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
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