The Embroidered Landscape - A Stitching Retreat

The two day retreat will take place at my family home in Yorkshire. We are located on the hills above the town of Ilkley, in West Yorkshire (around 15 minute drive away with some narrow country lanes). We will send on the exact address details once the course has fully booked.

We will spend the days working inside the house, moving between different areas depending on the activity we are doing. The house is full of colour, pattern and inspiration so will provide the perfect setting to get you thinking creatively.

Given the age of the house, there are stairs and uneven floors throughout, and quite an uneven access path over cobbles, therefore unfortunately this workshop is not accessible for those unable to do stairs. I am very sorry about this.

The workshop will take place on Saturday 14th to Sunday 15th September and there are only 12 spaces. Each day will be from 10am to 5pm and include a homemade lunch, as well as plenty of tea, coffee and cakes to power us through the day.

Over the two days, I will be guiding you to create an imagined embroidered landscape (as shown in the example pictures above). We will cover everything from finding inspiration, to colour theory, to structuring designs, to core stitching techniques, to translating designs onto fabric and decorative painting.

You will leave with an embroidery design to continue stitching, and a frame you have decoratively painted to mount your finished piece into. Your finished piece will have the same dimensions as that shown above. Whilst some basic sewing experience would be useful, it is not essential.

If you are coming from a long way away, why not make a weekend of it. We have two recommended accomodation options. For those who want to be in the town, we recommend The Crescent Inn in Ilkley (around £100 per night). You can easily get to Ilkley by train, and the town itself has lots of lovely independent shops, restaurants and bars (as well as the yorkshire institution... A Betty's Tea Room).

Or if you want something a little more special, we recommend The Devonshire Arms (around £300 a night). Set in the very picturesque Bolton Abbey estate (pictured above), the hotel has lots of facilities as well as a wonderful spa, incase you fancy having some time in a sauna after a long day of stitching!

Once you have booked, we will get in touch to confirm logistical details and to advise you if helpful for your travel plans. If you do opt for either of these accommodation options, we can help coordinate transport to and from the house each day. Depending on numbers we expect this to be around £20 per person for each day.