Hello, friends! I have something huge to announce!

I am so excited to invite you to the first annual Texas Freestyle Textiles Retreat, a four-day event focused on introducing and celebrating freestyle art that I’m co-hosting with Debra Lambert of Picasso’s Moon. This retreat will be held in the beautiful hill country of Wimberley, Texas at the BellaVida Bed and Breakfast & Retreat Center on November 11-14, 2021. And early-bird registration is now open!

Attendees will have the option to choose from a creative menu of workshops that includes:

• Experience SAORI Weaving
• Art-Yarn Spinning
• Freestyle Knitting and/or crochet
• Freestyle Woven Vessel Sculpture
• Japanese Sashiko/Boro-style Decorative Mending

We invite anyone interested in learning about this relaxing and rejuvenating approach to art to come spend a long weekend with us, where you’ll have an opportunity to rest and renew in a lovely country setting, while learning about the freestyle art philosophy and exploring several creative freestyle art forms as they relate to fiber arts and textiles.

How it All Started

The birth of this announcement started with the question I asked myself one evening. “What does my ideal retreat look like?”

Answers came swiftly. I look for a pretty place at a pretty time of year. I want to feel relaxed and unpressured, like I have all the time in the world. I need a balance between solitude and community, enrichment and rest. It would ideally involve sharing the space with people whose company I really enjoy. Wonderful food is a MUST. Being able to freely knit, weave, stitch, or spin yarn is another MUST. And if there’s shopping? Well, that’s icing on the cake!

So naturally I called my amazing friend Debra Lambert of Picasso’s Moon to start brainstorming this new pet project this with her. An hour later, we gave birth to the idea. Excited phone calls to a few potential collaborators followed and voila! We’d sketched out a plan for the first annual Texas Freestyle Textiles Retreat, my perfect retreat, and hopefully yours as well!

Retreat Details

When: Thursday, November 11 – Sunday, November 14, 2021

Where: BellaVida Bed and Breakfast & Retreat Center
5701 FM 2325 | Wimberley, Texas 78676

Cost: Early-Bird Pricing: $300 [available until August 15, 2021]; Regular Pricing: $349.

Tickets will be available until November 3, 2021, or until we reach max capacity. An optional meal plan for dinners at BellaVida on Friday and Saturday evenings is available for $30. We’ll also be offering Saturday-only day passes for the event starting October 1.

What’s Included: The retreat fee includes a range of workshops taught by myself, Debra Lambert, and Kathy Rothstein, all freestyle textile artists and experienced SAORI weavers, as well as access to a Maker’s Market, where a number of local and regional vendors will have their wares available for sale, and an array of delicious snacks and refreshments catered daily by BellaVida Bed and Breakfast.

Please note, the event ticket does NOT include any lodging or meals. For participants staying onsite at BellaVida, breakfasts will be provided Friday through Sunday.

Lodging: It will be up to attendees to make their own lodging arrangements directly through lodging facility of their choice. On-site lodging is available on a first-come, first-serve basis at BellaVida Bed and Breakfast at a special rate of $242 per person (double occupancy) for the three-night stay, which includes breakfast each morning. Other lodging suggestions are available on the event website.

To learn more about the retreat, including the daily schedule and workshop descriptions, and/or to secure you spot, please visit the 2021 Texas Freestyle Textiles Retreat event page!

I am so excited about this upcoming retreat, which we hope to make a yearly event, and we so look forward to seeing you there!