Frequently Asked Questions
• How
experienced a stitcher do I have to be to
attend?
• Is the retreat worth
attending if I am not familiar with any of the
designers?
• What if a designer designs
"over one" and I don't want to stitch with that
method?
• The brochures have a date
that the balances are due. How do I register after that
date?
• What are the restrictions
when you give a free registration for a future retreat as a door
prize?
• Why
don't you accept credit cards in The Shop at A Stitcher's
Retreat?
• Why don't you hold
retreats in the summer?
• Isn't A Stitcher's Retreat
run by Heart in Hand?
• How did you come up with
the idea of A Stitcher's Retreat?
How experienced a stitcher do I have to be to attend?
About the only restriction is it may not be advisable to attend if you are an absolute beginner. If you have never cross stitched before, A Stitcher's Retreat is probably not for you.
Absent that, all levels of stitchers are welcome. We typically have stitchers of various levels of expertise in attendance. The classes very often include instruction on specialty stitches, but if a stitcher feels the stitches are beyond them even with a teacher being willing to give some one-on-one instruction, the pieces can always be finished with regular stitches instead.
Is the retreat worth attending if I am not familiar with any of the designers?
A Stitcher's Retreat is different from many other getaways and those often held in your local needlework shops in that we do not announce our kits in advance of the retreats. Because of the luxury facilities we use and the scope of our retreats, we announce our getaways far in advance and do not require the teachers to design a piece a year early. Thus, when you register for a particular designer at A Stitcher's Retreat you choose that teacher because you enjoy their style and body of work.
It is certainly an individual call, but we feel strongly that to grow as a stitcher you should never limit yourself to only one teacher but should expose yourself as much as possible to the vast range of instructors available. I have had many students tell me after a retreat that they not only enjoyed the designer that was new to them, but they learned things about the cross stitch community in general that they had not anticipated learning in that particular class. Many teachers provide history or stories from the world of cross stitch as part of their instruction, and all are happy to share stories of how they became designers.
What if a designer designs "over one" and I don't want to stitch with that method?
Most designers stitch with the traditional over two method, but there are some who prefer to design stitching over one.
While stitchers generally agree that stitching over one produces intricate, lovely results, some do not wish to attempt it. We always make it clear if a designer is known for their over-one designs to make sure you take the kind of class you want.
The brochures have a date that the balances are due. How do I register after that date?
Until about eight weeks before the date of the retreat you register as though you had registered earlier by sending in the required deposit and completed registration form. The balance will be billed and is due approximately 30 days later.
If it is within eight weeks of the retreat date, e-mail me and we will work out an acceptable due date.
If you decide to pay the registration fee in full when registering, then this issue is obviously not a concern.
What are the restrictions when you give a free registration for a future retreat as a door prize?
One lucky stitcher at our retreats will win free registration at a future getaway of their choice hosted by A Stitcher's Retreat! A retreat package will be given as the Grand Door Prize with the name of the lucky attendee being drawn at random.
The restrictions are:
• The prize is non-transferrable
• The free registration must be used within three years of
receipt unless otherwise agreed to by A Stitcher's Retreat
• The prize is only available to an attending stitcher who paid
the registration fee. Non-stitching attendees are not eligible. The
winner of a free registration is not eligible the year they are
redeeming their free registration.
• You must be present in the room when your name is drawn to
win!
Why don't you accept credit cards in The Shop at A Stitcher's Retreat?
We are pleased to be able to offer the shop at the retreats. However, the fact that we are open literally just a few hours per year make it economically unfeasible to accept credit cards. We always provide many reminders in advance to attendees that we accept cash or checks only, and of course checks issued through your credit card company are fine.
Why don't you hold retreats in the summer?
This is something I have toyed with, so you never know, but we generally host our getaways in the spring or fall for a number of reasons.
First, some locations are only viable during certain times of the year. Some simply won't book groups during their peak season. Others that cater to groups are often priced such that we could not use the location during their peak season and still keep our rates as low as we do. I often say that we could hold the retreats at a budget hotel and charge less, but that is not what the A Stitcher's Retreat experience is all about. Ask anyone who has attended and they will tell you that my goal is to have you feel pampered. See our Comments Page for comments from attendees of previous retreats.
Second, families often vacation in the summer. Stitchers with children have told me it is easier for them to get away and have someone "watch the kids" while school is in session.
Finally, it is quite simply easier for us. My wife is Cecilia Turner of Heart in Hand Needleart. We do the international trade show every summer which your shop owners attend. Getting ready for the show, attending it, and then filling orders afterwards takes a large part of our own summer. Add to that two teenage daughters very active in musical theater and dance, as well as the attendant camps and activities, and we sometimes have trouble squeezing in vacation time ourselves!
Isn't A Stitcher's Retreat run by Heart in Hand?
As many stitchers know, my wife is Cecilia Turner of Heart in Hand Needleart. The misconception that A Stitcher's Retreat is run by Heart in Hand doesn't arise too often, but occasionally stitchers will contact Cecilia with questions about the retreat.
While we do consider A Stitcher's Retreat to be an offshoot of Heart in Hand, on a day-to-day basis Cecilia has no hand in the running of A Stitcher's Retreat. Cecilia does sometimes teach for me and attends retreats even when she is not teaching when possible, but that is the extent of her involvement in our getaway business.
How did you come up with the idea of A Stitcher's Retreat?
My wife Cecilia of Heart in Hand Needleart does not teach very often due to the time constraints of having two very active teenage daughters. However, earlier in her career she did teach more often for shops and at getaways. While I do attend needlework trade shows with Cecilia and help her in various ways with her cross stitch design business, by and large I have little to do with Heart in Hand in any daily way. Cecilia is the designer and brains behind Heart in Hand. In an effort to be more involved in her career and the cross stitch industry I had grown to know by attending trade shows, I talked with Cecilia about forming a company to host retreats for cross stitchers, but host them in luxurious and unique surroundings with only the best teachers from around the country. I have attended more business conferences than I like to remember and believed I could do them better for stitchers.
I formed A Stitcher's Retreat in 1997 and we hosted our first getaway in Ohio, our home state, in 1998. I had originally anticipated attracting primarily stitchers from Ohio, and perhaps the surrounding states of Indiana and Michigan. Imagine my delight that first year in having stitchers attend our first retreat from thirteen states, from California to New Jersey! To date, we have had people attend from 46 states, Canada, and the United Kingdom!
E-mail A Stitcher's
Retreat at XSGetaway@cinci.rr.com
URL: http://www.astitchersretreat.com
URL: http://www.turnerretreats.com
