What do you do on a quilting retreat? Are they always large ones in hotels or are they sometimes in people's homes? Are there certain standard activities or do they change depending on the venue? So you do anything other than quilt? Well, of course, I know you eat chocolate, but other than that? Obviously I've never been on one, and I'm just wondering. Thanks!

I've never been - but I bet it would be an absolute blast! Lots of home made sweets, lots of laughter, trading of fabrics and maybe a little bit of sewing :)

Been to several. Try to take a project that you already have cut out and can work through to completion or just sit and sew obw hexagons together. It is really nice to do something that is kind of boring so you can talk to your friends and forget that it's boring. The good thing to remember is there is no one calling for food or hand me a tool. No distractions so you can concentrate on what you want to do.... sew.
It is a great way to make new sewing friends too. We find that the same group usually ends up coming each time. You will pick up a lot of little tips if you are having a problem. Always someone there to help.
Hope you will try one.

our guild has 2 a year. We hold them at a christen camp. They start on Friday morning 8 am to Sunday 3pm. FUN FUN FUN. We rent a wonderful lodge. http://www.wildernessretreatcenter.com/lodges.html it has room for about 25 and the basement is perfect for sewing. They provide the tables and ironing boards and even hung a line to hang our finished quilt tops on completely around the room. We set up two ping pong ball tables to cut on and each have a folding table for sewing. We have one wonderfully talented guild member that designs and writes a mystery quilt. Every body brings things to work on until the mystery begins at 4 o'clock on Friday. We will have 2 or three demos during the weekend. We divide up the meals so your group only has to prepare one meal during the weekend. Saturday we have a masseur come in and she is wonderful!!! We have a raffle basket, gift exchange, games, some of the girls play cards, go on walks. It is the best.And it is in 2 weeks. Yea

Ive been to two and we 'quilt till we wilt'..... sew all night long, stay in our pj's, talk about anytyhng and everythng and just have a blast

I've been going for years. Sleeping is dorm style - 3-5 beds per room with several rooms. 2 huge buildings to sew in. Large dining hall where meals are provided to us buffet style. Lots of natural all around so we could hike or whatever. I always bring 2 or more projects in case I get bored. One gal brings tons of projects in various stages--some just need a border or binding. Lots of fun chatter; challenges for charity quilts; prizes and just tons of fun with old friends and new friends. Always organized and definitely worth every penny of the $250 for 3 days. If you've never been, you have to give it a try. You won't ever regret it.

What is a"guild" what do they do??? thanks

SEW/SEW/SEW. EAT/EAT/EAT. LAUGH/LAUGH/LAUGH. SLEEP.SEW/SEW/SEW. EAT/EAT/EAT. LAUGH/LAUGH/LAUGH.

I do believe you hit it right on the nail!!!Plus have an awesome time with friends you haven't met yet. :)
Sass

There is a guild in your area - Truckee. Just google Quilt Guilds Nevada and you should find the Truckee Quilters Guild. You might try checking it out. Good way to meet fellow quilters always willing to teach and share.

Are the retreats ever small groups? Just maybe 5-10 people?

I want to go on an "Elm Creek Quilt" Retreat - like in the books...my own room in a Victorian house with beautiful quilts on each bed. A Gourmet chef to tantalize my pallet and entertainment that will keep me laughing....then some outstanding classes by world renown artists! And it only cost $150 for a week! :thumbup: ;-) ;-)

You can organize your own retreat with as many or as few people as you want. You need a place big enough for each person to have 4-6 feet of sewing space, space for designing, an ironing board. I have organized several retreats for as many as 25 ladies. Some places let you bring in crock pots, some places expect you to use their catering. Motels have community rooms that they will rent to you. Or maybe your church will let you use their space in the middle of the week and you all sleep at home. Lots of options. The most important rule is: HAVE FUN!!

I go to a retreat every spring that is just 5-7 people. It started out as 2 friends and their daughters and it has expanded to include a granddaughter, a sister and a friend (me!). All we do is quilt and talk and laugh from 4pm Wednesday until late in the night on Friday and then we spend Saturday shopping before we head home on Sunday. We take turns making meals at the cabin we rent and then we eat out for 3 meals. It is so much fun and I look forward to it every year!

same here, 2x a year at a someone's home

We started what we hope to be an annual event with 4-5 of us, 1st week or second week of December. We gathered at a friend's home who has a big basement and a DH who set up good strong work tables and extra power outlets. We each brought a dish of food or treats and we sew and eat and sew and laugh all day, listening to Christmas music. For 2010, we picked the same pattern (a tote bag) and had it all cut by the time we gathered, then sewed on it during our special day. It was so much fun to all be working on the same thing. It was fun to see what different fabrics our friends had chosen and it was great to have each other there as you got to a phase or step in the project. Only one of us finished that day..miss speedy pants who always finishes first..haha but I know I finished mine a few days later, and might never have had such a great bag if I hadn't been a part of it. Great fun.

All it took was someone saying, "hey why don't we get together and just sew all day?" Oh and I just realized.. its one of the bags in my profile pic... the bigger one was the Christmas 2010 bag, so there you go.

It sounds like so much fun. I'm thinking...

yes...I went to one a few weeks ago at an old historical house that holds events, there were 6 of us, did all the above mentioned, and, the house was haunted! Great fun! I think I slept 10 hrs the whole weekend! got 3 quilt tops completed, a little infant dress and headband and quilted one top. Was a blast! You should give it a try! You know how us quilters are, never meet a stranger! Right?

I go to a bunch each year. One is at a wonderful BandB with all meals provided. One is Gwen Marston's in upper Michigan and we stay at a lodge and get our own meals. ne is a group of various crafters that has been meeting at a convent retreat center for decades. I have traveled to Arizona, Alaska, Ohio, etc. for retreats and use it as an excuse to travel.

I work on whatever I want to and as much or as little as I want to. Love them. Wonderful women and a great vacation.

I've been to two. I took way to many projects to the first one. I did get some sewing done, but spent a LOT of time talking, laughting, eating and walking around the room looking at everyone else's projects. A ton of fun!

Here is what I'm thinking. We have a home that is located on the side of a mountain, no other homes in view. A spring provides all our water, The view is of three ridges. We have auctions in town, a historic Inn and restaurant down the road, three little quilt shops, one owned by the fabric designer. I have three extra queen size beds and one king. Maybe I could hostess a weekend? I am new to quilting and have so much to learn. I feel like I could learn more in one weekend than in a year trying to figure it out myself. AND I'd surely come away with new friends. But maybe those are self serving reasons to try to put one together.
Do you think it would be safe to gather a group of women who have never met before? It seems like most of the small ones have grown out of already established friendships.

We are having a retreat her in May with 12 of us plus one - a baker's dozen. I go to some that have up to 35 people. I think you can also search on here for retreats and read more. And what happens at retreat, stays at retreat. LOL.
Sewing, eating, visiting, shop hopping, door prizes, gifts from other attendees, dancing, little sleep, lots of games, more sewing, more eating. Absolutely fun. And the small ones are good too at your homes. 3-4 Never do three. It's not a good number. Remember , our moms used to tell us? Have fun and plan a retreat.♥♥

I agree 100%. Elm Creek Retreat!!!

They all sound like fun.

We're having our annual retreat on April 30 in the fellowship hall of a local church. It is conveniently located, no steps and great parking. We'll have three workshops, games, lunch, and fun and let's not forget prizes. Everyone will win something because it's set up for all to leave with a prize. If the quilters want to participate in the workshops they can but if they prefer to work on their own projects that's cool, too. It's a day for fun and relaxation. We have increased our participant number to 25 this year due to popular demand.

I went to my first oine a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. We did a mystry quilt that one of the ladies did the pattern for us. We also did a quilt of valor. I never have has such great fellowship and fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know of any retreats in Maine around the Lewiston area.

Actually, Jean, I remember a place that advertised at the Maine Quilt Show this past summer. I think it was around you. If you google the show, you might be able to find info. Good luck!

My guild has one every year in April. I just went last weekend! It's at a nice hotel. We have two rooms to sew in, one for a mystery,one for sew on your own. All meals are buffet style and are wonderful. I've gone for 8 years and this year I did more sewing than ever. Finally picked an easy project that I could sew on and talk, too. We had so many laughs! Great fun...

Thanks lot2do, I'll try that.

LQS has a winter (January, not fun when we have to drive in the snow) quilt retreat. I have been going for 8 years. Big sewing/dining hall, cabins for sleeping and food provided. So we can sew to our heart contents and sleep if we want.

Plus a few friends have decided to have a small 'retreat' at one of the gals beach house. 4 of us went in the fall and 5 of us will be going next month :) We each are in charge of a meal of two. We try to visit the two shops in the area and might take ourselves out for dinner. Very casual, but fun.

The OR/WA quilters from our Quilters board get together. Last year we had seven from the board and had such a good time! We are getting together again in June and already have 11. One of our dear Board members finds us a house at the beach and we split up the cost. It looks like we will all just bring what we want to eat and sew again this year. It worked last year-and I'm sure it will work this year as well. There were only a few of us that new each other from our previous get together but we got to know new ones as well. It sure was a lot of fun.

We made new friends, ate alot, laughed alot, and sewed alot, came back very happy!

We used to get together at least twice a year at someone's house. We would start quilting on Friday night and stop Sunday afternoon. Lots of good food, good company, interesting conversation and sharing of quilting experiences. I miss them now that I have moved away.

A Quilt Guild is a group of quilters that get together regularly for meetings. They vary from small informal ones that meet in the members homes and medium to larger ones with formal rules, elected officers that meet monthly in a school, church, fire house, etc.
It's a place where quilters can learn new techniques, attend workshops and/or retreats, make charity quilts. Just being with others who understand your passion for quilting is the biggest bonus it think. May in Jersey

If you're looking for retreat centers, check with your local quilt shops... they may very well have their own or can provide you with info on the locations in your area

I've never been on one either but we met up with a group on a Maine retreat at a remote quilt shop. They were a hoot and I wished I could just join the group and go back to the retreat because they were having so much fun.

If you have a quilt shop that would assist in organizing it and spreading the word - sounds like you have a good idea.

I have never been to one, though our LQS has one every year. I don't go to that as it is at an expensive, swanky place that I really don't care for. I have been to two Mancuso Quilt shows, and did enjoy those classes, but would be interested in having a get together with other quilters and sewsewsew, laughlaughlaugh, eateateat......

I've been to three retreats. They have been at "retreat houses". These are businesses where an actual house has been converted for this purpose. There are several bedrooms and bathrooms. Fully stocked kitchen (everything but food), all linens/towels were supplied. There was a large room w/tables, chairs, lights for each person (12 in our case), as well as pressing and cutting stations. I can't wait to go again this fall.

Jennifer Chiaverini is wonderful, in person when she reads the books to a group you almost forget that they are fiction

I love retreats. I host retreats in my home for 5-8 people and I do the cooking. Once a year 3 friends and I load up and I mean load up a yukon and head to NC to another friends for a week and we sew we either order in or make meals ahead for cooking. this last fall we taught her 2 11 yr old boys to quilt they love it and are doing great... just have fun..