Tips to Help You Plan Your Next Retreat
By LindaJean Campbell
In this blog post, I am sharing five quilt retreat tips to help you provide a better quilting experience during your next quilt retreat. These tips address the five tips I feel are truly important when planning a quilt retreat or choosing a retreat to attend. I recently attended a quilt retreat hosted by Judy who owns a fabulous fabric shop in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and she rocked the retreat planning to supply participants with a great experience. We had so much fun! You can use these five quilt retreat tips to insure you have a great retreat experience, too. It all starts with planning and research.
From Hostess to Participant
Since I had hosted a quilt retreat last October for my online shop, Material Thingz Fabrics, I was truly looking forward to attending Judy’s retreat as a participant instead of as a hostess. I hope you will forgive me because this post is really pic heavy, but then, what quilter doesn’t like looking at quilting “eye candy”?
QUILT RETREAT TIP NUMBER ONE
Location, location, location! As you can see from the pics above, the quilt retreat location was beautiful, as was the lodge in which the retreat was held. We had 15+ in attendance. In choosing the location for the retreat I conducted, I considered many things–convenience, kitchen and bathroom facilities, ease of access, but most of all–PRICE! Afterall, we just wanted a central location to sew the days away while chatting with others.
My reasoning in choosing a less expensive location was motivated solely by cost effectiveness. I wanted to charge only enough to meet the retreat expenses since my retreat was the first get-together for some of my customers since Covid. My participants knew my motivations, but the location was a bit dark!
Look at the scenery above, beautiful, bright, airy! This is why my first quilt retreat tip is about location. I encourage you to look at venue pics before you plunk your money down for a deposit, whether hosting or attending. Consider the sewing area and sleeping areas. I promise you they are both important!
SECOND QUILT RETREAT TIP
Food…need I say more? I must say that the food we were served was magnificent. All the food was prepared by the hostess, her family, and helpers. The food was varied and met the palate of all the guests. I didn’t hear one negative comment. We had 3 squares a day as we say in the South. A great perk of choosing a location that has kitchen privileges and an extra hand to help with meals–no ordering in or premade!
TIP NUMBER THREE
Sewing time! The third quilt retreat tip probably has the most impact on cultivating a positive experience. Judy gave us plenty of time to finish UFOs, start new quilt tops, or other small projects. We shared patterns and the hostess had an array of patterns and precuts for purchase. We spent the bulk of our time sewing. Afterall, uninterrupted sewing time in the company of others is why we all attended.
Many participants had time to create more than one top or project. As you can see below, the projects and skill levels are all different. We even had a “brand new” quilter create her first project. We were all so excited for her and her completed top was so beautiful and precisely done, seams matching! Isn’t that what makes a quilting retreat fun? Meeting new people, learning new skills, and promoting our art is why we quilt.
Picture Proof of Retreat Success When Quilt Retreat Tips are Practiced
TIP NUMBER FOUR
Plenty of time for pictures. Taking pictures of each person’s creation or project is such an important process of any good retreat. You can just “feel” how proud each one is of her creation. It builds community to honor the participants by taking pictures of the quilts. This quilt retreat tip may not seem important, but it carries a lot weight with quilters.
The quilts and projects sewed during this retreat ranged from donations to worthy causes such as Quilts of Valor to gifts for loved ones and friends to ‘I’m making this one for myself’. Picture-taking does take some time so make sure when you participate in a retreat there is plenty of free time scheduled into each day for pictures.
QUILT RETREAT TIP FIVE
Lastly, recreation opportunities. As you see in the picture below, the lodge included the use of a pool just off the back deck. After a long day of sitting at a machine, relaxing in the pool was much appreciated as was the free time spent in getting to know other quilters.
Many hostesses pack the schedule with activities such as visiting local shops (you can see many different shops showcased on this shop hop post here), time for games, or time to visit the area sites. These are important, too. But, Judy from Remember Me Quilts, planned an open schedule that was just right for our group and that is why this quilt retreat tip is important to me and others. Although we do love to sew and create, we still need some R&R time and not just a packed schedule of activities. A good mix of relaxed, self-selective activities is best. And, yes, I felt comfortable enough to sew in my jammies all day. No shame!
I hope you will take time to visit Judy’s brick-and-mortar shop and my online shop, Material Thingz Fabrics and More. Are you planning an event for your fabric or quilting shop? Need help with the planning process? Contact me, I have planned business events for over 20 years for all ages, themes, and venues. Join my email list and receive a free budget and event planning worksheet by filling out the form below. These worksheets will help you meet the goals of the five quilt retreat tips.
Want to know more about this retreat site? Visit Riley’s Outfitter Resort, we stayed in the Buffalo Vista Lodge. It sits on White River where it meets the Buffalo River in Arkansas
