The Retreat

Although it’s been a couple days since the retreat, I’ve needed to collect and organize my thoughts.

I became so used to wearing my corset and gowns, that upon donning my modern wear, I felt strange and out of place. The clothing had the added benefit of layers, helping me to remain warm, which as anyone who knows me can attest is a feat in and of itself. Upon arrival on Thurs, we immediately set about changing into our Regency clothing and then settling into our rooms. We were happily informed that the first workshop was being delayed until after dinner, (allowing more time to settle in) and that the post dinner workshop was being cancelled unless an informal discussion was called for during free time (this made us happy so that we could socialize more). We were given seat assignments that first night, in an effort to become acquainted with new people, of which there were a great many.  I’ll pause here to note how incredibly pleased I was to see so many new faces, and to finally meet people I’d only interacted with online.  This assigned seating was an inspired idea, helping us to get comfortable with new acquaintances and prompting us to continue seeking out new people all weekend .

We were up and dressed early (for me, anyway!) for breakfast at 8 each day. On Friday I attended 3 workshops; a proper fit for your costumes, a pastry class, and a scented product making class. It was a good thing we were asked to bring aprons, as the last 2 were quite messy, but all the more fun for being so. Our hostesses were thoughtful enough to give us time to dress in evening clothes prior to dinner each day, which was very nice considering some (the more insane) of us created 2 dresses per day, just for this purpose. Saturday I attended Miss Nora’s ribbon flower making class, which was lovely and very helpful, and I think that was the only workshop I attended that day. Saturday evening we had our annual Winter Ball, complete with a dinner which we invited the general public to attend. We had a few extra guests this evening, including some gentlemen which made the dancing much nicer! Sunday was bittersweet as it was our last day. I taught a slipper making class, and attended Stephanie’s bonnet making class but only copied the new pattern onto buckram that day. I’ll get around to finishing the bonnet soon. It ended all too soon, and everyone is already speaking of when we can have another retreat! I hope it happens as it was a tremendous success.
A slew of pictures and a video for your enjoyment
Photo slide show
Auretti’s Dutch Skipper

Advertisements