Quilt Retreat Getaway
Quilting and attending Quilt Retreats go hand in hand. Attending a quilt retreat provides a nice community with other quilters. It provides an opportunity to learn from your quilting peers and make new friends. People with similar interests in quilting attending the retreat provides the environment for encouragement and comradery that make a great quilting retreat.
During a quilt retreat, each quilter will bring their own supplies; including but not limited to their sewing machine, all their quilting supplies, and quilt project or projects (sometimes our hopes of finishing are far greater than reality). Retreats are often held at a hotel with a large dedicated conference room for everyone to set up their own sewing working station. These sewing rooms are full of natural lighting and plenty of room for creativity.
Quilt Retreat Stations
A quilting station would usually include a 4×6 foot table (provided) with your own sewing machine, your fabric cutting board, all your rotary cutters, your own fabrics / sewing project(s), thread and bobbins, plenty of machine needles, a iron and ironing surface along with all your quilting tools to name a few. Some of these tools might include an additional desk Ott Light, a portable speaker to listen to music, several bins of projects with patterns and of course plenty of snacks for sharing.
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Why a Retreat
The idea of a retreat is to allow as much dedicated time to sew within the company of your friends. There are very limited distractions that you might encounter at home. During the retreat, while working on a project, your sewing neighbor is just feet from you which allows ability to discuss quilting ideas or ask for assistance when working on a pattern that has some difficulty, or just talk about anything your heart desires.
Most often these dedicated rooms are available 24/7 with ability to secure the room to ensure your belongings are safe while you are sleeping. For the early risers or the night owls, you can sew for all long as you like and take breaks when needed.
Another great benefit of attending a Quilt Retreats are the location. Quilting retreats are often held near or in Amish County {for me in Ohio}. This allows for the most gorgeous views from our sewing stations and authentic Amish owned and operated Quilt shops nearby to browse or purchase additional fabrics and patterns.
The view from the 3rd floor private conference room on the Inn at Amish Door during an Fall October Quilt Retreat.
A north facing view from the 3rd floor private quilting room in the conference center at the Inn at Amish Door.
When looking for a quilt retreat, check your local Quilt Guilds. Most all guilds schedule a retreat weekend in the fall and in the spring. In addition, often quilters will branch off and create their own independently of a guild; and when you meet friends that like a quilting getaway, you are sure to find people to join you.
To learn more about quilting as a beginner or how to find a Quilt Guild in your area, read Quilting for Beginners here.
Quilt on and Sharon the Moments
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