How Quiltworx Retreats Work

How Quiltworx Retreats Work:

Retreat check-in begins at 3pm. Many students arrive on their own schedule throughout the afternoon. Attendees are invited to get to know each other and settle in during this time. You are welcome to set up your sewing machine and sew during this time as well! Dinner is served around 6 – 6:30, and is followed by an orientation and trunk show by Judy!

Class officially begins the next morning. Judy usually arrives in the morning between 9:30 and 10 am after breakfast is finished up. She spends her days working with the retreat attendees and usually leaves sometime after dinner. What time she leaves in the evening varies depending on her work obligations.

Judy often stays for the evening to socialize with her students, and is frequently joined by her husband Del. Their daughter Judel is instrumental in orchestrating the retreats and is frequently in and out of the retreat center. We are a family oriented business so you may also get the opportunity to meet Judel’s children, or other family and friends while staying with us. We feel that this gives you an opportunity to gain insight into who Judy is!

Everyone is welcome to keep their own sewing schedule while staying with us. If you are an early riser you are welcome to take advantage of the sewing room as soon as you wake up. We also have many retreat attendees that sew well into the night!

You are required to bring at least one project ready to start sewing on. The pre-cutting on many of Judy’s patterns takes quite a bit of time and space. While there are cutting stations available, there are not enough for all 10 students to cut out their fabrics at the same time. This also allows Judy to get everyone started sewing right away. She can then focus on questions, demos, and teaching technique much faster. You are welcome to choose any of Judy’s patterns to work on. Many retreat attendees also choose to bring a couple different projects to work on, especially if they have questions on projects and would like Judy’s insight.

We provide cutting mats and ironing pads for each sewing station, but you will be responsible for supplying your own iron for your station. We have several pressing stations available in the room as well. We have Judy’s favorite paper piecing tools available for sale, along with basic sewing supplies such as Mettler Thread and Schmetz needles. We also have a large selection of Judy’s patterns available. If there is something that you would like and don’t see it we would be happy to bring it from the office.

Judy spends an afternoon during the week taking interested students on a tour of two of our local quilt shops: Quilt Gallery-Bernina, and Glacier Quilts. They usually stop at the office as well so that everyone gets a chance to see where we work. If you are interested in having Judy help you select fabric for an upcoming project she will be happy to help during this time!

We allow you to run a tab for your patterns and notions while you are staying with us. Checkout is scheduled for the end of the retreat, and you will be required to settle up this amount by check, credit card, or cash. Check with the retreat house staff on when Checkout is scheduled. This is usually done the last teaching day of the retreat.

Meals are served during the following time frames:

Breakfast: 8:30 – 9
Lunch: 12 - 12:30
Dinner: 6 – 6:30

We do our best to serve meals at these times, but occasionally situations will arise to postpone them. (i.e. food is not heating fast enough, catering delivery was late, etc.) We do our best to keep these occurrences to a minimum, but they do happen.

You are responsible for making your own coffee in the morning. A lot of our retreat attendees are early morning risers and are ready for coffee long before our staff arrives.

There are plenty of snack options available. If you are concerned about having a certain item on a daily basis, please notify us ahead of time and we will see if this is a request we can accommodate, or if this is something that you will need to supply yourself.

The last morning is a very light breakfast of fruit, yogurt, etc. Many of the ladies have different departure schedules, some very early in the morning, and we find it best for everyone to help themselves to a light breakfast when they are ready.

During the retreat we provide light housekeeping. The sewing room is vacuumed daily, and the rest of the house is attended to as needed throughout the retreat. We also have laundry available for your use during your stay. We ask that you provide your own laundry detergent. We provide staff to serve meals, clean up afterwards, and take care of the dishes. We want your focus with us to be on enjoying yourself, not on household tasks!

If you have additional questions or concerns about how our retreats are run please feel free to email them to shila@quiltworx.com or call the office at 406-314-4340.

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