A Gathering of Stitches / Slow Fashion 2024
Wow…OK. Where to start? I taught last week at A Gathering of Stitches, which is a slow stitching retreat at Medomak Retreat Center just outside of Washington, Maine. This summer there were two “Slow Stitching” weeks and two “Slow Fashion” weeks and I taught at the second Slow Fashion week. It was a lovely experience from start to finish, and — as is often the case after I return home from something of this nature — it’s hard to put into words what the experience was like.
I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years, and think I can safely say I’m good at teaching. But that still doesn’t mean that I haven’t had a number of professional experiences that have challenged me over the years, and the lead-up to this one was hard for me for reasons I’m still trying to untangle. It involved travel, so I’m sure there was some level of travel-related anxiety involved, but for whatever reason (just got back from a big international family trip? hadn’t been staying on top of my usual stress-management routines?) I had a lot of “I don’t know if i can do this” / “what was I thinking?” / “why did I ever say yes?” going through my head the week before. Maybe it was self-doubt, imposter syndrome stuff? It doesn’t really matter. New things can be hard.
As soon as I arrived, though, it was clear it was going to be a really fun week. Samantha Hoyt, who runs the retreats, is a tremendously fun and welcoming human and I love that she is all about creating connection and a space for makers to gather and create together. Big Mama Bear Energy from that one. The campers were all super chill and fun to get to know and talk to; I was picked up from the Portland (Maine) airport by two campers and we had the best time riding up together. The other two teachers, Stacey Taylor and Jessica Marquez, were amazing - I knew Jessica because she had been an instructor at Squam, and had followed Stacey online for a while, so it was very cool to be on a teaching team with them and meet Stacey for the first time. And Ruth Collins, the creator of #TopDownCenterOut, the method that Stacey was teaching, was there to assist Stacey with fittings and it was a real treat to meet her and get to know her.
For this retreat, I developed a new curriculum, How to create Patchwork for Apparel (using scraps), and taught it to three groups of about a dozen campers over the course of the week. I’m happy with how it went. Everyone seemed pleased with the session and managed to put together a cool piece of patchwork that was unique to them, and some campers even managed to get started on a garment using the pieces they had made and finished them over the course of the week. The AGOS schedule leaves a break day at the middle and at the end for swimming, stitching, napping, etc, plus there is free time every afternoon to swim or rest. All meals are provided, and the accommodations and campus at Medomak are rustic and cosy, and beautiful.
Here are some of my photos from the week:
Most of these pics of of the barn where I taught my classes, campers’ patchwork projects, and even a few finished garments. If you click on each of the images (in the blog post) you should be able to get a better view of each one.
It was a true honor to be asked to be a part of this special experience, and I really hope to return!!
If you think you would like to attend AGOS, you’ll need to sign up for the newsletter so you’ll have a heads up when registration begins next year. You can do that at A Gathering of Stitches website, you can also follow Samantha on Instagram.
PS. If you’re into this type of thing but you don’t sew, Squam Arts Workshop might also interest you; I’ve written about my most recent experience attending Squam here.
Finally, there are many other specific retreats out there for all sorts of different things: writing, painting, knitting…you name it! If you are a creative person and are craving this sort of thing, there is something out there for you. Find your people, find your place; it’s important to connect with other people who share your interests. Go for it!!
