Unpacking

Sometimes when I go to retreat it feels like I am moving in! Husband asked if I planned to come home. Ha

I have a nice bag on wheels that hold my machine and a few other things nicely. 

There are a few things that only get used at Sew Days or Retreat so they live in the bag in between outings. I have more than one machine so one stays in this bag most of the time. I also have a seat cushion, a bag containing the power cord and foot pedal, a pincushion and thread catcher, All Together bag, and mini iron case. There are pockets on each side of the bag. They hold small tissue packets, rolls of hard candy, extension cord, Best Press, hand lotion and ibuprofen.

Here is all of it laid out so I can see if I need to replace anything and start putting away the things that get used every day.

I recently got a new case for my mini iron. Husband saw an ad for this come up in the FaceBook feed and said I needed one. I wasn't sure, but at the last Sew Day when one of the ladies said how much she liked hers I ordered one for myself.

I was able to load up my iron while it was still pretty warm without damaging the case. They case is hard and zips closed. 

In the yellow bag on the right you can see  bonus triangles and scraps that I always come home with. Going to the left are my cutting mat, wool ironing mat, a piece of shelf liner that keeps both mats from sliding around, wooden clapper to help flatten seams, small notebook, 6 x 12 ruler, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 ruler, pincushion with thread catcher, All Together bag loaded with small scissors, seam ripper, rotary cutter and extra blades, thread in white, natural, gray and black, extra bobbins, pencils, sticky notes, nail file, small screwdriver, extra machine needles and hand sewing needles and transparent tape. And, yes, I or one of my friends has needed every one of those items.  

In the green bag on the left is a large tote that held two of my projects - the flannel quilt and the Cow panel. Next is my sweatshirt in case I got cold. Sometimes the room we use cools off in the evening and on weekends. I didn't need it this weekend, didn't even put it on but you can see it has some threads on it. We all go home covered! Next is my Mondo bag holding Circle of Life in a pretty box and my insulated lunch tote which has snacks, a large thermos that gets filled with ice and a smaller thermos that gets filled with ice and a beverage. I also take a few beverages - usually water and bottled tea - that get stowed in the fridge there. Below that is a folding, wooden TV tray. One of the other ladies has one. She picked this one up for me at a garage sale this summer after I voiced an interest in having one. It folds up, is easy to haul around, is just the right height and handy to have next to my sewing area for pressing blocks as they are completed. I use the big iron that is set up for everyone to use to press seams as I sew rows together. 

It is now all put away. I will get caught up with household stuff and be ready to work on projects tomorrow.