The Organized Chaos of Going Somewhere

I have just returned home after spending a wonderful week at Saskatchewan Stitches in Muenster, Saskatchewan. This gathering is unlike any other—a unique blend of sewing, learning, creativity, and friendship that unfolds over eight inspiring days.

While quilting certainly has its place, Saskatchewan Stitches is much more than a quilting retreat. Participants come together to explore garment sewing, pattern drafting, bra making, textile arts, and countless other creative pursuits. The classrooms are filled with curiosity and skill-sharing, while the hallways and dining room buzz with conversations, laughter, and the joy of reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

One of the things that makes Saskatchewan Stitches so special is its setting. The event takes place at St. Peter’s Abbey in Muenster, the oldest Benedictine monastery in Canada. Founded in 1903, the Abbey provides a peaceful and welcoming backdrop for a week devoted to creativity. For eight days, it becomes our temporary home. We stay in the Abbey, share meals together, and enjoy the hospitality of the wonderful staff who prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day.

If you have never attended Saskatchewan Stitches, you may want to keep the 2027 dates in mind: May 28 through June 4. The event is organized by Haus of Stitches in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, and it truly is a special experience.

Now I am home—but only briefly.

In a few days, I will be heading to Winnipeg for Quilt Canada. I am delighted that two of my classes have sold out, and I am looking forward to meeting students from across the country. There is still space available in my Beyond Rocks workshop, a class that explores a variety of techniques for preparing appliqué pieces for either hand or machine stitching.

But Beyond Rocks is about much more than appliqué preparation. It is an opportunity to experiment with several innovative techniques, compare their advantages, and discover new possibilities for your own work. Along the way, students will create a small wall hanging featuring a rock formed using one of the methods explored in class. Whether you enjoy landscape quilting, pictorial work, or simply adding new techniques to your creative toolbox, this class offers plenty of inspiration and hands-on learning.

Between travel, teaching, and the everyday tasks that fill the hours, I am also continuing to work on my new textile book. Progress is slow, but steady. Most evenings, after the day is done, I sit down with needle and thread and add a few more stitches. Like many textile projects, it is growing one stitch at a time, gradually finding its shape and revealing its story.

For now, I am unpacking one suitcase and preparing another. At least, that is the official story.

The reality is that my bedroom floor has become a highly sophisticated organizational system that probably makes sense only to me. One suitcase is half unpacked, another is waiting to be filled, class samples are draped over a chair, teaching supplies are sorted into carefully arranged piles, and somewhere in the middle of it all is a mental map of where everything belongs.

If anyone asks whether I am going to put all of this away, the answer is simple: it is put away. It is currently filed under “Ready for Quilt Canada.”

In a few days, everything will find its way into suitcases once again as I head to Winnipeg. Until then, I am grateful for the people, places, and creative opportunities that continue to fill my days.

Thanks for reading. Until I write again, enjoy the sun!

Ana