Last week, was Sewtopia Atlanta and I attended. What can I say, it was so awesome. My best retreat ever!! Will I attend again? Absolutely, if my commitments allow I would like to attend everyone from now on!!
[Personal Project: WiP: Maze & Vale + AGF Denim]
For those that don’t know, Sewtopia is a sewing retreat which happens twice a year. The first event of the year tends to be structured as partly class, partly open sew. The second event tends to be only open sew.
It was the first time I have every roomed with a stranger. Corrinna was the best room-mate ever, and totally alleviated my concerns of maybe not knowing anyone. She was not the only new friend I made, it was such a great event for making new or building on existing connections.
The weekend kicked-off with me scrambling to finish hand sewing my binding on my Michael Miller Challenge item, before the 3pm Cotton + Studio Tour. I did finish it just in time. The studio tour was amazing. All the ladies from C+S were there and answered our questions, we saw their new line and their studio/work space is just amazing!!
[Denyse Schmidt: My Single Girl Block: Blue Scraps+Lizzie House Print]
The classes were Denyse Schmidt’s Free Wheeling Single Girl and Elizabeth Hartman’s Frances Firefly. Both instructors were amazing and so friendly. I managed to contain my fan-girl moments :-), as they spend a lot of time with each student. The classes were well structured, and since both were block based you could decide what kind of project you would make. Look, I got to practice curves which I just recently learned in Melanie Tuazon’s curve class.
[Elizabeth Hartman: Frances Firefly: Cotton and Steel + Carolyn Friedlander Carkai + Katarina Roccella Avant Garde + Essex Linen]
Other than the special events, the other things that made this the best retreat I have ever gone to:
- The wonderful and friendly staff
- The great balance between activities and open sew
- The stress-free, friendly environment
- The optional challenge and swap activities is greatly appreciated
- I enjoyed the catered lunches
I can’t wait to my next Sewtopia retreat (here’s hoping for a spot at Austin, if not I will see you all at Denver)!!
Have a great weekend, all. I am hoping to get some quilting time in.
Factotum of Arts 
I am going to Sewtopia in Austin. It will be my first one! Thanks for the story about the roommate since I’ll need one, too. My local quilty friend missed the registration by a few minutes and is sitting on the waiting list, too. Wishing good luck both to her and to you for getting a spot! Even though I’ve not attended Austin yet, we plan to register for Denver, too. Something tells me that they need to do more of these Sewtopia things than two a year! Also, yay for curved piecing! And love all of your blues!
That does sound pretty wonderful. I’m glad it was such a good experience for you! 🙂
This does sound like a fun time. All of your projects are lovely.
Great description of Sewtopia, I feel the same!
Thanks for the description of Sewtopia. It’s been on my list to possibly attend, but hadn’t heard from anyone that had been to one. BTW that solids quilt in this post is gorgeous. Can’t wait to see it finished.
This sounds great. Something else to wish for.
Thank you for sharing your experiance! I will have to consider attending when one is close to me! It looked and sounded like so much fun!!