Your Favorite Quilting Retreat
What’s your favorite quilting retreat? We’d enjoy learning about it.Why do quilters seek out these occasions to get together, quilt, and chat?
It’s a place to exchange ideas, share quilting stories, relax midst frequently scenic settings, and have no interruptions as you work on fabric art projects. Usually most of your meals are included in the price of the retreat, so you don’t even have to cook…simply quilt to your heart’s content.
These may be one day affairs, but usually include a stay of a night or two. They might even involve a tour of a quilt museum or quilt shops.
These are a variation or extension of the old-fashioned quilting bee when women got together for an afternoon of quilting, tea, and chat.
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POSTED IN: General Quilting/Patchwork, Quilting/Patchwork Retreats
6 opinions for Your Favorite Quilting Retreat
Barbara Veselenak
Oct 2, 2007 at 1:54 pm
I am the committe chair for our guild and we go to a retreat every year. i was hoping to find some information on what other people do to help us plan our next one. This will be the 4th retreat that I have chaired and could use some new great ideas.
One of my ideas is that you put about 10-12 sewing items into a quart canning jar and fill it with birdseed and put the lid on. Then tell everyone to find all the items in the jar. The one with all wins!
Helen H.
Nov 13, 2007 at 7:17 am
Hi Barbara: I have chaired a couple of retreats as well. Some ideas: This was a BIG hit a few months ago: at the beginning of the retreat we put out a jar and made an announcement that every time someone used a seam ripper, you had to put in 25 cents! We had LOTS of laughs about who was ripping, etc. At the end of the 3 days, a name was drawn and she won the money. There was $35.50 in it! That represented 142 rips from 19 people (only ONE never ripped - we let her draw the name!).
We had a “Myster Make it and Take it Project”. I had prev. made paperback book covers which are adorable! I gave out the supply list BEFORE the retreat and we spent about 90 minutes at the retreat making it. The retreaters had a finished project to take home - and something that could be used in the future for gifts.
We gave small doorprizes to: (the one who came the furtherest, the one who quilted her first quilt, the one who was the MOST persevering (she spent the WHOLE 3 days machine quilting one quilt for a wedding gift), the one who finished her Make it and Take it first.
I made rotary cutter holders for everyone using my embroidery machine for the front cover, and serged them. They look like eyeglass cases only bigger.
I have a “theme” for the next one in April and some things planned for that one — don’t want to give them out here as one of our retreaters might see my ideas and ruin the fun! I’ll be glad to email it to you if you want to write me.
Good luck. (I’d love to have some of your past ideas as well!)
Barbara Veselenak
Nov 13, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Helen
Thank you for your information. I would love to know what your next retreat in April is doing.
You may email me directly at pv516bv@comcast.net
Then we can correspond our secrets without any of our retreaters seeing what our upcoming retreats are all about.
Thanks
Mary Emma Allen
Nov 13, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Helen, thanks so much for answering Barbara’s question. You have so much great information here. I think other quilters will be interested in it, too.
Mary Emma Allen
Nov 13, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Barbara, thanks for asking your questions about retreats here. I’m pleased you were able to get an answer from one of my readers. It’s so rewarding when I can help quilters and find the information they seek…and put them in touch with others having similar interests.
Wendy
Jan 7, 2008 at 11:02 am
I would love to e-mail you for your ideas Helen, but how do I do that without your address? Wendy
ouelletg@nb.sympatico.ca
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