Quilt retreats and classes in my area are few and far between right now. For my sanity, I needed some quilty fun with other like-minded folks. An invitation to join a virtual quilt retreat appeared in my inbox. It worked with my schedule and the price was certainly right so I signed up. A small retreat swag packet appeared in my mailbox a few days later.
I really wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a fun time.
The meeting “location” involved a private FB group and 2-3 daily Zoom calls lasting about 90 minutes each.
As with a regular sewing retreat, you choose your level of participation. I worked on personal projects while I listened to the conversation and would stop to chime in when I felt I could add to the conversation. Participant sewing experience varied widely and the wealth of knowledge in this particular group was wonderful. People were very willing to share their knowledge and expertise with the entire group. I credit the retreat organizer with creating such a warm, trusting environment for attendees.
Prizes and giveaways were really nice. Each evening Zoom session had a giveaway, as did the Bingo game.
Surprisingly, I accomplished quite a bit on my sewing “to-do” list. The retreat organizer runs an online quilting group whose purpose is to keep quilters moving forward on projects. I definitely benefit from/need this type of accountability.
Would I do this again? Yes. My preference is certainly for F2F retreats; however, I did enjoy the real-time interaction with fellow quilters this virtual retreat offered. That’s the part I find missing in online quilt/sew-al-longs.
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 