2027 UK Stratford-upon-Avon
Weekend Craft Retreat & Workshops
SEWING & QUILTING
Welcome to our 2027 Sewing & Quilting Weekend Craft Retreat page!
After it's proved so popular with attendees & tutors alike the past five years, we're absolutely delighted to announce that our UK Weekend Crafting Retreat will take place once again in 2027, this time at a BRAND NEW venue - the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon (near Birmingham, UK), birthplace of William Shakespeare in the wonderfully picturesque county of Warwickshire! The event takes place over the weekend of Friday 10 September, Saturday 11 September and Sunday 12 September 2027 - please read on to learn all about our this exciting live event!...
10-12.09.27
Class times on
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12
09.30-16.30 (BST)
(with lots of treats in-between!)
Weekend Craft Retreat!
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Stratford-upon-Avon
Sewing & Quilting with
Joe Cunningham
Sarah Hibbert
Vendulka Battais
Matt Wilding
2027 Crowne Plaza Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Friday 10, Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 September 2027
Crowne Plaza Hotel by IHG: Stratford-upon-Avon
Bridgefoot, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6YR, United Kingdom
www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/gb/en/stratford-upon-avon
So, what do we have planned for you in 2027?!
The 2027 UK Weekend Craft Retreat will feature more luminaries of the crafting world who will need little introduction to you - Joe Cunningham, Sarah Hibbert, Venduilka Battais and Matt Wilding - and you get to work directly with all of them!
We'll have a wonderful welcome drinks reception followed by dinner on the Friday evening and then the sewing commences on Saturday and Sunday! Your overnight stay Friday and Saturday, breakfasts, snacks, lunches and delicious 3 course dinners are all included for your WHOLE stay!
We very much hope you'll join us in September 2027 in the beautiful county of Warwickshire at the Crowne Plaza Hotel by IHG, Stratford-upon-Avon for a truly fabulous weekend of crafting, trunk shows, relaxing spa-time, socialising, scrumptious food and... FUN!
As soon as we stepped inside the fabulously located Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwickshire (located a stone's throw to the Tudoresque Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, renowned globally for it's connection to William Shakespeare) and saw everything it (and the very warm staff) had to offer, we instantly knew it was the place for us! Bright airy spaces to sew and relax, everything easily accessible on one ground floor, with a close by lift to your bedroom, (with lovely, comfortable modern and recently updated interiors throughout), plus a pool, spa and a little stream to sit next to with your morning coffee, its PERFECTION!
But we know you also want brilliant tutors, not just fancy accomodation, so we have lined up four brilliant artists who will all bring something very different to each class. You get to work with each of them! We'll be using our tried and trusted format of having a morning and afternoon session with each artist. We split our students into two separate sewing rooms, so you are guaranteed lots of individual attention. One teacher works with one group in the morning and the other teacher works with the other group in the morning, and then in the afternoon the teachers swap. You don't go anywhere, they come to you. We repeat this on the Sunday and that means you get the chance to work with all four teachers. We do, however, say that if you want to dip out of a session to relax, or if you feel the session is not right for you, but you would like to continue sewing, you are more than welcome. There is never any pressure from us for you to attend every class. The teachers are there for you if you wish to learn, but if you want to continue with your own own sewing projects and us won't be offended!
Crowne Plaza Hotels by IHG fit within our CraftyMonkies Weekend/Midweek Craft Retreat ethos: quality, easily accessible for all, attentive service, friendly, excellent amenities and a stunning teaching environment in which to learn, focus, relax, make friends, enjoy terrific food, (including cake!), and learn invaluable skills.
So all you have to do now is decide to come and play with us and guarantee yourself the BEST time! The details of your teachers are below - their FULL class details will be coming soon. Pay just £100 today to reserve your spot! Read below for the full details and then, press the button! We can't wait to see you!
Joe Cunningham
Saturday 11 September 2027
"Hi! I very much enjoyed working with Rachel to put together a workshop this year, so much so that when Rachel asked me to join you in person on her annual retreat I said yes! I love coming to the UK, and I'm really excited to see what Stratford has to offer, and of course meet you all and have some fun! I'm busy devising a new class to teach you, but whatever it is I guarantee it will be an easy, fun intro to my way of improv"
Sarah Hibbert
Saturday 11 September 2027
"SARAH, would you like to come back and teach on my retreat again, but this time in Stratford-upon-Avon", rachel asked, "YES" I replied! As you are probably aware, I've worked with Rachel a couple of times now on her retreats, both in the UK and our epic trip to the USA, and I have loved every minute of both retreats. The way she arranges the classes, and the opportunity for you to learn with all of the teachers, it's such a great idea, and we have so much fun. How could I refuse? I want to bring something new to the retreat this year, so I'm conjuring up some ideas and I'll be letting you know very soon what I'll be teaching, but whatever it is, rest assured you'll be learning something new, and we'll be having fun. Isn't that what life's about? Being creative, being present, living in the moment, meeting new people, and smiling...."
Vendulka Battais
Sunday 12 September 2027
"Rachel and I have worked together on a couple of occasions, and so I was really happy when she asked me to be a teacher on the retreat. I've seen so many students talk about the retreat and how much they enjoy their experience, so of course I wanted to be a part of it! I'm really looking forward to teaching you some techniques and seeing you learn something new. I absolutely love working with people in person and so it's such an honor to be able to come and work with you in this brand new location. How exciting!"
Matt Wilding
Sunday 12 September 2027
"Hello CraftyMonkies fans! What a fabulous opportunity it will be to come and spend some quality time with you in a sewing room doing what we all love to do; play, talk, and sew! I'm so pleased Rachel has invited me along, I'm going to design something very special for you which will have a 3-D feel, something that will be quite different to what the other teachers will bring as my aim is to help Rachel bring as much variety to the retreat as possible. Variety is the spice of life as they say, and so I think if we can all bring different elements to the 2-Day event, you will walk away with lots of new skills. That's my aim, as well as eating lots of cake and drinking lots of cups of tea with you all and having a gossip!"
Here's what you will need for your CraftyMonkies 2027 Weekend Craft Retreat:-
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Your own fabric you would like to sew with (more details to follow but it will simply be from your own stash, no need to buy anything fancy!)
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Sewing machine in good working order – with manual, and standard sewing machine feet. If you are unfamiliar with your machine, please take a few minutes to practice stitching in a straight line. You will need no further skills than that! (We have a few machines we can loan out, so do let us know if you need one)
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Sewing threads in neutral colours (cream, ecru, greys – bring what you have!) and coloured swing machine threads for embroidery stitches.
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Rotary Cutter (45mm rotary cutter is the best size) and mat (18” x 24 approx so a fat 14 fits on it easily) – please check that the cutting blade is sharp. I will have some spare bits of equipment, but it means you may have to share!
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Rulers – Easy Rule 2 (long ruler) and any square rulers you have hidden away will be useful.
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General sewing kit (pins, scissors, stitch ripper, etc).
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Optional items – craft iron and ironing mat (so you don’t have to queue!). There is an ironing station planned with domestic irons, so only bring small irons and don’t worry if you don’t have one – it’s not vital.
Rachel and all our tutors really are the most warm, engaging of souls and our total focus is on ensuring that you have an experience to remember - trying anything new is always a wee bit scary but don't be put off; jump in - you're going to love it!!!...We've curated a selection of teachers who can all teach something quite different across the weekend, traditional quilting, improv quilting and some mixed media/art! We aim to inspire you and gve you a lot of fun at the same time!
Ticketing
For the 2027 Crowne Plaza Hotel: Stratford-upon-Avon UK Weekend Craft Retreat we are offering TWO ticket options:-
Single Occupancy
For the all-inclusive price (please note that any Spa treatments are NOT included) of £699.00, you are guaranteed your own en-suite room within Crowne Plaza.
Shared Occupancy
For the all-inclusive price (please note that any Spa treatments are NOT included) of £599.00, you are guaranteed a SHARED en-suite room within Crowne Plaza. If you decide on this option, once you have booked your place just let us kmow who you are sharing with if you have booked with a friend. Or we will happily place you in a room with another fellow attendee who is not previously known to you.
Shared Occupancy with your NON -SEWING friend
The sewing retreat is £699 per person and includes sewing sessions on Saturday and Sunday, welcome drinks, dinners, and refreshments throughout as listed above.
If you'd like a non-sewing friend to share your room just simply add £100 to the price and choose the £799.00 ticket. They won't attend the sewing sessions, welcome drinks or dinners, but they will share your overnight accommodation and breakfast Fri through to Sunday. Your friend can take advantage of the pool and spa or relax in some other way or walk around town, whilst you have a wonderful sewing retreat. This way you could split the cost with your friend and both have a wonderful weekend!
IMPORTANT: Due to the nature of advance bookings & payments needed to secure the tutors, hotel, food and facilities we operate a strict Non-Refund Policy; you are however free to assign another person to take your place on the Retreat, should you be unable to attend for any unforeseen reason. All we ask in that instance is that you give us due advance notice of such an arrangement, should it be necessary.
Paying in Full
For those of you wishing to pay in full, simply go to our Pay Online page, find the 2027 Crowne Plaza Hotel: Stratford-upon-Avon UK Weekend Craft Retreat graphic and follow the prompts.
Paying via Instalments
For those of you interested in paying via three monthly installments, the first payment is a deposit of just £100.00. Just click on the £100 deposit button in the ticket area and we'll be in touch to arrange the installments via PayPal. The installments won't commence until February 2027 (unless you would like to pay sooner, we can arrange that for you too) £100 guarantees you a place for any of the options you choose (solo/shared etc)
All being well, we've covered any questions/queries you might have about this exciting 2027 Crowne Plaza Hotel: Stratford-upon-Avon UK Weekend Craft Retreat but if there is anything else you'd like to know, please don't hesitate to contact us via email: hello@craftymonkies.com.
Looking for a birthday surprise, marking a special occasion or a treat for someone special? A timely reminder that CraftyMonkies Gift Vouchers, in a variety of denominations, are available all year round - could be just the ticket for your crafty loved one!...
