Escape to creativity at hurds hill regency house

9 Oct

Behind the Scenes of a Retreat for Quilters and Stitchers

This autumn, I hosted a quilting and sewing retreat at Hurds Hill Regency House, tucked into the Somerset countryside. Quilters and stitchers gathered for a weekend of focused making, the most amazing food and shared learning.

From the moments the guests arrived we were well looked after by David and the team at Hurds Hill.

We stitched, we laughed, we ate the best food, and we left with more than finished projects.

Hurds Hill Regency House in Somerset, England

how the weekend begins

Guests arrive on Friday afternoon, greeted by a warm welcome with the most delicious cakes, teas and coffees. There is time to settle in, explore the house, meet fellow quilters and get ready for the weekend in the most beautiful surroundings.

Once everyone is settled into their rooms it is time to get the sewing machines set up in the bright and airy classroom.

My retreats are small gatherings with places for just 10 retreaters, meaning we all have our own sewing station with plenty of room for a small cutting mat or pressing station. Everyone brings their own projects to sew throughout the weekend, and I will normally give demonstrations over the weekend.

We have a separate room for pressing and a larger cutting station, along with sofas and seats to relax and chat.

We have a couple of hours of sewing before we have drinks in the Yellow Drawing Room, which is normally something bubbly, and this last retreat the fire was on for a warm welcome.

Dinner is served at 6.30 pm, and we have the dining room to ourselves, and a 3 course meal, that is all made by the two chefs at Hurds Hill. After dinner we normally retire to the Yellow Drawing Room for coffee.

Saturday, the classroom is open for the early birds to get a bit of sewing in before breakfast, which is normally at 8.30 am, with a choice of cereals, toast, croissants and pastries, eggs of our choice or a full english.

Some of us may go for a walk around the grounds, or down to the orchard to see what is growing, and others may head straight back to the classroom to start the day sewing.

I normally take the opportunity to get pictures of my latest quilts around the house, as the setting is so lovely. There are nooks and crannies to sit in, with books everywhere around the house.

We sew, eat and repeat until 3.00 pm on the Sunday, where we say our farewells to new and old sewing friends.

If you were wondering about the accommodation, all of the bedrooms at Hurds Hill are individually decorated, with themed bedrooms, and they all have an en-suite bathrooms with shower.