Jane Foster's sewing retreat
is held on the
Asilomar
Retreat and Conference Grounds on the shoreline of the Monterey
Peninsula in California. Asilomar occupies 107 acres with
housing for 312 people, a dining room, and conference rooms.
It is part of the California state park system, and is run by a
concession. The fee for the
sewing retreat covers housing (two
people per room), meals and Jane's wonderful instruction. Students are able to
sew, design, relax, take walks, visit the tide pools, shop, and socialize with friends. The beach, flora, tide pools and ocean are magnificent. Usually the
students arrange to take an afternoon side trip to shop in
the local fabric or knitting stores in Pacific Grove or Carmel.
Students bring their sewing machines and work on projects that yearn
to be started or finished. Asilomar provides a room for sewing
between the hours of 6 am and midnight, and students enjoy the time
without interruptions from TV or telephone calls.
Meals are served family
style in the
dining room, and the food is wonderful and plentiful.
They also have a special request area for people with specific food needs
(such as vegetarian). The grounds are beautiful and quiet,
and the ocean is across the street. The rooms are simple but clean.
They have single beds, and are without TV's, radios, phones, or
clocks. However, some of the rooms will have a balcony with
seating for you to experience the quiet. There is a gift
shop with really great coffee and a few snacks about a block from our
sewing room.
