I spent last week at Medomak Retreat Center in Washington, Maine at A Gathering of Stitches first retreat of the season, Slow Stitching 101. There were 35-ish women attending from all over the country and from Canada and Italy.

My friend, Lori Versaci “talked me into it” and I went because I want to make clothes for myself similar to the ones she makes and in particular that orange and white linen check dress! I was a bit anxious and intimidated before I got there because I have never sewn garments before and my quilting is pretty limited. But I like sewing and I realize that it takes so much less time to make something with a sewing machine than it does with sticks and string. So, I set my goals on the low side of reasonable as I perceived it and headed off to “camp”.

We arrived for check-in on Monday afternoon and were allowed to unpack once we tested negative for Covid. A reasonable ask for the safety of all. I was in a shared cabin and I didn’t take one photo of my spot. I brought my Orange Peel quilt for my bed and my special silk pillowcase and pillow so it felt like home. Each cabin has a full bath and two single beds, two reading lamps, a fan, and two bureaus. It’s spare but comfortable. Our linens, blankets and towels are all included as are all meals. More on the food in a bit.

Monday night dinner was our first gathering. Meals are served family style at big round tables in the dining hall which has recently been completely rebuilt. The foundation under the original dining hall wasn’t strong enough to support the much-needed new roof so … an entirely new post and beam building was constructed and is nearly finished. For the first time, there are two restrooms in the building and that alone was worth the cost of admission. The food is incredibly tasty and healthful and they cater to everyone’s individual dietary requirements (gluten free, vegetarian and vegan, etc.) I don’t remember the specific meals each day but breakfast is typically choice of cereals, yogurt, a hot something – bacon and eggs, quiche, pancakes … you get the idea. Coffee and tea is available all day and a water bottle filling station is available, too. Lunch was often a wonderful hearty salad of grains, roasted vegetables, and greens with soup or grilled cheese and tomato soup, buddha bowls with grains or noodles with grains, roasted veggies, etc. I loved our lunches! And dinner was spaghetti and meatballs or roast chicken or similar, potatoes, veggies, and always a tossed salad. The last night, Saturday night, is lobster dinner – lobster, mussels, cole slaw and corn on the cob. There’s always dessert, too! And it was always good!

Tuesday was the start of our workshops. I was a Chickadee (we were divided into three groups, Blueberries, Chickadees and Pinecones for classes) and our first workshop was Hack It with Cal Patch. I’ve taken crochet and embroidery with Cal at the Medomak Fiber Arts Retreat but this time it was taking a simple boxy shirt pattern and “hacking” it – changing it in some way: the collar, the sleeves, adding pockets, change the length, etc. I had partially made a muslin version of Cal’s Boxy Tee from a virtual class she gave and my hack was to make a tunic length top with a pocket. I learned how to make french seams, how to use bias tape to finish the neckline and, once finished, by top was too boxy so I learned how to take it in. AND I finished it at camp! Cal is wonderful. She’s so experienced and encourages each student to be creative and individual. I am eager to try hacking another top or two before I head down the pattern buying path!

Wednesday we had a workshop with Alexis Bailey, Hand sewing the Photinia Top. Photinia is a pattern designed by Alexis to be zero waste … every bit of fabric is used to the max. I made the simplest view of this shirt having never done any hand sewing of garments. But I learned how to cut out a garment, how to make my own continuous bias tape and then how to hand sew shoulder seams, gathering a neckline and sewing on at bias binding … I’m not done with this top and I may decide to sew some of the long seams on the machine. I am the boss of my sewing, too. Alexis said this was her first teaching gig and she was very patient with us and her patterns that use up all of the bits of fabric are really smart. I look forward to finishing my top.

Thursday and Saturday were “free” days to do whatever you wanted. I chose not to go to Belfast with a large group because I am only an hour-ish away and can go any time. I spent the morning on the porch knitting. I’m working my way up the sleeves of my Lane’s Island Pullover and am knitting two at once to make it go a little bit faster (and to guarantee that the sleeves are the same.) I love sitting on the porch at camp. It evokes a simpler time without great internet access and I really did disconnect and slowed down. It was glorious visiting with women who were hand stitching: some worked on their camp projects, some were embroidering or knitting. In the afternoon, I worked on my Photinia top and got the collar sewn on (rough edges together, haha!) On Saturday I finished my Cal Patch hack in the morning and then stitched the collar of my Photinia together to get it ready to turn and then worked on my knitting in the afternoon. Several of the women at camp are sewists and knitters, too. They were good company.

On Friday we had a Natural Dying workshop with Kristin Arzt. We learned about mordants (both aluminum and iron) and had a chance to experiment with different techniques for decorating fabric. And then we learned a bit about indigo dying and Shibori techniques. I had never worked with any natural dyes and Kristen was a knowledgeable and generous teacher. It was fun to try different things and see what happened. I over-dyed a dress with a stain on it, an old white shirt and some linen pants as well as some fabric. We all had fun with this class.

On Thursday afternoon I attended a mini-class with Katherine Ferrier called Making, Being and Being Made. It was an opportunity to become mindful with our hand work, to take time to slow down and check in with ourselves. I enjoyed the class very much and it was not easy work – I was tired at the end of the day on Thursday, in part due to digging deep in this class.

There was one other mini-class with Samantha from AGOS about Garment Fabric Considerations. Sam had sewn a bazillion tops, mostly the same pattern (it’s not available anymore and it’s called the Wixford or something similar). Anyway, she went through all sorts of natural fibers for garments and what they are “good” for. I learned a lot and learned that I can wear my linen in the winter! Yay!

Sadly, despite every precaution, Covid reared its ugly head and one participant tested positive early in the week and had to isolate in a cabin alone. We voted to mask when indoors, changed to buffet style dining so we could eat outdoors. Thursday night was a clothing swap that was really fun and entertaining to watch. On Friday night we all tested before the garment stories evening event. All negative! And then on Saturday morning one of the teachers felt unwell and tested positive. She left camp to head home. I’ve been very grateful that I continue to test negative and hope that I’ve been able to avoid Covid this time. More will be revealed – I’ll test again on Monday night just to be sure.

All in all, it was a completely wonderful week at camp and I am excited to have one finished garment in my closet. I also bought (at the marketplace on Saturday) a Cal Patch dress. I’m wearing it today and I am so glad I did. I will have to find the pattern and make a couple more of these because it’s so comfortable and versatile, too. I am grateful to the women at camp who were kind, welcoming and so generously shared their stories as we sat and stitched. I was inspired by their skills and their finished items. I am looking forward to playing with fabric more as my confidence develops. I look forward to connecting on Instagram and I hope I can go back to camp again next year.

I was happy to get home this morning, unpack, kiss my sweet hubby, and have a good hot shower. It’s good to go to camp and it’s good to come home.

Gone knitting.