok....I need to be prepared.  

Happy quilting!