have you heard? ALL THE DEETS are now posted for the @agatheringofstitches Slow Fashion and Slow Stitching 2024 retreats! this year there are 4 (!) separate week-long retreats, 2 fashion and 2 quilting, all at the idyllic @medomakcamp in Maine. i am teaching at Week 1 of Slow Fashion, which runs July 8-14, along with @kristin.arzt who teaches the most radically cool natural dyeing class i’ve ever seen, and @bookhou who is simply a genius at every kind of fiber arts! you can read all the luscious detail at the @agatheringofstitches website. registration opens March 3, and i suggest you subscribe to sam’s newsletter so you don’t miss out when that happens. these retreats fill quickly!

Next up in our teacher spotlight is @hodgepodgefarm, who returns to Medomak this year teaching folks how to crochet, make garments, and sew little pieces of fabric together to make all kinds of things. Like this sweet collaged zipper pouch! Registration is open now for the #medomakfiberartsretreat. Join us for week 1 or week 2, or treat yourself and come for both. 🧵🪡 COLLAGE ZIP POUCH Cal Patch | 4 hours Inspired by the ever-growing collection of fabric scraps in my studio, I designed this class to explore ways to use those little pieces, like an artist uses paint. We will play with applique, piecing, and embroidery stitches to create hand-sewn zipper pouches that sing with color and expression, and learn some basic hand-sewing skills that you will find useful for making or mending clothing or other items. No previous stitching experience is needed. 🧵🪡 Cal Patch sews, crochets, embroiders, spins, prints, knits, dyes, and more. She loves to combine and layer techniques when possible, hence the original name of her label *hodge podge*. She designed clothing in NYC for Urban Outfitters, Free People, Gap, and Old Navy before developing her own line of one-off pieces. She opened one of the nation’s first craft schools in 2002, and has contributed to books and magazines such as Stitch N’ Bitch: The Happy Hooker, Mend It Better, Appliqué Your Way, Made by Hand, Crochet Today and Sew Stylish. In 2009 Cal relocated to upstate New York where she is becoming a crafty farmer and growing her handmade wardrobe. She teaches pattern drafting, garment sewing, crochet and other fiber arts, has taught at retreats and events like Stitches United, Squam Art Workshops,  A Gathering of Stitches, and Harrisville Designs, and now offers online workshops via Creativebug. Her first book, Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified, was published by Potter Craft. 🧵🪡 #calpatch #patchwork #zipperpouch #crochet #midcoastmaine #medomakretreatcenter #makersgonnamake #summerworkshop

it’s true! mending equals love, and #lovedclotheslast! join me at my studio in Kerhonkson , NY on February 14 to show some love to your favorite worn-out socks, shirts, sweaters, jeans, whatever you’ve got! we’ll do some patching and done darning. 🧵🪡🧡 find full details on my website, link in bio. 🧶 🦋

if you know or follow me you KNOW how much i love crochet! i think it’s part of my DNA. winter is the best time to learn it from scratch! ❄️🧶❄️ i don’t teach beginner crochet that often these days, because i like to do it in a multi-week format, so it needs to be a local venue, and in my rural area there aren’t many. so i’m offering TWO rare 3-week Crochet 101 classes: one in-person at my studio in Kerhonkson, NY and an experimental virtual one on zoom. i’m not entirely sure it’ll work to teach beginner crochet on zoom (there can be a lot of LITERAL hand-holding when teaching it in person! 😆) but let’s try it and I’ll extend a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied! 🧡 find the dates and details in the post on my website, first link in my bio. ✂️ also, follow @thecwordcrochet to see more of my (and my pal @erinvonholdt’s) crochet work! [insert fave crochet pun here]

it’s HERE!!! you’ve been waiting patiently, and i’ve finally posted all the details of my 2024 year-long HACK CLUB virtual workshop! whether you draft your own patterns (with my help) or work from purchased patterns, having some hacks up your sleeve (😆) allows you to create infinite variations. you can create a whole handmade wardrobe from just one or two patterns! the class meets monthly on Saturdays via zoom, from February through December, with a monthly check-in in between sessions. i posted full details over on my site; there’s a link in my bio! happy to answer your questions! email me to register.

CLONE IT may just be my most popular class, and the one i teach least often 😆 i’m teaching it at my studio in Kerhonkson, NY on saturday 1/27, and at @beetleandfred in Beacon, NY on 3/22. grab a spot now! 👚🧵✂️ this is the class in which you learn the fine art of “rubbing off” a pattern from an existing favorite garment. everyone has that ONE THING they’ve been keeping for years, dreaming of the day they could replicate it. that day is here!!! 📏✏️👗 shoutout to @elizabethkkaiser who cloned her fave vest this summer at @petersvalley, enabling me to finally have a good photo of a real live clone! ✂️🧵🪡 link in my bio for full info and to register.

ok first class on the roster is my Deluxe Hand Sew A Shirt! 🧵 this one is virtual (live on zoom) in six sessions two weeks apart, and begins 1/24. 🪡 we will hand sew a shirt 👕 together, with ALL the bells and whistles! a collar, yoke, partial button placket, cuffs, pockets, shaped hem, slits, whatever your heart desires! you will design your own shirt (with my guidance) from a simple boxy top pattern. i’ll walk you through all the steps, from hacking the pattern to stitching every part (including hand-stitched buttonholes). ✂️ this is the more advanced class that builds on my original simple Hand Sew A Shirt class, which is the place to start if you haven’t done any hand sewing yet. there’s a link to it in my bio linktree. find the full details and dates on my website, linked in bio!

HAPPY NEW YEAR my friends!!! i’m trying to come out of my holiday hibernation to launch a series of Winter Workshops at my studio in Kerhonkson, NY, as well as some virtual ones. have you been wanting to learn to sew, crochet, draft patterns, hand sew a shirt, or mend? i’ve posted on my blog (link in bio) the list of classes and dates, and i’m working on posting full details over the next few days. i hope you’ll join me for some cozy winter stitching!

for all my local Hudson Valley peeps: i’m teaching 4 workshops at the cutest LYS/wine and snack bar, @yarnfarmkingston in Kingston, NY! two sundays, 12/10 and 12/17, two classes each day. first up is Darn It All Crochet, in which you’ll learn how to replace fabric (even on shaped areas like sock heels) with a little crochet! then Crochet Flower Garden, where we’ll hook up a bright bouquet of cheerful blooms. then there’s Embroidery Basics, a needle set that is useful to know to add to your sewing or knitting, and Appliqué, the art of applying fabric shapes to a textile piece. all of these are fun ways to spend a cozy, relaxed December Sunday morning or afternoon! bring a friend you haven’t spent time with for a while; jocelyn will make us a cup of tea and we’ll have a great time! full details at link in my bio, or go directly to the @yarnfarmkingston website. i hope to see you in class!

the year is winding down, but i’ve got a few more classes to wrap up my teaching season! first up is a virtual DARN IT! this sunday 12/3 with @vogueknittingonline. darning is the way to fix smaller holes in your knit and crochet garments and accessories. you can do it loud and proud or aim for invisibility, your choice. this is a life skill that every knitter (or every human, in my opinion!) should know. it’s not too late to embrace mending and resurrect your favorite sweaters, socks, hats and mittens! 🧶🪡🧵🧦🧤🧣 find the link with all the details in my bio 😉

happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! i am immensely thankful for all of you who have supported this self-employed creative person by taking a class, buying something i made, or just being part of our beautiful handmaker community. 🎨🧶✂️ i released four new video workshops this year with my wonderful friends at @creativebug. if you’ve never tried a video class, there are so many advantages; top of the list might be that it’s the most affordable way to learn! this week only, they have a special offer of 3 months for $1 if you’d like to try it out. the teacher list is incredible, and i have over 20 classes in pattern drafting and garment sewing, crochet, mending and hand stitching. if you follow me, i’m pretty certain you would enjoy some of these! 😉🪡🧵🧦 there’s an affiliate link in my profile that i would be so grateful if you would use. thanks! 🧡

***UPDATE: all 3 kits are now SOLD! stay tuned for more coming in december 😉*** i’ve got 3 kits leftover from @nysheepwool for the #PiecemealShawl, using Harrisville Designs Shetland (fingering weight) wool. this is the gorgeous wooly spun-in-new-hampshire yarn i designed the shawl in, and every color is a mix of many shades spun together. each kit has 3 skeins of a main color for the lacy border and mixing into squares, plus 12 small balls of coordinating colors, and the paper pattern. all of these kits are different colors than the original, each palette chosen by me to have a lovely mix of colors snd neutrals. one kit available in each ground color: charcoal! <<<SOLD! toffee <<<SOLD! walnut <<<SOLD! kits are $98 including shipping. DM me if interested!