HANDMADE MATTERS:
QUILTING & MENDING WORKSHOP
HANDMADE MATTERS:
Redesigning Textiles Through Quilting, Stitching, Patching, & Darning
August 7-9, 2026 in Katrina’s Studio
Join artists, Maura Ambrose and Katrina Rodabaugh, for an inspiring weekend of quilting and mending. Maura and Katrina will gather with students in Katrina’s barn studio in the Hudson Valley. This workshop is an immersion in handcraft that embraces quilting, mending, hand-stitching, and natural dyes; values sustainable design; follows creative intuition; and honors an intimate relationship to materials and one-of-a-kind textiles. Set in Katrina’s personal studios and gardens, with delicious homemade lunches, it’s a gathering that fosters connection, creativity, and handcraft. Maura and Katrina will teach quilting and mending to lead participants through a heartfelt exploration of creating objects that express a love of place, people, and plants.
Let’s Make Things.
The workshop will be divided into two parts—quilting with Maura and mending with Katrina. Students will experiment in quilting using simple squares to create a small quilted piece entirely by hand—learning every step of the quilt-making process from start to finish. They will also learn various repair techniques to making original, one-of-a-kind, hand-stitched mends on their personal textiles using stitching, patchwork, and darning. This is a unique opportunity to go deeper with various hand-stitching techniques. Students will leave with a completed miniature quilt, mended textiles in-progress, and numerous resources to continue at home.
Maura will be joining us from Bastrop, TX where she quilts, dyes, teaches and runs Folk Fibers. Katrina lives full-time in the Hudson Valley of NY where teaches, writes, repairs textiles, and draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape. The workshop includes mending and quilting instruction; various textile materials; shared and personal tools; individual creative support; thoughtful vegetarian lunches, snacks and tea; and a rural setting to connect with other creatives in the heart of the Hudson Valley’s farming landscape.
More details...
This workshop is an immersive textile workshop great for ALL levels of experience. Maura and Katrina will start with the basics for beginners, share ways to deepen processes for intermediate quilters and menders, and offer insights from over 25+ years of working in art and design to any advanced makers. To allow for maximum participation, there will be a minimum of 9 students and a maximum of 14 students—this will allow Maura and Katrina to customize the class to best support the individuals present.
The workshop offers an in-depth learning experience for anyone looking to deepen their quilting and mending in a pastoral setting with access to Maura and Katrina’s instruction and textile resources. Students will receive two hand-quilting workshops and two mending workshops—one using patchwork on woven garments like denim and another using darning on knit garments like sweaters. The workshops will be held during daytime hours and Katrina and Maura will provide all shared tools, materials, and printed booklets for students to keep. Participants will need to secure housing, transportation, and meals outside of the workshop. See “accommodations” below for ideas.
RETREAT SCHEDULE:
Friday, August 7 from 4-6pm
Saturday, August 8 from 10-5pm
Sunday, August 9 from 10-4pm
(Schedule includes light refreshments on Friday afternoon and a homemade, local, vegetarian lunch on Saturday & Sunday, plus tea and snacks throughout. See “workshop includes” for more details.)
PLEASE NOTE: There are no refunds for this event. Please confirm your availability before you purchase a ticket. You might want to consider travel insurance, if that’s a concern. Please be aware of any cancellation policies with transportation, accommodation, or restaurants, etc. Thank you!
Workshop Includes…
-Over 12 hours of thoughtful textile instruction in a small group setting.
-Several examples of finished, original work for in-depth, hands-on learning.
-Various workshop materials including mending tools (Sashiko needles, Sashiko thread, custom ruler, limited array of patches, select yarns, etc.) various fabric samples for quilting, and all necessary quilt materials such as thread, base fabrics, needles, etc. plus various tools to share. Students will need to bring their own textiles for repair, coordinating patches, and individual yarn for darning and any special fabrics they’d like to incorporate into their miniature quilt. (Materials list will be provided to students.)
-Printed workshop pamphlets with written insights, tips, resources, and more.
-Two thoughtful vegetarian lunches, sourced locally when possible.
-Snacks, coffee, and tea throughout the weekend.
-A lovely, intimate, all-weather space to gather.
-A special gift to keep.
-Value: $895 USD
Studio, Location, & More...
BARN STUDIO: The workshop will take place on Katrina’s personal property—the barn is just a stone’s throw across the driveway from her family farmhouse. The studio is the original carriage barn, now fully-renovated and temperature controlled while maintaining so much original charm. The studio has an uneven concrete floor, surrounding gravel driveway, and relatively-level surrounding yard and gardens. Parking is onsite. To access the bathroom, students will go up three stairs into the family farmhouse.
HUDSON VALLEY REGION: The studio is located in a rural region of Upstate NY. There are a handful of small inns, hotels, and rentals on Airbnb or Vrbo. There is no housing on-site. If you are looking for housing, the studio is 30 minutes east of Kingston, 20 minutes south of Hudson, and 20 minutes north of Rhinebeck, NY. Once you register, Katrina can provide more details on surrounding accommodations, restaurants, etc. There is no public transportation near the studio so students will need to drive—even Uber and Lyft are unreliable. The nearest airport is Albany, NY; nearest train is Amtrak to Hudson, NY; and nearest bus is to Kingston, NY but all require additional car travel to reach the studio.
Meet Maura…
Maura Grace Ambrose is a quilter and natural dye artist based in Bastrop, Texas and the creative force behind Folk Fibers. Her work turns toward the slower wisdom of traditional craft, drawing on practices passed down through generations and guided by material awareness and care for process. She creates textiles using natural dyes and historical hand-quilting techniques that move beyond heirloom bedding into the realm of visual art.
Maura holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and has been teaching quilting and natural dye workshops internationally since 2011. She is a recipient of the Martha Stewart American Made Award and has been featured in publications including Martha Stewart Living, American Craft, Country Living, Luxe Interiors, and Making Magazine. Through her teaching, she invites students into a balance of technique and play, fostering creative flow and connection through making by hand.
You can see more of Maura’s work on her website and on Instagram.
Accommodations
Here’s a selection of places to stay within 30 miles of the studio. This is just a sample list and you can find many more options including on Airbnb or Vrbo:
Hotel Tivoli, Tivoli, NY
Reclaimed Motel, Red Hook, NY
Central House, Germantown, NY
Rivertown Lodge, Hudson, NY
Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck, NY
Camptown, Catskill, NY
Hutton Brickyards, Kingston, NY
Hotel Kinsley, Kingston, NY
HV Mag Guide List (check the distances to Germantown)
If you’re looking to rent through Airbnb or Vrbo check in the nearby towns of Germantown, Clermont, Tivoli, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Hudson, Catskill, Kingston, or anywhere within 30 minutes of Germantown, NY.
There are many wonderful eateries in our region—it’s an incredible intersection of farms and food. For restaurants, checkout the nearby towns of Hudson, Tivoli, Rhinebeck, or Kingston. Germantown is the closest town but there are only three restaurant with limited hours. Be sure to make reservations if you have a special eatery in mind.
“When I started working with local plants to make natural color on fibers my connection to the earth deepened. I entered into a relationship with plants that felt reciprocal and nuanced. Through this connection my studio practice extends to foraging, gardening, plant medicine, and more.”
— Katrina Rodabaugh