Love Patchwork & Quilting - UK (2020-03)

Above:Jo's
ShutterSpeed
quiltforThe
Quilter'sPlanner
Left:Needleturn
appliquéis Jo's
favouritesewing
technique
Below:TheZen
Gardenquiltfrom
Jo'sbook,New
Patchwork&
Quilting Basics

hardlysleepthewholeweekend!But

Londonin Julywasanexpensive

weekendawayandI wantedtocreate

a similarthoughsmallereventin my

partof theworld.Sothefollowing

yearI hostedthefirstone-dayStitch

Gatheringin Edinburghwitharound

55 people.Overtheyearsthishas

settledto 90 participantswhichis the

perfectsizeforthisevent.It is as

popularaseverandeachyearthe

ticketsselloutquickerthanbefore.

A fewyearsbackLynne

Goldsworthy,whohadbeeninvolved

withtheoriginalFatQuarterly

Retreats,askedKarenLewisand

I if wewantedtostarta newretreat

venture.I jumpedat thechanceto

workwiththesetwolegends!Thefirst

ThreadHouseretreatwasin Bristolin

January 2017 andwehaveheldthese

annuallysincethen.Lynnebowedout

a coupleof yearsbackbutKarenand

I havecarriedonandnowinviteguest

tutorstohelpusteach.Lastsummer

welauncheda newsmallerandmore

intimateSummerRetreatin Yorkshire

andwewillbe repeating it again later

this year.

Whatcansomeoneexpect from

oneof yourretreats?

Eachretreathasa differentfeel,the

StitchGatheringis a reallyexciting,

busynon-stopdaywhereasthe

ThreadHouse,beinga whole

weekend,is morerelaxedandoffers

moretimetogettoknowyourfellow

retreaters.Buttheemphasisonboth

eventsis a relaxedandfriendlyvibe.

It hasalwaysbeenveryimportantto

usthatourattendeesshouldfeel

welcomeandvalued.Wealsowantto

shareourknowledgeandexpertise

(andthatof ourteachers)soexpectto

learnlotsof newsskills.Butmostlyit’s

allaboutsewingtogetherwhichis

sucha valuableandimportant

activity.If thereis a glassof wine at

handtoothenallthebetter!

Howdidyoucometodevelopyour

signaturestyle?

InterestinglyI can’treallyseeit asa

recognisablestyleeventhougha lot

of peopletellmetheycan.If I do

havea signaturestylethenit has

happenedorganicallywithoutme

beingawareof it. I justmakethe

things that appeal to me and so

Eachretreathasa differentfeel,buttheemphasison

eacheventis a relaxedandfriendlyvibe.Àt 'salways

been very important t hat our at tendees feel welcome