Does your quilt guild offer a retreat? If you haven’t been because you’re nervous let me highlight why you should be going to a retreat. Indy Modern Quilt Guild has been hosting a retreat for five years and we have had newer members join us each time. Were they nervous at first? Absolutely.
1. These are your people
Quilters get each other. We understand your obsession with a designer or getting sucked into a quilt-a-long. This is a place where you are among people that understand that need to create. You all may have different styles, but that’s part of the fun. You also get support, see #3.
2. You have time to create
Time away from home, your commitments, and potentially Wifi give you that time to tackle your sewing list. Maybe you want to make 4 quilt tops, maybe you want to quilt a massive quilt you haven’t had time to do, or maybe you want to tackle a pattern that you may want help with.
3. You have support
You have built in help over the weekend. Not sure about a design choice? You can get instant feedback and make a change. We like to call it quilt by committee at our retreat.
4. You can try new tools
Is there a ruler you’ve been wanting to try? A machine you’ve been eyeing? Good chance that someone on the retreat may have it and let you try it out. At our recent retreat someone was struggling to sew a bag on her machine, so another member offered to let her try her machine. It’s the machine she’s been contemplating buying. Now she’s saving up for that machine. Hello free test drive on something you will make.
Someone brought their Accuquilt cutter. I had not played on one and tried to use it. Ugh, not my jam right now. However, someone else used it to cut into a fat quarter bundle she wanted to play with.
5. Girl time and time with friends.
I don’t think many of us get enough girl time in our lives. A retreat is a wonderful opportunity to truly connect with someone else. Learn about their lives, hear their story, and start supporting them. Some of my close friendships were bonded at the retreat years ago.
Bonus if someone brings things to help you relax. Facial masks, a massager, and/or wine helps.
The next time your guild hosts a retreat, go! Don’t hesitate because this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on.