QuiltAway, 2026; San Francisco Quilters Guild

NOTE: No newsltter this week. I will be enjoying Easter with my family.

You know it’s been a good time when you are sad to leave. Yes, I was super sad to leave QuiltAway 2026, the San Francisco Quilters Guild‘s semi-annual retreat. The SFQG is a 250 member guild, created in 1981. Eighty members attended this year’s QuiltAway retreat that has been going on semi-annually for 34 years! The guild has a diverse base in many ways; I am guessing here, it seemed like almost half of the attendees were under 50, and a lot of them were much younger. There was a very energetic but calm vibe going on. I was honored to be invited to teach.

The retreat was held at Camp Newman, a beautiful 500 acre site in the woods northeast of Santa Rosa, far removed from anything.

There is still evidence of the Tubbs fire that decimated their site in 2017. The rebuilt site is gorgeous and definitely NOT your rustic cabin kind of thing:

We dined in part of the main building to the left, and the area to the right was pretty much occupied with someone sewing 24 hrs/day.

The classroom area was fantastic, with lots of light, room, electrical, great tech screens and helpful staff to support it.

Each “hotel style” room has rocking chairs outside which made for easy interaction and chats.

I had so many delightful conversations in these sitting areas.

What could be better than sitting in comfy chairs, in the company of fellow creatives, on a beautiful day with perfect weather? BTW, the “fire pit” was not real (but could produce heat); this IS fire country after all.

After class I was able to hang out in the sewing room. I took a lot of photos of truly amazing quilts, but I forgot to ask the maker if I could post. I did get a few though:

Is this not adorable? That is Fern Royce, someone I have always admired. I’d seen her name teaching, but never met her. I got to spend time with her and get to know her; we are new friends! She is a talented creative person and just a delight to be around.

One of the fun things about classes or retreats is the chance to see the totes and gizmos used to haul our stuff. Look at this fabulous Tula Pink set made by Angie! Is that not the coolest thing?

Michelle Trimble is working on a quilt top using the teachings of Joseph Albers. She purchased every single color of Kona cotton! How cool is this quilt going to be?

Sujata Shah, I had never met her either! I had a wonderful time chatting with her. What an amazing creative and so so inspiring.

This was “Meet the Teacher” night and we were asked a variety of interesting and revealing questions. So. Much. Fun! What a line up of teachers! I had not met Stacey Sharman yet either, a very popular teacher and delightful person. She uses recycled fabrics to create, well, just about anything. I wish I had taken photos of her outfits; all were adorable, creative and recycled. I have notes to myself on some of the fun things she wore; could I make that?

And then there is Rachel Clark. I adore Rachel and her talent; she has been teaching for 35 years and is tryyyyyying to retire but who can let her retire? Rachel is a folk artist and teacher, known for her vibrant coats (like the one she is wearing here) that many times tell a story or make a statement. I enjoyed a long conversation with her after the event and we covered a lot of territory.

The camp is in hilly country and Julia McCloud and I took a steep hike to the tallest spot to enjoy some fabulous conversation and a beautiful sunset. Julia works with reclaimed silks and will be the Featured Quilter at the Minnesota Quilt Show that I will be attending this summer!

Classes – I didn’t take any photos…again. But Julia took a few photos here to share. Thank you Julia!

This was in my “How Do I Quilt That?” class which is always a wild ride. I never know what I will get:

I’m working here with Caroline and this is her first quilt! She started this in a workshop with Lorraine Woodruff-Long. She added the outer most layers during a workshop at Gee’s Bend! Loved her color choices.

Wanda created this quilt as an homage to her departed pup. We laid plastic atop and discussed a variety of quilting designs. My goal for all in the class was that they could go home and QUILT, knowing that they had a plan.

We worked Julia’s top on the big screen, as the top was not available. I had to think about how we were going to do this, as working on my laptop just did not make sense. So I projected it onto the big screen, got on top of a chair, draped plastic over the screen and began drawing. That was a first!

There were fun and creative events every evening. One of them was the Placemat Exchange. Participants (I think almost all attendees) each created a placemat. The placemats were randomly placed on the tables, so whichever one was at your seat that night belonged to you.

And this was mine! Note that fun border. Maren was kind enough to make 4 extra placemats for the teachers so that we could be a part. Everything about this event was just lovely.

Sunday morning was the final gathering, Show ‘n Tell, to share all that you learned or created. Sadly, I left before the event. My drive home included Napa Valley, on a Sunday, beautiful weather, hitting Napa area around noon. I was not going to do that!

But I did pull over on my drive home just to catch this sunrise on the water, a beautiful end to my time at CampAway. I found new friends, chatted with old friends, was inspired, entertained and I learned so much from my students and other attendees. SFQG you treated me so well!

Next year they will have their semi-annual quilt show and it is spectacular! It is held in a magnificent church and you feel like you are at a museum. They will have amazing quilts, exhibits and vendors. It’s a must for me if I am in town.

I’ll be linking up:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday