For almost a year the Twisted Stitchers planned and saved for what turned out to be the most blissful and relaxing sewing/quilting experience any of us had ever had. Special thanks to Eva for recommending this beautiful place! Over the January 23rd-25th weekend nine of us traveled in three cars to Garden Spa Scrapping in Arroyo Grande, CA for our first quilting retreat.

Garden Spa Scrapping is owned and run by Marguerite Violassi-Ochoa (pictured below), a beautiful and sincerely friendly lady. She is sweet and soft-spoken and has got to be the most wonderful hostess ever! She welcomed us into her home with warmth and pampered us from the time we arrived until the time we left.

Garden Spa Sew Retreat 2009

Garden Spa Sew Retreat 2009

The welcome reception was lovely and delicious - assorted crackers, a melted brie bread and other tasty treats. We brought our own champagne and cracked open a bottle to celebrate. Here is a simple Brie Bread recipe from Eva.

BRIE BREAD

A round loaf of French bread (regular or sourdough)

1 wedge of Brie

Cube of butter, halved

1/2 cup browned, diced onion

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Crisscross top of bread about 2/3 into the bread. Melt 1/2 the cube of butter and pour over the bread. In sauce pan, melt the other 1/2 of butter 

© 2004-2009 Julee Maggiora

Designed with Homestead

with Brie, onions and garlic. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil and bake in 350° oven for 1/2 hour. Serve warm. Let guests cut pieces and enjoy!

The fabulous 3,500 square foot home was originally purchased and set up for scrapbooking groups as large as 10 people. It is situated in a lovely garden setting amongst huge eucalyptus trees. According to Marguerite, ours was the first quilt group to visit and we surely won't be the last.

The main work area (pictured at right) is set up in what was the living room. There are 10 tables, OTT lights, fans and plenty of room for spreading out (11 square feet per person!). Between this room and the kitchen is the Garden Tool Shed - a space

housing plenty of scrapping supplies. We used this area as our design wall/design floor area.

Each of the three bedrooms has a theme: Bahamas, Tuscan (seen at left) and French Country. The beds are adorned with comforters and down featherbeds. Comfy and divine! For each guest there was a fluffy robe in the closet and a towel on the bed - personalized with a bottle of water and a pretty hanging sign for convenience in the bathrooms. No more wondering whose towel or robe was whose! Very nice.

Daphne, Eva and Mary were in the Bahamas room, Julee and Christine were in the Tuscan room, and Linda, Leslie, Shelly and Rita were in the French

Country room. A fourth bedroom is set aside for massages and also doubles as sleeping quarters for Marguerite, or whoever is hosting that weekend.

All of the meals were superb treats! Marguerite is a gourmet cook and each meal was a unique experience, freshly made each day and night. For dinner on our first evening we dined on salmon with caramelized onions, Caesar salad and freshly-made rice pilaf. For dessert we had raspberry sorbet with fresh berries. One of our lunches consisted of croissant sandwiches, Chinese chicken salad and BBQ kettle chips. Breakfasts ranged from yogurts and bagels to fresh fruit and cereals and more.

Daphne (pictured at right) created our signature

drink - the Twisted Stitcher. YUM-O! Her recipe follows.

TWISTED STITCHER

Enjoyed especially after a long day of sewing with friends…

1 oz Belvedere Vodka (or your favorite brand!)

1 oz Pomegranate Schnapps

2 oz Simply Lemonade

Caster sugar

Lemon twists

Rub the rim of a martini glass (or a plastic cup!) with a lemon twist dipped in a bit of lemonade. Dip the rim on a plate of the superfine sugar. Shake

vodka, schnapps and lemonade together with lots of ice in a shaker until well chilled. Pour carefully into sugar-rimmed glass. Drink. Repeat. And enjoy!

We all had a wonderful time at this special place. We got TONS of sewing done, practically working our fingers to the bone. Being in the unique and loving company of our "sisters" was a comforting experience. To be able to laugh, eat, sew and have this much fun for two whole days and not have to worry about any of the every day challenges of real life was very healing. We recommend Garden Spa Scrapping to any group of women who wish to refresh their souls with loving friends and delicious food, in addition to finishing off those UFOs and starting new projects! Before the weekend was over, we agreed it wouldn't be our last!

Thank you Marguerite and Garden Spa Scrapping!