Virtual Retreats

Welcome to our Virtual Retreats!

Announcing the date of our 8th Virtual Retreat on 27th-28th November 2021!

Tickets available for VR8 on Friday 29th October or Wednesday 27th October if you are a Thread House Club Member.

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE!

Our Virtual Retreat weekends are designed to give the flavour of our physical retreats but from the comfort of your own home.  They are so much more than just a series of online classes. You will find yourself part of special virtual community where everyone works together to support, encourage and inspire each other, and where the odd technical hiccup is easily forgiven!

We will be creating a special private group on Facebook where our Virtual Retreat will take place. Only those booked on the retreat will gain admission to the group and there will be time before the retreat to get to know your fellow retreaters through posts in the group. We will be using video tutorials to teach and share a number of techniques and projects over the weekend. We will be kicking things off Saturday morning with an introduction by all three tutors before playing pre-recorded videos in short chapters for the Saturday workshops.  At the same time we will be answering your questions and taking part in all the discussions, through the post comments in the group. There is also the option for Live broadcasts if something specific comes up.

On Saturday night we’ll all be sewing together at home, sharing our projects in the group and chatting through posts. There will be video tutorials again in the morning to guide you through that days techniques and projects. The weekend will finish with a show and tell where everyone can share what they have made through posts. We will also have two fantastic prizes to giveaway in a free raffle, one on Saturday and one on Sunday!

We’ll also be sharing plenty of prepping info in the group, including supply lists, templates and videos so that you’ll be ready to sew along when the weekend arrives. Once the retreat weekend is over the group will stay available to all Retreaters for at least 6 months, which means you can go back and view all the videos shown, download templates and continue to communicate with others.

We’ll be focussing on sustainable crafting for our 8th Virtual Retreat with a reduced waste quilt pattern, handmade gifts and even ‘printing at home’ to make your own cards and gift wrap.

We are delighted to have finally persuaded Karen to share the secrets of lino printing, Lynne has designed a very clever and stunning quilt pattern, and Jo will be using selvedges and a log cabin QAYG technique to make some useful and attractive notebook holders. You’ll even be able to encompass your printed motifs from Karen’s class in either of Lynne and Jo’s classes!

And Sunday afternoon sees the return of a very popular event…

Our Virtual Christmas Party!

Full details of the workshops and events can be found below. Tickets for Virtual Retreat 8 cost £40 each and go on sale Friday 29th October.

Want to get your tickets early?  The Thread House Club Members get a 48 hour priority booking period for Virtual Retreat tickets!  Find out about our club here.

You must have a Facebook account to take part in the retreat.

The Facebook group will open on Sunday 7th November and class supply lists will be available from the group at that time.

If your Facebook account is in a different name from the name on your booking you must let us know in an email so that we can permit your entry to the group.

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE!

Virtual Retreat 8 – Workshops and Timetable

SATURDAY

10.00am – We’ll be kicking things off by watching a pre-recorded introduction from all three tutors. The video tutorials will start at around 10.15am.

Morning – LINO PRINTING with Karen

Join Karen to learn how to lino print on paper and fabric. Print on paper to design and make your own wrapping paper and greetings cards for a sustainable Christmas, printing all your own and print on fabric to make your own Festive gifts this season, using up fabric scraps to make fun coasters sets. Once you have learnt the skills needed, and experimented with design choices for different projects, you’ll also be able to print central motifs to use in Jo’s Book Cover workshop in the afternoon. There’ll be no stopping you what you can print up!

12pm – Home sewing and lunch. Tutors will be answering any questions through posts and comments.

2pm – Afternoon workshops

Afternoon – REDUCED WASTE QUILTING with Lynne

Join Lynne in making this 45” square lap quilt, cot quilt or playmat designed to minimise waste.  

In keeping with the sustainable theme of our weekend retreat, offcuts from making the X block are used to make the star blocks so your precious fabrics are not wasted.  You can make nine blocks into a cushion or go for all twenty-five as Lynne will be doing, to make the whole project.  

Of course you could always scale the design right up and use the two blocks to make a seven by seven block version finishing at 63” square – the world is your oyster!

3.45pm –   We’ll be drawing today’s raffle prize. All retreaters have free entry to the raffle automatically.

Followed by home sewing and time for afternoon tea/dinner.

7.00 – 9pm – It’s our very own Saturday Night Craftalong! Time to work on your projects, sewing together at home, sharing our projects and chatting through posts. Jo, Karen and Lynne will be popping by with encouragements.

SUNDAY

The video tutorials will start at around 10.15am.

Morning – SCRAPPY SELVEDGE NOTEBOOK HOLDERS

Have you got some scraps of vintage embroidered linen you’ve been hoarding? Or perhaps the last of a precious fabric line? Maybe you’ve also been keeping your pretty selvedges for a future project? Well let’s combine the two to make these quilt-as-you-go notebook holders with Jo! 

Using a scrappy QAYG log cabin technique we will sew selvedges around a central motif to complete a beautiful vibrant panel. Hand or machine quilting can be added and then Jo will take you through the steps required to make a useful notebook holder.

These can be made for any size of book and make wonderful gifts which can even be personalised.   Motifs printed in Karen’s class can also be used for this project or perhaps some left over embroidery from a previous Virtual Retreat?! 😉

12pm – Home sewing and lunch. Tutors will be answering any questions through posts and comments.

2pm – Virtual Christmas Party!

Grab a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie and join us for our annual Virtual Christmas Party! We will be using Zoom and inviting all attendees to take part in a show and tell and a fun sewing-related quiz!

Jo, Karen and Lynne will be hosting this session, setting the quiz questions and giving each attendee a short Show and Tell spotlight, either for your weekend project or anything else you want to share.  Last year’s event was such a great success and we are excited to see everyone again this year!

3.30 pm – We’ll be drawing today’s raffle prize. All retreaters have free entry to the raffle automatically.  Followed by a chance for final questions and advice plus a Show and Tell session for everything you have been making over the weekend in your own individual posts!