Launching the 2007 Retreat "Season"!

Let the madness begin! It's almost here. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, will find me with about 10 of my best friends at Miss Mary's Quilting Cottage. I've started a little stack of things to take. From the top down, I have:
1) Paducah Booth Hop Blocks
2) My Santa applique blocks
3) A strips and strings project complete with Kabinet Wax, ready to start sewing
4) Half square triangles, for "leaders and enders"
5) Kissin' Cousins quilt blocks to assemble
6) Millenium blocks, ready to sash and assemble (Way ahead on that one! Whoops . . . different millenium!)
7) Illiana Shop Hop blocks assembled, ready to set together
8) Florida Shop Hop blocks for 2005, assembled, and ready to set
9) Florida Shop Hop blocks for 2006, cut and ready to assemble.
10) A strippy Basket Block quilt top, ready to sew strips together
11) Perfume bottle blocks, ready to sash and set together
12) Pre-cut Contrary Wife blocks, ready to assemble
13) Kansas Troubles blocks in progress. I put some up on my fleece to see how they look. I like the way some of the red and white setting triangles look pink in the picture. I'm past half done with the piecing. Will have to think about borders.
14) Tea Pot blocks from The Quilt Company.
15) A blooming cup of Tea applique project.
16) A top that needs a few pieced blocks to make the border.

Since I will only be gone 4 days, I suspect this list will be subject to a great deal of cutting down. We chatted about renting a PODS unit to have our projects delivered, then putting our cars inside the unit, so we won't have to clean snow and ice off the windows. That was Marguerite's idea. I don't know why everyone says she's so dumb?

My sister-in-law, Jan, will be arriving Wednesday from Texas. She sent a box ahead, with her projects. We keep a featherweight and lamp, and most of the other tools she will need. She has a drawer in my studio where I stash things for her, and a couple drawers in the guest room for things she decides to leave here. We even keep a winter coat for her, so she doesn't have to haul it back and forth. When she comes off the plane, we will be in the terminal with the coat all warmed up for her.

I will try to take some "action" photos while we are in attendance at Miss Mary's. By Sunday, we should all be covered with thread, and happily exhausted.