Sew Fun: Stitching Art and Friendships on a Dreamy Craft Getaway

Crafters gather in scenic locales to foster creativity and connection

Cozy crafting time, stunning views and friendships are hallmarks of craft getaways.

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Jackie Perrin,

AARP

Published December 31, 2024

Craft and connect getaways are a sweet escape for women, offering stunning views, cozy crafting time, and friendships to cherish. According to Statista’s 2024 Global Consumer Insights Survey, 23 percent of Americans 50-64 enjoy crafting or DIY hobbies, with many adults placing travel and socializing among their top 10 leisure lists.

Craft retreats combine creativity and connection, allowing women 50-plus to “sew-cialize” while soaking up peaceful scenery. Across the U.S., dozens of locations now host themed retreats where you can learn or refine skills such as quilting, knitting, or needle felting.

Ready to craft your perfect getaway? Here’s where to start.

Travel to Texas Hill Country for Dexter Oaks Retreat’s four-day quilting retreats.

Courtesy Dexter Oaks

Quilting: Dexter Oaks Retreat

Dexter Oaks Retreat in Texas Hill Country hosts four-day, three-night crafting retreats for $185 per person, which includes shared hotel-like accommodations. Catered meals are optional, and visits with the resident cows — kept strictly as pets — are complimentary. Guests enjoy a welcoming environment and access to a custom-designed crafting space featuring design walls, individual workstations with task lighting, and comfortable seating.

The 22-acre ranch offers “open” format crafting retreats, meaning no formal classes or workshops are held. This allows uninterrupted time for projects, with many guests completing extensive work, like a quilt, within a few days. Karen Keany, 64, a lifelong seamstress from Lago Vista, Texas, who took up quilting eight years ago, praises the camaraderie.

“I’m the young one of the group. We go up from 64 to 80,” she says. “We learn so much from each other because we’re all at different levels.”

Solo crafters and groups alike are welcome. Retreats include welcome snacks and access to a fully stocked kitchen. About 60 percent of guests opt to prepare their own meals, while others use the retreat’s partner catering services.

Owner Debbie Glum highlights the appeal of the ranch’s cows. “The ladies love the cows. They’re a big draw,” says Glum. “They line up at the fence every time they see a car come because they know they’re going to get treats.”

For details and reservations: https://www.dexteroaksretreat.com/

Fiber arts specialists can take spinning, knitting, weaving, and needle-felting classes at Nome Schoolhouse in North Dakota.

Courtesy Teresa Perleberg

Needle felting & fiber arts: Nome Schoolhouse

In rural Nome, North Dakota — population 51 — a 108-year-old schoolhouse has been transformed into Nome Schoolhouse retreat, a unique destination for fiber arts enthusiasts. Co-owners Chris Armbrust and fiber artist Teresa Perleberg invite guests to experience the full “farm-to-needle” journey, from wool harvesting to hands-on fiber arts workshops.

Participants enjoy themed retreats featuring classes in spinning, knitting, weaving, needle-felting, and other creative skills, led by Perleberg and guest instructors. “I have a flock of sheep,” says Perleberg. “I’ll take them out to my farm and show them where the wool comes from. And then they tour the fiber mill and then they get to make things with the wool,” she says about her felting retreats.

Annie Thornberg, 61, of Burbank, California, has attended two Nome Schoolhouse retreats. She says besides learning new techniques, connecting with fellow crafters from across the country was a major highlight.

Since Nome Schoolhouse opened in 2021, Perleberg has seen many new friendships blossom.

“By the time they leave, they’re good friends and they want to have a reunion,” she says.

Retreat packages include hotel-style accommodations, chef-made meals, drinks, and airport transportation. Costs range from $595 per person for an all-inclusive Sashiko embroidery weekend to $1,944 per person for an immersive eight-day, seven-night needle-felting safari.

For more details: https://nomeschoolhouse.com/classes-and-retreats/

Scrapper’s RX’s weekend retreats in Florida include a vendor fair, as well as optional vendor-led classes.

Courtesy Scrappers RX

Paper Crafts & More: Scrapper’s Rx

What happens when you combine a Florida hotel, dedicated crafting space, fellow enthusiasts, and uninterrupted creative time? You get a Scrapper’s Rx retreat, a healing prescription for your crafting addiction.

For the past 10 years, business partners Tamytha Jenkins and Stacy March have hosted crafting retreats across Florida in destinations such as Lakeland, Orlando, Cocoa Beach, Daytona, Viera, and Sarasota. While many attendees are scrapbookers, March notes the retreats also attract card makers, doll creators, and men crafting military figurines.

The retreats are so popular that around half the attendees are return guests, and they often sell out. Solo travelers are welcome, and organizers can assist in connecting roommates. In 2026, Scrapper’s Rx will host its second crafting cruise.

Weekend retreats in 2025 cost $225 per person, which includes crafting space, a vendor fair and some meals. Attendees also can take optional vendor-led classes, free or for a small fee. Accommodations at host hotels are additional, but discounted rates are available.

Regular attendee Becky Utecht, 62, of Rockledge, Florida, says: “I enjoy the make-and-takes that their vendors provide at a nominal cost. They get to demonstrate a new product, and I get to learn a new technique. It’s a win-win.”

For reservations and details: https://scrappersrx.com/

Carolina Fiber Retreats & Tours feature scenic backdrops across North Carolina and nearby states.

Courtesy Carolina Fibers Retreat and Tours

Knitting & fiber arts: Carolina Fiber Retreats & Tours

Ever wanted to join a “Stitch Squad”? Carolina Fiber Retreats & Tours is the perfect place for knitters and other stitchers to bond over crafting and friendship.

“Carolina Fiber Retreats is the place where mostly women from 50 to 80 can go and have that bond of friendship and being together,” says co-owner Becky Whitt.

Held across North Carolina and nearby states, retreat locations range from cozy seaside hotels to the more than 100-year-old Big Lynn Lodge in Little Switzerland, overlooking the scenic Catawba River Valley.

Retreat-goer Carol Boak, 65, says intimate spots like Big Lynn Lodge and The Catawba River Lodge are her favorites.

“I like the ones where we also get to know the owners of the location because it’s just so nice to know that they appreciate us being there,” she shares.

Three- to four-night retreats range in price from $375 double occupancy/$750 single occupancy for four nights with daily breakfast and dinner at Big Lynn Lodge to $689 double occupancy/$899 single occupancy for three nights with daily breakfast and dinner at Lake Junaluska Resort. Prices include a $125 retreat fee; classes are additional. Special pricing is available for non-knitting guests and spouses. Solo travelers are welcome and quickly “fit in,” Whitt says.

“A lot of our women are divorced or widowed, and they’re retired. It’s hard to explain the joy that these retreats bring to these women. They come in, and they’re just happy the whole time they’re there,” she adds.

For reservations and more information: https://carolinafiberretreats.com

Guests participating in the cross-stitching retreat at The Inn at East Hill Farm in New Hampshire can help milk a cow or goat.

Courtesy Jennifer Adams

Cross-stitch, spinning & knitting: The Inn at East Hill Farm

Cross-stitching vacations are perennially popular, offering an appealing blend of creativity and camaraderie. Retreats often sell out months in advance. With spots highly coveted, hopeful stitchers should plan ahead or join waitlists to secure their place.

Join the waiting list for Stitch-Inn at The Inn at East Hill Farm in Troy, New Hampshire. Scheduled for Nov. 13-16, 2025, the “low-key” event offers an opportunity to share patterns and techniques in a beautiful setting. The cost, which includes all meals and accommodations, is $394 to $478 for two nights, and $591-$717 for three nights. Guests can help milk a cow or goat, collect fresh eggs, enjoy the Inn’s indoor pool and hot tub, hike the property’s cross-country trails or traverse nearby Mount Monadnock, says event coordinator Nicole Rushlow. Spots are still available for a knitting & spinning retreat in March.

For event details: https://east-hill-farm.com. Reservations must be made by phone: 800-242-6495

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Jackie Perrin is a contributing writer who has covered travel, lifestyle, health and business for some of the nation’s top consumer publications. Her work has appeared in Fodor’s, Gannett News, AAA and Tripadvisor.

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