CHECK-IN: Begins at 4:00pm in the main office of the Retreat Center.
EXCURSION: Those who would enjoy a walking excursion before the evening meal may gather in the lobby at 5:15pm.Dinner: Dinner is in the Dining Hall at 6:00pm. Meals are buffet style with a variety of dietary needs in mind. Our staff seeks to create tasty, home style meals that are good for you, too.Evening: ORIENTATION: Begins at 7:00pm in the lower level of the Dining Hall. We will review the schedule for the week as well as the facilities and resources that are available during your free time. Emergency procedures and general questions will be covered, along with ample time for introductions of participants for this program and meeting your hosts and resource team.Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Dinner
• Learn quilting basics including how to set up a sewing machine for piecing and accurate seams. • Discuss the care and handling quilting tools, and safety in our classroom, especially with regard to rotary cutters and blades, pins, needles and scissors. • Learn the proper methods and tips for accurate cutting with a rotary cutter. • Review the quilt pattern we will use for our project to gain an overall understanding of the process.
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CLASS 2: Fabric colors and prints.
• Discuss your fabric choices for this project and share your preferences in color and style. • Learn the importance of mixing prints, colors, shades and values in fabric. • Use the color wheel to determine a color style and range for your sampler quilt.Lunch: Lunch is in the Dining Hall at 12:00pm. Enjoy delicious meals complete with salad bar and dessert.Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: We will depart from Amigo Centre for Shipshewana, Indiana, at 12:45pm. During the field trip, we will visit an antique quilt shop and two local fabric stores where your instructor will be happy to help you pick out any additional fabric you may wish to purchase for your project to help tell your story.Dinner: At 5:00pm, we will enjoy a "Thrasher's Meal" at a local Amish home. This delectable repast recalls the experience of Amish thrashers who worked together each year at harvest time followed by a delicious meal.Evening: Return to Amigo Centre and enjoy a relaxing evening making new friends or work on your project.Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Learn to identify quilt blocks based on a 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5 grid. • Select one or more blocks to make from this category. • Learn to measure and rotary cut the pieces needed for your block. • Practice traditional machine piecing techniques for constructing the block.
CLASS 4: Traditional piecing with/without templates. • Learn to draft a quilt block and to create templates from your line drawing. • Select one or more blocks to make from this category. • Practice traditional machine piecing or hand piecing techniques for constructing the block, including how to sew “Y” seams.Lunch: Lunch is in the Dining Hall at 12:00pm. Enjoy delicious meals complete with salad bar and dessert.
After lunch, you'll have an opportunity for an informal nature walk along some of our many trails where you can enjoy the peace and beauty of the woods and lakeside. You might even see a deer!Afternoon: CLASS 5: Foundation paper piecing. • Learn to identify quilt blocks that are easily constructed using foundation piecing techniques. • Select one or more blocks to make from this category. • Learn to divide the pattern into foundation piecing sections. • Practice foundation piecing techniques for constructing the block.
CLASS 6: English paper piecing. • Learn to identify quilt blocks that are easily constructed using English paper piecing techniques. • Select one or more blocks to make from this category. • Learn to create English paper piecing templates. • Practice English paper piecing techniques for constructing the block.Dinner: Dinner is in the Dining Hall at 5:00pm. Get ready for some of our delicious desserts sure to tickle your palate Grasshopper Pie or Brownie Cheesecake, to name a few!Evening: CAMPFIRE & PONTOON RIDES: Beginning around 6:00pm, we will have a campfire with pontoon rides by the boat house near the Retreat Center. You may enjoy a leisurely ride on Big and Little Perrin Lakes, and/or gather around the campfire, singing songs, roasting marshmallows, and making S'mores. (Everybody wants s'more!) We will alternate groups on the pontoon to allow everyone to participate.Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
CLASS 8: Back basting appliqué. • Learn to identify quilt blocks that are easily constructed using back basting appliqué techniques. • Select one or more blocks to make from this category. • Learn to trace the appliqué design to fabric in preparation for appliqué. • Practice back-basting stitching techniques for creating the block.Lunch: Lunch is in the Dining Hall at 12:00pm. Enjoy delicious meals complete with salad bar and dessert.Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: We will leave at 1:30pm for an Amish/Mennonite home to experience a "quilting" and share stories of this rich and longstanding tradition. We will return to Amigo Centre around 4:30pm.Dinner: Dinner is in the Dining Hall at 6:00 pm. Dessert will probably be Blueberry Crunch or Apple Crisp...both scrumptious!Evening: SHARE YOUR TALENTS & TALES: We will gather around 7:00pm for our very own "Talent Show" with and for the group. Bring a story, poem, song, hobby, or whatever you would like to present (for up to 5 minutes). We will also have time for you to share stories of other Road Scholar programs you have participated in and would most recommend.Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
CLASS 10: Marking quilting designs for hand quilting. • Review a variety of marking tools, techniques and designs, and discuss how quilting designs can enhance the overall look of your quilt. • Learn to create your own stencils or adapt ready-made stencils for your quilt.Lunch: Lunch is in the Dining Hall at 12:00pm. We provide a variety of home style meals throughout the program. What has been your favorite thus far? Please be sure to let us know what you have liked the best.Afternoon: CLASS 11: Hand quilting tools and techniques. • Discuss backing and batting options for quilts and for hand-quilting, • Try different kinds of quilting needles, thread, and thimbles. • Practice creating even short stitches.
CLASS 12: Quilt labels and legacy -- caring for your quilts. • Examine different types of quilt labels and learn the importance of identifying the maker and date. • Learn how to properly care for quilts, how to store them, protect them, and clean them. • Share your thoughts and experiences regarding quilts as a legacy.Dinner: Dinner is in the Dining Hall at 5:00pm. Our closing dinner of the program will be a special occasion for celebrating the camaraderie of shared experiences and new friendships.Evening: EVENING PRESENTATION: Pigtails and Ponytails: Growing up Mennonite. We will gather around the quilting frame to help knot a comforter for charity and listen as Melodie and Carol share stories and photos of their experience growing up in Mennonite homes and a Mennonite community fifty years ago. How did the activities and foods of home, church, community mark the seasons of their lives and influence them today? How is Mennonite life different today than it was in the 1950’s? The evening will include favorite Mennonite snacks from the 1950’s.Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
You will have time to pack up and check out of your room prior to lunch.Lunch: The program concludes with lunch in the Dining Hall at 11:30am.
We trust you have enjoyed this new learning adventure and will return for other rewarding Road Scholar programs in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!Lodging: Amigo Centre & RetreatMeals Included: Breakfast, Lunch