Quilt Retreat With No Electricity?
 

Has anyone ever been to a quilt retreat that consisted of only people-powered machines or hand sewing? It seems that a retreat where only treadle and hand crank machines were in use would be fun, and a great opportunity to use vintage, antique, and modified machines in a group.

CD in Oklahoma

That would be fun, CD!! The TOGA's are kinda like that, but we don't do much sewing. Mainly oogling and demonstrating the non-e machines.

I can see hand sewing. But the thought of transporting a treadle machine ... {eek!}

We don't need to go to a retreat with no electricity. We got four functioning treadles right here. We just do our retreat at home LOL.

Joe

CD, You must live too far to attend a TOGA. It is worth at least one trip to attend if you haven't already done so. Are you talking about just having a retreat without the other stuff that happens at TOGA, i.e. raffles? Although, I'm sure you want the potluck meals!!!

I too would like to see an event that is just about making quilts with the treadles or HC. I have a HC that I could bring. But since I prefer to treadle over HC, I would drag my straight-leg and Singer 328k to such an event. Those two are light enough to transport.


I should join my local guild to see if anyone there is interested in such a gathering. Are you a member of a local guild? Maybe something could be started there.

I’ve been to one TOGA (NETexas) and enjoyed it very much. My wife and I hope to go again this April. There were several treadles there last year. We hauled two down, one was a sold delivery and the other was a swap machine that eventually became a raffle machine (I didn’t want to haul it home). Others hauled in their treadles for both sales and demos. There was hardly a time when someone wasn’t sewing on a treadle during the 2-day event. I’m a hand cranker, so my wife and I took turns sewing on a Singer 185K that I’d converted to hand crank shortly before that trip. That one, and my hand crank Featherweight that usually goes along with us since I got it set up.

Most of the Retreats that I’m aware of are “ladies only” and not co-ed events like the Togas, so I wondered if the ladies ever had PP (People Powered) retreats. I’m talking about the ones where they get a block of rooms at a resort hotel or something and stay for a couple of days and a night. Seems like they could potentially have their sewing area outdoors for part of the time, which could be interesting in some settings. I like to sew outside when the weather is good, although it’s usually just in my yard at home or in the alley behind the shop. I sewed a hip pocket back onto my coveralls with a hand crank Singer 66-1 in a motel parking lot one evening while staying out of town on a job though.

CD in Oklahoma

I took a HC Singer 99 camping once - does that count

I don’t see why not! A get-away is a get-away! And a sewing retreat in a camp ground is just what I’m talking about. Or... at the beach, or... in the Maple trees in Fall, or... in a wheat field on a warm & breezy day....

Well, maybe not IN the wheat field, just next to it in a pavilion or something....

CD in Oklahoma

I'd love something like that, but would limit it to taking my handcrank, as for something like a weekend retreat I would think it would be a hassle to transport one of the treadles...maybe not tho...thinking about it, the Davis isn't terribly heavy...and it's not attached so it wouldn't be hard to remove and replace for transport.