Today's Quilter - UK (2020-01)

CREATIVE CORNER l sewing with others

A bitmore:

JoAveryhasbeen

quiltingfor 30

yearsandwriting

hercraftblogfora

wholedecade.She

runsherownfabric

shop,myBearpaw,

inEdinburghand

online,aswellas

teachinga range

of workshopsand

organisingannual

sewingretreats.

http://www.mybearpaw.com

@mybearpaw

bearpawcraftclasses

attendeescouldworkonoverthewholeweekend.We
combinedourfavouritetechniquestocreatetheFlower
Teacupblock,a mixofKaren’sFPPteacupandmy
flowerandleafappliqué.Thisretreatworkedsowelland
wassucha chilled-outexperience(evenforushosts),
whichwewillberepeatingagainnextyear– but that’s it,
I thinkthreeretreatsa yearis mylimit!

Whatareyouwaitingfor?
Ourretreatsbookupfast,butluckilythissectoris
rapidlygrowing,withmoreandmorenewsewingand
quiltingeventspoppingupeachyear– I wouldstrongly
recommendtryingoneyourself!Theyalltendtohave
a dierentcharacter,someoerspafacilitiesforthose
wantinga littlemoreluxury,othersencourageyouto
bring your own projects to work on rather than attending

a class,andsomeevenhavea wellnessaspectwithyoga

andmeditationinbetweenthesewing.I wouldadvise

gettinginvolvedearlybysigningupforanyswapsthat

areoeredorjoiningeventFacebookgroups.Thatway,

youwillfeellikeyouhavealreadymadefriendsbefore

youarrive.Myothertipwouldbetorememberyour

sewingmachine’sfootpedalandlead!Thisis theitem

mostoftenleftbehindonretreatsandI amevenguiltyof

it myself.Whateveryouchoose,I knowyouwillbenefit

fromtheexperienceofsewingwithothers.It’sabsolute

blisstobeawayfromyourusuallifefora dayortwoand

to spend time with like-minded folk who are sewing.

Createdwiththe‘tickets’
froma previousStitch
Gathering Retreat

Combiningalltheworkshops

froma weekendretreatproduced

this fabulous medallion quilt

ProudQuiltersafterKarenLewis’appliqué

workshop at the Thread House Winter Retreat

FormoreinformationonJo’sretreats,visit

http://www.stitchgathering.co.uk and http://www.thethreadhouse.co.uk