The Art of Creative Gatherings: How the 'Retreat Queen' is Stitching Together Community

Exploring Creative Entrepreneurship and Quilting with Tabatha Smith

In this episode of 'Measure Twice, Cut Once,' I welcome Tabatha Smith, also known as the Quilt Retreat Queen.  Tabatha discusses her journey of building a successful quilting business and the upcoming Quilted! Summit, a virtual event featuring 25 speakers sharing insights about quilting and creative business endeavors.

The episode delves into her retreat center, Camellia Palms, her Quilt Queens Membership how it helps quilters finish their UFOs (unfinished objects), alongside discussing trends in the quilting industry.

Be sure to grab your FREE ticket to Quilted! The Virtual Summit

Yazzii Bags - https://yazzii.com/

Quilt Retreat Queen's Instagram Feed 

Camellia Palms Instagram Feed

00:00 Welcome to the New Season

01:29 Introducing Tabitha Smith: The Quilt Retreat Queen

02:50 Exciting Events and Summits

06:13 The Joy of Hosting Retreats

09:09 Quilt Retreat Center Features

13:39 Memberships and UFO Challenges

18:10 Creative Freedom and Letting Go

22:50 Business Partnership and Social Media

25:02 Trends in Quilting

28:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where to start? Here's 3 simple steps to get going.

Are you looking to ADVANCE your machine quilting skills?

Machine quilting can be very solitary, especially on a longarm. It's just not that easy to pack up your machine and head to a friend's house for the day, right? But it's important to have that community - that sharing of ideas and tips, encouragement and motivation.

For more information and to sign up, visit our website.  

Transcript

Susan: 0:48

Welcome to a brand new season of Measure Twice, Cut Once. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you might notice something a little different this season. Over the episodes, I've shared so many incredible stories from crafters who've poured their hearts and souls into their quilting journeys. And those conversations have been magical. Hearing about the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the pure joy of creating something beautiful with our own hands. But this season, I'm taking a slightly different path. I want to dive a little deeper into the behind the scenes of not just quilting, but building a creative business that truly lights you up. As someone who's navigated the exciting and sometimes bumpy world of turning a passion into a profession, I'm excited to pull back the curtain and share my own experiences. Some episodes will be just me diving deep into my personal journey, while others will feature guests who are also navigating the world of creative entrepreneurship. We'll explore the nitty gritty of building a creative business with its lessons learned and the unexpected challenges that come with transforming your craft each day. Into a thriving enterprise, and don't worry, I'm not leaving storytelling behind. Instead, I'll be weaving them into the conversations about what it takes to grow a business while staying true to your creative spirit. So whether you're dreaming of starting your own business, or you just love hearing about creative entrepreneurship, this season is for you. Tabitha Smith has been quilting for 25 plus years and is known as the Quilt Retreat Queen. In 2019, she opened the Camellia Palms Retreat Center in Florella, Alabama, and has hosted over 300 retreats and 3, 000 women on quilting, sewing, crafting, and creative retreats. She's also a quilting instructor who has helped more than 1, 000 people improve their quilting skills and find more confidence. For Huh, that sounds like someone else I know. Her class portfolio includes beginner quilting, machine applique, foundation paper piecing, one block wonders, scrap quilts, collage quilting, orphan blocks, UFOs, quilt design, and color theory. In July 2023, she bought out a local quilt shop that was closing and reopened it online as a business. Nana Quilts. And then in August, 2024, she launched the Quilt Queens Membership, an online community for quilters all over the world where quilters get access to online courses, quilt coaching, weekly sit and sews, challenges, prizes, and deepen their connection with other quilters. That's awesome. Well, Tabitha, welcome to the podcast. I'm so glad to have you here.

Tabatha: 3:22

I'm excited to be here.

Susan: 3:24

I like to ask my guests, instead of, you know, sort of starting at the beginning of their journey, I like to ask, what's happening right now that you're excited about, that you're in the middle of?

Tabatha: 3:34

Oh, wow. Well, this afternoon we have our Quilt Queen's Christmas Party and we're really excited about that. There will be cookies. But mostly I'm excited about our Quilted Summit that's coming up. in February. That's like the big thing on our plate right now.

Susan: 3:51

So tell us a little bit about the summit. It's an online summit, correct? Is it one person presenting, many people presenting? What does it look like?

Tabatha: 4:00

So it's a two day online summit and it's free to attend the two days. We have 25 speakers, one of which will be you, I believe. And we also have some sponsors. I just, um, signed on Yazzie Baggs as a sponsor. She's going to do some giveaways. So we're very excited about that.

Susan: 4:17

I know who Yazzy Bags is, I have one of her little tiny ones that. I pack, it has all different pockets for my jewelry for when I travel, so the necklaces don't come out in this big tangle like they used to do for me.

Tabatha: 4:28

Yeah. So she's going to give away five. Quilt specific bags from her shop. And so we're really excited about that. We're going to have a lot of different speakers. We're going to do some giveaways. There will be a digital, I guess, swag bags where, you know, you'll get goodies from and discounts from some of the speakers. We're very excited. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Susan: 4:53

of fun. That is a lot of fun. I have taken part in a couple of these summits before, and they're just an amazing way for quilters to get, it's like a smorgasbord of teachers, right? So you don't have to travel. There's no travel costs. In fact, you don't even have to get out of your PJs. But it's a lot of fun. But you log in online and these speakers have pre recorded classes. So usually you can watch them when they're aired and you can also catch them a little bit later. For example, if you have an ugly day job and you have to catch them in the evenings, you can totally do that. But it's a great way to meet speakers and teachers that you've not met before at live quilt shows and may not have an opportunity to meet in the near future. So you get a real sampling of all kinds of styles and types and teachers and all those things.

Tabatha: 5:37

we have some scrap type teachers. We have modern quilters. We have, um, long armors. We have people that have developed quilting apps that are going to speak. There's some really good coaches and teachers that are going to be speaking.

Susan: 5:52

I love that. A really broad range. So by the way, for those of you listening, we are recording this just before Christmas, hence you're having your Christmas party, but there will be a link in the show notes because there is still time to sign up for this summit. So you do have a couple of levels, right? So you mentioned that it's free to attend. In other words, you can attend free, but there are additional things if you wish for a, a login fee, sign up fee.

Tabatha: 6:18

correct. You can attend for free the days of the summit themselves on February 4th and 5th. But should you wish to get a higher access so that you can watch them, you know, two months, three months, six months from now, you can do that by purchasing an upgrade.

Susan: 6:34

Got it. So perhaps I misspoke when I said you can watch them after work. Maybe you need the upgrade for that. At any rate, all the details are on

Tabatha: 6:41

you can watch them. I'm sorry. You can watch them after work that day or the next day. It's just like during the summit, right?

Susan: 6:47

Okay. Got it.

Tabatha: 6:49

when you're eating dinner.

Susan: 6:50

Got it. So I'm curious how, is this the first summit that you're putting on first

Tabatha: 6:55

It is.

Susan: 6:56

Yeah. So I'm curious how this feels for you in terms of organization compared to the live and in person retreats and events that you have done a lot of hosting of.

Tabatha: 7:07

It's different. It's different. I am used to live and in person. but my daughter, who's also my business partner, she's like, Mom, this is, this is the thing. Virtual, you know, virtual summits are like the thing right now. Like, that's the thing. That's up and coming. And we, that's how it came about. We were on our way to Utah and we drove from Florida. So we were in the car for three days and we were brainstorming. And so that's how that idea came about. And she's like, this will be great. I think we could do this. We should, you know, we should just do this. So here we are.

Susan: 7:39

I love that. I'm curious how you, how you came by the name Quilt Retreat Queen. I

Tabatha: 7:48

am not sure. It just sort of,

Susan: 7:49

we gave it to

Tabatha: 7:50

fell into it. What's that?

Susan: 7:52

We probably gave it to you, right? Those attending your retreats, right?

Tabatha: 7:56

Yeah, it just sort of, it just sort of like landed on me after I've hosted so many retreats. I've taught at retreats. I've organized retreats. I've done pop up shops at retreats with the inventory that I bought from the quilt shop that closed. I've just facilitated a lot of retreats and that it just sort of landed on me.

Susan: 8:17

I'm curious, what, what is your favorite part of hosting a retreat? Like, is it the, is it the planning and plotting and list making before? Is it the personal interactions during, like, what are, what are some of your favorite parts?

Tabatha: 8:30

It's the personal interaction. I am definitely a people person and it's just the connections and I've made some of my best friends over the last few years from just interacting with these people at retreats because you really get to know people if you spend three or four days, you know, in the same room with them. And that's, that's by far my favorite part.

Susan: 8:49

In the same room, and kind of by definition, quilting retreats are uber casual. Like, they're come as you are. They're, they're no makeup, the hair's not done, people work really early or really late or whatever the case may be, but you see their true selves. You don't see their dressed up, going shopping self, right?

Tabatha: 9:08

Correct. Yeah, you know, you see them coming out of their rooms and their pajamas with their bed hair going for that first cup of coffee and they don't care what they look like, you know, they're after their, their caffeine hit and, you know, I'm one of those people that I'm sewing at five in the morning and then I have retreaters. They're so until one or two in the morning. so, yeah, you get to see everybody just, you know, They're relaxed. Like I, I don't, I think too often we don't see our friends, especially our women friends relaxed because we have so many responsibilities in our lives. But when we're on retreat, we are the most relaxed that we ever are. We're just relaxed and we're having a good time.

Susan: 9:45

Yeah. I just love that you provide. that you facilitate that happening for women. Maybe tell us a little bit about your retreat center. Of course, I had to Google it online, so I've seen pictures of it and it's just beautiful, but tell us some of the features and maybe, um, what some of your upcoming events are, or opportunities for hosting a retreat if someone wanted to do that there.

Tabatha: 10:07

Okay, it is a seven bedroom, five bathroom, well, we have, it's six bedrooms because we use one of the bedrooms on the, that's technically listed as a dining room, but it's a six bedroom, five bathroom, Queen Anne that was built around 1880

Susan: 10:22

ish, Love

Tabatha: 10:23

nobody knows exactly for sure, um, it's two story, it's on an acre, and it overlooks our beautiful, Lake Jackson, it's Alabama's largest natural lake. we have palm trees and camellia trees, obviously, hence the name Camellia Palms. it has been owned by a variety of people. It was built as a residence initially, and then it was a boarding house during World War II where Navy, like five Navy families lived. and then it was owned by the actor Josh Holloway and his parents ran it as a bed and breakfast for about. Yeah,

Susan: 11:00

Yeah.

Tabatha: 11:00

they still live there in town. So, you know, you never know, you might see somebody famous,

Susan: 11:05

That's some

Tabatha: 11:05

uh, out on the lake.

Susan: 11:06

Oh, good to know. Good to know. So if a person like myself wanted to, wanted to bring a retreat, like what kind of do, is it a full service sort of facility, like just bring your suitcase and your projects and come or are sewing machines provided? I'm just curious in case there are listeners who are thinking they'd like to plan a retreat.

Tabatha: 11:28

Absolutely. So, yeah, most of our retreats are private retreats where you bring your group. Right. And so we provide, you know, Everything except food. We don't cook. I barely cook for my own family. so we do have a full kitchen where you can cook and there are restaurants. There's a grocery store like two doors down. So you could cook. You could go out to eat. It's up to you. And while we don't normally provide sewing machines, I do have a sewing machine. There's like a backup sewing machine that sits there. And if somebody's like, Oh my gosh, we just need one more sewing machine. I will bring you one from my house. Lord knows I do not have a shortage of sewing machines at my house. I can bring you a machine.

Susan: 13:29

Do you collect sewing machines? Rabbit Trail? Are you a

Tabatha: 13:32

I, I don't, I wouldn't say I collect them intentionally. Um, they just sort of seem to show up.

Susan: 13:38

up. We never make a plan for collecting them intentionally. That, that's

Tabatha: 13:42

I've got a couple of

Susan: 13:43

criteria. I

Tabatha: 13:43

fafs. I have a brother Inova's embroidery machine, and I have three featherweights and two Singer 201s, and the longarm.

Susan: 13:53

singer 2 0 1. That's not one I've used. I have a 3 0 1 and that's my favorite for toting around to retreats and friends' houses and things like that. Big enough to get the job done, but small enough to be, you know, easily carryable.

Tabatha: 14:05

The 201, I think, probably weighs 40 pounds without the cabinet. They are heavy. But they say it's the best straight stitch Singer ever made.

Susan: 14:16

Interesting. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one. My 301, I believe, weighs 16 pounds. So it's, it's like a three quarter size where the featherweight is a half. So it's still not a full size sewing machine.

Tabatha: 14:27

Oh no, this thing, like, you could use as a boat anchor. It's so heavy.

Susan: 14:33

In your lake. For sure.

Tabatha: 14:36

so then we also have a few times a year, we have what we call open retreats and, it's full service. well, except for the sewing machine thing, you definitely still need to bring your own sewing machine, but we provide, I have somebody that comes over and they will cook and provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and desserts, and so they cook and clean up, and they Sometimes it's open. So where you bring your own projects, sometimes they are guided projects. Like I'm teaching a collage project in January and someone else is teaching the quilted coat in February when I host the open. So is now it is full service and meals are provided.

Susan: 15:15

Very nice. That's, that's an awesome getaway when you can just literally pick up your project and your machine and not have to think about all the other things. I

Tabatha: 15:22

Right? And so we have. We have all the design walls and ironing boards and all of that. The accommodations are provided. We have three rooms upstairs and three rooms downstairs. And, yeah, it's just really nice. And honestly, downtown Florella, you know, it's not a big town. It's half a mile away, so you could walk to downtown and walk to the, you know, the little restaurants or the antique shops, that kind of thing.

Susan: 15:46

of thing. Beautiful. Well, you and I met in person at a, quilters and crafters conference a few months ago. And we got talking about memberships because I, I have a quilting membership as well. You have one and I love your premise. let's see if I get it right. You're basically helping and encouraging quilters to finish up their UFOs, right? Right. Right. Or does your membership do more than that? And I'm not remembering it correctly.

Tabatha: 16:14

that's mostly what we do. We do UFO challenge every month. Um, it's just sort of like a combination of community and accountability because I've found like a lot of people are like me, they live kind of rural and they just. Don't have the ability to get in person and sew together with people, right? Or they just they're they're not physically able to get in person and sew with people on a regular basis And they so this gives them the ability to be like, oh, yeah I know my these people are counting on me to get together with them on that Wednesday and Sew and work on my projects and be like, okay I checked this one off because I heard from a lot of my quilting friends that You They want to get these finished, but they just can't seem to get them finished, and then they feel guilty because they're, they want to start something new, but there's this pile over here, and then they're like, oh, I don't want to buy anything new because I need to finish these, but I really want to buy something new. And I'm like, well, if we just finish these, then you won't have the guilt. About buying something new

Susan: 17:19

Yeah. And I think you're so right. I think it's so very valuable. I think you've hit on a really great thing to have this, this idea of not only being accountable and telling other people you did it, but even the thought that we're getting together this Tuesday or whatever it is throughout the week, you're thinking of that, Oh, I need to pick up the backing fabric or, Oh, I need a little bit of matching thread or whatever the thing is. And even in your mind, you're progressing, progressing, progressing. And then I bet you all celebrate the wins too, which I think is really huge.

Tabatha: 17:50

We do and like this week in december We took a month off from the ufo challenge because a lot of people are doing holiday things and making gifts or whatever But this month leading up to today's christmas party. We did a five day mini challenge. So day one was Clean your sewing machine, change the needle, clean out the bobbing area, era, you know, how, so, because some, I've known people who didn't change the needle until it broke on them,

Susan: 18:14

Oh

Tabatha: 18:14

the needle.

Susan: 18:15

Oh, I know those people too.

Tabatha: 18:18

right? And day two was, um, I think it was like, clean off and declare your cutting table, because if you can't see it, you can't use it.

Susan: 18:29

And it's just so much more fun to do that with others than to do that by yourself. Yeah.

Tabatha: 18:34

so then they were posting before and after pictures so that it encourages each other and it gets the ball rolling and motivates each other, right? So we've done a few challenges like that in January. We'll go back to doing another UFO challenge because I know we didn't work through them all in November. If you're me, I know, I know how many I have. So,

Susan: 18:55

A few years back, I did a short podcast episode with a lady who was a student in one of my courses. And she had devised this quite simple bullet journal where she kind of, cataloged, if you will, all her UFOs. And then, you know, progressed down them. So what state were they in? Were they cut? Were they sewn? Were they waiting on backing? Where were they? Whatever. And then she would just each day put in 15 or 20 minutes. So for each person that might look different, but she just found that cataloging them to begin with, knowing what she had and then striking them off as they got completed, really moved her down that list. So I think you're accomplishing the same thing in a slightly different way, like just this idea of, of, recognizing that you have them and then systematically finish them one after another, after another is so good.

Tabatha: 19:45

thank you. And we do have like a course within our community about how to dig them all out, go through them, find out like, do you, like, do you even have the pattern for this anymore? Cause if you don't have the pattern, then you're never going to get to finish it. Right? can you get the pattern? Do you have the fabric you need? So like we went through, we have a course where you can go through and work through your UFOs to catalog them. Decide if you can, if you can actually even finish this as is, or does it need to be like, taken apart, fabric put away, repurposed into something else?

Susan: 20:17

Yeah. Do you find, and I'm kind of curious how this process works in your head. Do you find that you give yourself permission sometimes to say, you know, 10 years ago, that project inspired me and I loved it, but today, yeah, I don't want nothing to do with it anymore. And do you give yourself permission to say, okay, I This one's actually not a finisher. I'm just going to get it out of here. And be done with it. Yeah.

Tabatha: 20:40

It's called quilt it or quit it.

Susan: 20:43

I, I agree with you. I, I come from an uber frugal background, Right. My mother would never have done that. But I, I don't agree. I feel like there's a certain amount of weight, like mental weight, to having things that you don't love, but that you feel obliged to do. To finish. And in my creative space is not the place for that. And, you know, people may have their own reasons and, and, and how they process through that. But to me, I've been able to give myself permission to let go projects and even let go fabric that does not inspire or thrill me anymore So that I can move on without the guilt, right. To the things that I currently love. Go.

Tabatha: 21:22

story about the, the getting rid of this summer. I decided to participate in the quilted twins mystery challenge. So you didn't know what you were getting. So what I got was a panel and five half yards of fabric and the panel, I don't want to say it was the world's ugliest panel, but it just wasn't my jam. It just, it didn't thrill me. It was, I'm more of a bright modern and this was very country and it, I just didn't know what to do with it. So I got this bright idea. I would make a tumbling block quilt with it. I'd fussy cut these little pickup trucks and I got the 60 degree diamonds fussy cut, got the little individual pieces sewn. Did I read the pattern before I did all that? Nope. Had I ever made a tumbling blocks quilt before I did all that? Nope. When I got to the point of assembling the 60 degree diamonds, I found out I had to make Y seams. And I decided, you know, I didn't like this to begin with, I didn't like the fabric, and I threw the whole thing into the trash can,

Susan: 22:23

Oh God,

Tabatha: 22:24

and I did not lose any sleep over it. I was like, you know, I'm not making my seams, I don't like it that much, I don't care about the challenge anymore. It went in the trash can, because

Susan: 22:36

for you. And

Tabatha: 22:37

just couldn't, I

Susan: 22:38

if there's some uber frugal people like me listening, you know, the trash can is certainly an option. It's not the only one. There are definitely places where you can contribute things if you feel like it. even things that are partially done. I think probably key to that, if you agree with me, let me know. Key to that would be to label, you know, if there's a pattern that goes with it, send it with like, don't just give people a headache. But give them some guidelines, like, say, enough stuff to make a laptop, a lap sized quilt, you know, and here's the pattern, or something like that, right? And pass it on.

Tabatha: 23:10

have a pattern to be honest? No, I watched a YouTube video. It, I mean, it was, it was bad from the moment I started this project.

Susan: 23:18

a tricky one, because then you can't really pass on all the pieces to the puzzle. Well, No, and I truly believe we do have to give ourselves permission to do that from time to time, partly because we are creatives. And so part of that. By definition is that we explore things and not everything you explore is going to be a win. So you explored this idea of, you know, a challenge, a mystery challenge, and this particular one was not a winner. And that's just, the way it goes sometimes. And that's okay. When you're going to be. creative and this is your play, move on and explore something else.

Tabatha: 23:57

Yeah, and I just, I could not give it the mental space, not much less the physical space to keep taking up space in my room for a decade.

Susan: 24:05

That's actually a really good point. Does this whole process of finishing UFOs are your, are your people, your community finding this really helps them kind of reclaim their space and find more creativity and joy within their space?

Tabatha: 24:20

Yeah, I think so, because it helps them finish a project, so then now you've reclaimed the physical space. And now, maybe you give it as a gift to somebody, maybe you donate it to your charity, maybe you put it on your bed, whatever the case may be. But now you've reclaimed some of that physical space that you lacked. But now you've also reclaimed some of the mental space that you were cluttering up with that project, because even when you're not consciously thinking about it, you know it's still sitting back there looking at you while you're cutting out something new.

Susan: 24:51

Yes. Yeah. You are so right. You're so right. Okay. Turning corners a little bit. You did mention earlier that you and your daughter were driving together and brainstorming, um, this virtual summit. Are you and she partners in your business and how has that changed? How you do business? Is it a good thing?

Tabatha: 25:12

It's a great thing. Yeah, her and I are business partners for Camellia Palms. We own it jointly. Um, we started it in 2019 and I'd actually dreamed of doing it for a decade before. But when 2019 came, she was. Out of college. And so she was available and, you know, I was basically an empty nester. So I was available and I was like, this, you know, it's the right time, right? Like the timing hadn't been right before, but the timing was right then. And so we're like, Hey, let's do this. So we did,

Susan: 25:47

That's

Tabatha: 25:47

and it's worked out great. Uh, I'm, I'm the hands on person at the retreat center, right? Like if somebody needs a light bulb changed or whatever, I'm the person that goes and does it. And to be fair, she lives an hour, like two hours away from the retreat center. So it's a little farther for her. and she's our social media. Behind the scenes person. And she does a fabulous job.

Susan: 26:09

She does, I concur with that. I'm in fact a little envious of her. of having a partner slash sidekick who can do those sorts of things. Not, not all of us entrepreneurs are that fortunate. So good for you. And you kind of answered my next question, which was going to be, do. you have fairly distinct, you know, roles and skill sets that are different and therefore compliment each other? Well,

Tabatha: 26:31

Absolutely. Yeah. She is very much the business side of it. Um, the, the admin, the social media marketer kind of person. And I am very much, I'm kind of like a, Hey, maybe we should do this, you know, kind of the creative, I'm the creative side.

Susan: 26:49

the idea person. Yeah, we always need someone with bright ideas. So

Tabatha: 26:55

really well.

Susan: 26:57

membership that we were referring to a moment ago with, you know, people that are finishing UFOs and need encouragement and community that has members from all over the world. Am I right? We're just

Tabatha: 27:06

Um, right now we're just in the United States, but we're hoping to expand

Susan: 27:10

I was just wondering if you're seeing, you know, trends that. are changing, um, certainly I've noticed in quilting, things are a bit different than they felt, for example, before COVID. There's a much more of a trend toward online and virtual things such as your summit. Are there other trends that you're seeing, um, coming down the pike for 2025 and beyond?

Tabatha: 27:32

Well, I would say, unfortunately, beige, but that's just me.

Susan: 27:36

that's just sad.

Tabatha: 27:39

I'm not a beige person, and my youngest daughter calls it the beige bandits. My daughter, my oldest, loves the beige trend. So, um,

Susan: 27:47

Are you seeing that in fabric designers?

Tabatha: 27:49

Oh, absolutely. Pantone. Pantone just came out with their 2025 color of the year, and it's beige. I much prefer Kona's color of the year. Um, I just saw a pattern released by Lo and behold, it's the whole quilt is just one shade, basically a beige. Um, It's very, very trendy right now. Um, it's not, I'm waiting for that to roll over into something more colorful.

Susan: 28:15

That is so interesting. I can kind of see the appeal for low volume, right? Like, it's quite restful. But beige does just say bland. I think, you know, when I was a kid, beige was what your nylons came in. Like, yuck.

Tabatha: 28:31

In fact, I saw somebody make that comment about Pantone's color. They're like, we used to get pantyhose and an egg that color.

Susan: 28:39

They're so right. They're so right. Well, it will be fascinating to see what

Tabatha: 28:44

younger modern quilters are leaning towards that. That beige trend of, you know, monochromatic beige, and I'm just, I'm just waiting for that to slide on out because I am just very much a vibrant color person,

Susan: 28:58

will be so interesting to see, you know, the new patterns and the new ideas that come out using that type of thing. We'll see if they win us over or not, right?

Tabatha: 29:08

or maybe maybe Kona's deep purple this year. We'll just like, knock the beige out.

Susan: 29:13

Maybe so. Maybe beige will just be the supporting actor. We'll see. We'll see.

Tabatha: 29:19

mean, it could be, I always laugh and I say, beige is the color that makes everybody else look better. Cause you know, it's the color that doesn't compete with anything else. And that's fine. Like in the quilt behind you, there's some beige, but when the whole quilt is beige, that's too much.

Susan: 29:35

and speaking with the quilt behind me, It's uh, the mountains are calling. So it's got beige and white mountains, but of course then it's got a vibrant teal blue sky and green trees and all the things that are in a

Tabatha: 29:46

It's very bright

Susan: 29:47

bright. It is. It

Tabatha: 29:48

and the beige makes all the other colors pop. Right. But if it was all beige, then it's just, it's just a little too beige.

Susan: 29:56

I recently, going down a rabbit trail, I recently quilted a project and it was uh, pieced, it was a log cabin, but it was done all in beiges and neutrals and I was custom quilting it So that there were kind of diamond shapes point to point in those log cabins and I kept getting lost. Because there was no definitive log cabin outline. It just all ran together. So, I totally see your

Tabatha: 30:22

a lot of the trend that I have seen recently is, um, a lot of beige. Awesome.

Susan: 30:30

to see. Well, what a happy note to come to a close on. But it's sure been fun visiting and chatting about your retreat center. I will include a link to it in the show notes and also to the summit. so if anyone listening is interested in attending or hosting a retreat, they know where to find you. And also, um, signing up for that summit. There's a whole ton of free content and lots of guest speakers, um, available for your quilting pleasure. Maybe refresh us on those summit dates just before we go. February

Tabatha: 31:01

February 4th

Susan: 31:03

5th. Okay. And then lastly, just tell our listeners if you would, where they can find you under your various monikers on Instagram and the website and so forth. Oh,

Tabatha: 31:12

Um, Quilt Retreat Queen on Instagram. Um, you can find us at Camellia Palms Retreat on Instagram or the website camelliapalmsretreat. com and I'm under school. What's that?

Susan: 31:25

Quilts also, is that? your online website?

Tabatha: 31:28

Nona Quilts is a, it's a Etsy shop, um, yeah. It's very small. I have very little fabric because I barely have time to get it on there before I'm taking it to a pop up at a retreat. So most of my fabric goes to the retreat center, but um, I do have a small online shop for Nona Quilts. Yeah. And that's on Etsy.

Susan: 31:46

Well, we'll include all those links in the show notes then. Thank you. so much for joining me, Tabitha. It's been a pleasure visiting with you.

Tabatha: 31:52

You too, Susan. I appreciate it. Thank you.

31:55

We've been visiting with Tabitha Smith. She is the quilt retreat queen and also the queen of really helping quilters get through unfinished projects with what they have on hand. So I encourage you to check out the links in the show notes and check out Tabitha's membership where she helps quilters in her community do exactly that. And of course, if you are listening before February 4 of 2025, be sure and check out the quilted. Summit, which is a group of 25 quilters sharing their expertise and knowledge in a free two day summit event that all those links are in the show notes. Again, if you have enjoyed this episode, I would so appreciate if you would leave a rating and a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks so much for joining Tabitha and I, and until next time, may your sorrows be patched and your joys be quilted.