A Look Back: The 2023 Sonder Quilt Retreat

Last summer, my friend Carrie at Lifting Limits Quilting and I hosted the very first Sonder Quilt Retreat. And my goodness, it was fun! I wanted to share a little bit about what happened, the fun activities we had, the friendships formed, and the quilts we worked on…because there just might be some more fun planned this year! Here goes!

A little background…

Carrie and I met in an online class at the beginning of 2022. The idea for the retreat started with a 2023 goal of hosting a quilt retreat in which people could come together, work on the projects already on their Works in Progress (WIP) list, and maybe even make a few new friends along the way (because quilty friends are the best, right)!? Little did I know this would be one of THE MOST FUN things I would do this year!

I seriously lucked out getting to co-host this retreat with Carrie. She is super-organized, has amazing ideas, and is one of those people who does what she says she will do when she says she’s going to do it. (I find that to be a rare trait these days!)

In the midst of the retreat planning, we also decided to co-write and release a quilt pattern. The pattern writing itself was so much fun. Carrie is super-talented at the things I’m still working on, and I helped fill in some spaces where she wants to learn more. It was a match made in heaven! (Plus, with limited time and a planning-oriented mind, I cannot stress enough how wonderful it was to work with someone who works in a similar way)!

This resulted in a brand new star-themed quilt pattern, Stellata, in which Carrie designed a block, I designed a block, and they came together perfectly in an overall design. Stellata means “starry” in Latin. (Being a nerdy landscape architect who loves knowing botanical names of plants, we were working on pattern names around the time the Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) trees were blooming in Kansas City. Perfection!)

The 2023 Sonder Quilt Retreat was hosted right here in my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri at the fabulous KC Maker Studio retreat center. Y’all. It was PHENOMENAL. The space is in a historic home located in the Westport district of Kansas City, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Patti and Dana of KC Maker Studio were the most gracious hosts and welcomed us into their home and quilt studio. Our group was made up of 8 quilters, each from a different state, representing Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, and Missouri. (I’m firmly based on the Missouri side of Kansas City, for those of you who know that’s a “thing” - ha!)

A painting of the retreat house

I truly enjoyed spending time with and getting to know each of the quilters who joined us and it was inspiring to see how well all 8 of us, from different backgrounds and places in life, got along. With a love for quilting, there’s always something fun to talk about! (Fun fact: I already knew one of our retreat attendees…my bestie and college roommate is also a quilter and was able to come out to join the quilt retreat. Am I the luckiest or what?!)

Sonder Quilt Retreat Day One

The first day of the retreat started with setting up our work spaces, getting our projects organized, settling into our rooms, and then we all had some time to get to work! One of the most fun parts of planning the retreat was the surprises…Carrie and I had some super-fun gift bags prepared for everyone filled with a printed version of the Stellata quilt pattern, notions to help make the pattern, a Yeti wine tumbler (also great for iced coffee or tea!) and more. As the local host, I got to do some extra-fun things since I wasn’t traveling on a plane. My favorite part of the gift bags was adding in some Stellata-themed sugar cookies that I made for the group in bright summertime colors!

Our quilt retreat group also had a chance to order exclusive Stellata-themed t-shirts ahead of time (designed by Carrie!), and I have to say the ones I ordered quickly became a favorite…so soft, comfortable, and quilty…all the best things! You’ll see one of them in nearly every photo of the group. :)

After settling in and sewing for the afternoon, we were lucky enough to have chefs Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore prepare us a fabulous meal while regaling us with stories of their meetings with other famous chefs (like…working with Julia Child in Paris)! It was so much fun to hear about their experiences and learn more about the cookbooks they’ve published together. Needless to say, we ate well!

Sonder Quilt Retreat Day Two

We started our second day of the quilt retreat with a trip to Quilt Town USA, also known as Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, MO. I feel so lucky to live close by and get to visit such a fun quilty destination any time I want. It’s amazing how the company has transformed the downtown of Hamilton to a series of themed quilt shops. My favorites: Florals and JC Penney solids.

Of course, before shopping we grouped together and made an executive decision that a coffee stop was needed. Caffeine requirements alleviated, we piled in and rode the hour or so up to Hamilton while talking projects and all things quilting. It was fun to learn more about each other and our goals for the weekend along the way.

First stop: the iconic wall and murals in Hamilton, where we took a group photo (along with some colorful quilt photo-ops). After that, we spread out to tackle the town. I went shopping for binding and backing for a WIP I was working on, and ended up coming home with not only those project requirements satisfied, but some additional backing fabric for future use (a beautiful floral on waaayyy sale!). Everyone had a blast finding all kinds of fabric treasures.

I even had a quilty celebrity sighting! Carolina Moore (@craftmoore) was at the main shop in Hamilton and I managed to snag a quick photo with her! She was in town teaching a class. You just never know who you’re going to meet in Hamilton!

After finding just the right fabrics (and more!), a few of us went to visit the Missouri Quilt Museum. There were some beautiful quilts on display, along with several amazing exhibits. My favorites were the miniature quilts and the toy sewing machines. On my list of things-I-didn’t-know-I-needed-in-my-life, an antique toy sewing machine is now at the top of the list. (My mother-in-law is excellent at finding these kinds of treasures, so I’ve already shared this with her. Fingers crossed!)

After the day full of fabric finds and quilty fun, we settled back in at our machines, ordered some great local pizza, and sewed until it was time to sleep!

Sonder Quilt Retreat Day Three

Our third day of the retreat started with a hike through one of Kansas City’s parks. Now, we don’t have mountains in Kansas City, but there are some pretty nice trails through the woods nevertheless (even in the middle of town). You just can’t beat a dirt trail, a backpack filled with a quilt (and water!), and the opportunity for some great quilts-in-the-wild photos! We miiight have stopped by the playground briefly too. :)

The rest of the day was dedicated to making progress on our quilt projects. There were pattern-design cover quilts in progress, new projects started, long-time WIPs finished up, and even bags made from start to finish over the course of the weekend. Carrie and I made a very conscious decision to offer the Stellata quilt pattern as a potential project, but not require any specific project tasks as part of the retreat. Since most quilters have enough projects they already want to work on, we didn’t want to add to everyone’s WIP lists unless they were looking for a new project!

That evening, we visited downtown Kansas City for dinner at Garozzzo’s, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in town, for our dinner out. Just down the street, growing from a square of dirt in the sidewalk, were these gorgeous sunflowers, about 8’ tall!

I had two projects I worked on over the weekend, my Modern Pearls quilt (designed by Julia from Red Rain Boots Handmade), and a Mini Swoon quilt (designed by Camille Roskelley from Thimble Blossoms). I finished the top and pieced the backing for Modern Pearls (progress!) and completed an additional block of the Mini Swoon quilt.

Truthfully, I was so busy planning everything with Carrie that in the days leading up to the retreat, I pretty much forgot to figure out which projects I would work on during the retreat! I grabbed the two easiest-to-pack projects and ran with them, and am so glad I did. After *almost* abandoning it and donating the blocks/pieces to a local guild, my Modern Pearls quilt has turned out to be one of my favorite quilts ever…and resides permanently in our master bedroom now! I’ll write about it more in a separate blog post.

The pieces in the corners measure 1” x 2” finished…so it’s really mini!

Sonder Quilt Retreat Day Four

Our final day of the retreat started with an outdoor yoga class to work out all the kinks after the weekend full of sewing. Local yoga instructors from InBliss Yoga came with all the gear we needed to enjoy some sunshine, stretching, and relaxation before traveling home.

Whew! We packed so much sewing, chatting, eating, and enjoyment into the weekend that I was sad to leave all the fun…but always happy to see my husband (who held down the fort at home all weekend!) and the kids. It was so much fun, in fact, that Carrie and I almost immediately decided…

…Let’s do this again!

We truly had such a blast planning the retreat and sewing with both new and old friends that we’re doing it again this year! The 2024 Sonder Quilt Retreat will be hosted in Bend, Oregon (Carrie’s home state!). It is just a half hour drive from Sisters, Oregon, where we will be taking a field trip to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Mark your calendars for July 11-15, friends, because it’s going to be fun!

Registration opens March 1, 2024 and will be open until spots are filled. I’d be so thrilled to see you there so we can make quilts together!

Tell me your retreat experiences!

If you have been to a quilt retreat, what was your favorite part? Do you like having activities planned during the day or would you rather just quilt quilt quilt? And about those quilt projects: Do you like to bring your own to work on or have something fresh and new to work on together? I’d love to know. Hit the button below and tell me YOUR thoughts on quilt retreats!