This past weekend an internet group I participate in had a "retreat" not too far from where I live. There were 22 women in attendance, and we rented out the main 'cabin' at a church camp. The lone male in attendance only made an appearance when called upon, as he lived in a house on the camp's grounds, and was their maintenance "man".
We stitched, chatted, ate, chatted, had fun, stitched, ate.... somewhere in there a few of us even slept... one, the event organizer, fell asleep more than once in the main hall where we had a mass of tables grouped together for stitching!
There were a few informal classes held - one on hand-dyeing your own fabric (or floss), making a beaded mesh "net" for tree ornaments (the round glass ones), a beaded scissor fob, and beaded trim work.
There was a side trip to an Amish fabric/quilt shop, only a few of us went - took us an hour to get there and they took up about 1/3 the space of a Joann's Fabric Shop, but had 3x the fabric (and no electricity - bring a flashlight!)... I must go back there with my finishes on a sunny day so I can find suitable fabric for making pillows, ornies and banners/bellpulls out of them.
Meals were fixed on a rotational basis, with everyone bringing enough food to amass to an amount large enough to feed 200, not 20-someodd! We did travel to a local restaurant Friday evening to dine out - and even that was fun!
I refinished my first biscornou - the first time I finished it the corners didn't match up, so it looked 'wrong' - I dis-assembled (sounds like Johnny 5 from that old movie, Short Circuit) it and pinned it *everywhere* and restitched it back together. Looks much better now, and now I feel more confidant in making more of them!
Fun was had by all!!!!