Events

We have events and quilty retreats during the year as we LOVE sewing with you! Stay tuned to our newsletter (you can sign up at the bottom of any page on our website) as well as social media accounts for information on the next retreat.

Our next retreat is going to be June 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th 2026 for the Penola Patchwork Party! Yes a fun-filled LONG weekend of sewing!

(You can read about previous year’s Penola Patchwork Parties 2025 retreat here2024 retreat here.)

Penola Patchwork Party 2026

#penolapatchworkparty

We are so happy to announce we are returning to Penola in South Australia for our third Penola Patchwork Party on the June long weekend of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th June 2026. Three and a half days of non stop sewing!

You are invited to join us for a fun long weekend of sewing, quilting, stitching as well as chatting, meeting new quilty friends, eating delicious food, laughing and having lots of fun….. all in the historic country town of Penola in the South East of South Australia.

Book your place now

What We Will Be Doing

Our Penola Patchwork Party will be for anyone who loves sewing and / or quilting! You are welcome to bring your sewing machine to power through any project you like. Or you can bring your hand stitching – we will have tables set up for both.

Please select the relevant option when you book and pay to let us know which you will be bringing to the retreat so that we can plan the table layout to best suit what you are wanting to do!

And yes, there will be laughing and fun!

Our venue at the Penola Football Clubrooms has been undergoing renovation over the summer and we have been notified that the upstairs area where we would be won’t be finished in time for our retreat! So we have sourced an alternative venue, the Still Water Studio right in the middle of town.

There is lots of natural light and everyone will have their own table and we will even have some design walls around the space!

There is parking and access at the rear and @thefabrichusband will be on hand as you arrive on Friday afternoon to help you.

[photo by Christy Radford of With Love Photography]

What Will We Be Eating

There will be morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday (and afternoon tea on the Friday). Catering will be from one of the cafes in town.

We will be venturing across the road to the Cafe who is providing our catering for the weekend so we can eat away from our precious fabrics!

Shopping Opportunities

There will be a Said With Love pop up shop, so feel free to put your orders in before the weekend and I can hand deliver them to you! There will also be a pop up shop from The Rural Stitch Co.

If you want to nick out and do a spot of shopping along the main street, there are some interesting shops from homewares and antiques, to clothes and winery cellar doors!

And of course there are all the wineries out on the Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip…. I am sure if you are a wine buff you will definitely want to do a tasting at one of them!

Dinner and accommodation

Your evening meals and weekend accommodation are not included in the Penola Patchwork Party price as there are so many different options we couldn’t decide!

On the Friday night we will organise with you to get some take out delivered to our retreat (we will work out costs on the day) so we can keep on sewing and have our first meal together to get to know each other!

For dinner another night I would suggest it is a fabulous opportunity for you to dine out at one of South Australia’s top regional restaurants, Pipers! However, bookings are mandatory, especially for a long weekend. And as they have announced they are closing their business at the end of June, definitely get in early with a booking!

There is also the wonderful Royal Oak Hotel which has some delicious meals or the more laid back Prince of Wales pub. I would suggest making a booking for whichever you choose to ensure you get a seat, weekends are very popular in the Coonawarra wine region!

Last year we had a group meal on the Sunday evening at the Royal Oak and if people would like to do that again, we certainly can!

As well there is as a wide range of accommodation available in Penola and surrounds, again, I would suggest booking as soon as you decide you want to come to the Penola Patchwork Party to ensure you get the place you want to stay at. Alexander Cameron motel, Must, the caravan park, Cobb & Co Cottages (right next door to where we are sewing!), the Royal Oak plus lots of small B&B places are all unique and fun.

There are some resources to help you find suitable accommodation

https://penolacoonawarra.com/stay-in-penola-coonawarra/#!directory/map

And some specific places that are lovely that I have stayed in personally and can recommend.

https://www.cobbnco.com.au/bed-and-breakfast.php

https://www.mustatcoonawarra.com.au/

https://www.alexandercameronsuites.com.au

And here is a guide that the local council has put out that could also assist

https://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0035/299915/Penola-Coonawarra-Accommodation-20.02.2024.pdf

What Is The Schedule

We are going to get started after lunch on the Friday, so we can get 3 and a half days of sewing in!

So from 1pm on Friday you can come to Still Water Studio at 45B Church Street (the main street) and get settled in and start sewing!

Then Saturday, Sunday we will be sewing from 9am until 5pm, Monday will be 9am until 4pm.

There will be a small goody bag on arrival with some gorgeous things for you!

We will be doing a show and tell during the weekend, so if you have a special quilt or make that you want to share with us (or more than one!) please bring it along!

How Much Does It Cost?

The three and a half days including morning and afternoon teas, all day coffee and tea as well as delicious lunches is $350. This includes show and tell plus a goody bag and all the laughter and fabric talk you can handle!

Last year’s Penola Patchwork Party participants have received a coupon code to get a discount of this year’s retreat!

You can pay up front when you book, or you can make use of our Layby / Deposit option where you can pay off over 4 fortnights or 8 fortnights. As long as it is paid off before the 1st June 2026!

Book your Penola Patchwork Party place now!