Robin Mayberry

Stitching leads you to your center.

The texture of fabric in your hands. The pull of thread. The quiet, repetitive movement. The adding-up of tiny decisions that become something beautiful, something rich, something to be proud of. The gentleness. The calm.

Slow stitching is an art, a meditation, and an invitation to connect with your deepest self, the part of you who only speaks up when the world around you quiets down.

RESTORE will weave together the peace of doing handwork, the thrill of creativity, the enchantment of bonding with other kind-hearted women, and the restorative experience of deep rest for your nervous system.

RESTORE was created in answer to the question: what would be the most excellent thing to do in the deep winter, when the sun has been gone too long and we’re all sick of being frozen and the seasonal depression is seeping in under the door? And the answer was: spend four joyful days in the California sun with a big pile of fabric scraps and more thread than anyone knows what to do with.

At RESTORE, we’ll have lots of free time to do what we came for: to sit, stitch, be quiet or get to know our fellow thread junkies. This is a low-key, unpressured event that will leave space for naps, conversation, and sitting in the sun soaking up the vitamin D.

But we can’t stitch every second, so RESTORE is also going to include opportunities to learn, explore and create together. We’ll be playing with:

• rust bundle dyeing

• cyanotype printing

• beginner and intermediate embroidery

• creating an intuitive stitch book

• creating a hand-embellished drawstring pouch

• setting intentions and releasing old mojo

• digging into journal prompts and conversation starters

• an ecstatic breathwork experience

• a treasure hunt at the Indio Open Air Market

This event will fill your cup: with sun, with peace, with generous supplies, with a beautiful location, with heart-centered people, and of course with stitching to your heart’s content.

This is not about producing. It’s about being. The intention is not to make a million things; it’s to create space in your mind and heart, to open up breathing room, to encourage the kind of inner quiet that lets your angst unspool and your honest self to return home to your body.

This event is about stitching, but it’s also about healing. Healing your worn-out nervous system and your cortisol overload. Healing your overwhelm, trying to be everything for everyone and believing that if you just try hard enough you might be able to do it. Healing your exhaustion.

There’s a magic in stitching. Something happens when you sit with a pile of textiles, joining things together. With each stitch you feel a little calmer, a little more centered. RESTORE is all about bringing that beautiful feeling right into your core. As with all meditative practices, the act of doing what looks like not much opens the door to wisdom, insights, and understanding.

You will (reluctantly) leave RESTORE feeling re-centered, revitalized and renewed.

And you’ll have a pile of cool textiles to remind you of that feeling.

Is RESTORE for you?

If you are a person who loves to stitch

Who is soothed by the feel of cloth between your fingers

Who has piles of hand-pieced bits that will maybe someday be something but really you just did it for the joy of stitching

Who’s always on the lookout for interesting fabrics

Who has piles of scraps, baskets of embroidery thread, too many hoops, a rack of embroidery books, a list of hand-sewing projects and a stitching board on Pinterest

Who needs to carry around a little stitch kit because you never know when you might want to break out needle and thread

Whose social anxiety and internal angst drops the moment you’re pulling some running stitches through cloth

And who, in the deep winter, needs an infusion of joy, sunshine, quiet, internal untangling, gentle community and hopefulness,

Then RESTORE is for you.

This is a retreat for women and female-identifying and non-binary people. Not that we don’t love the men—we do. But there is a particular connection that seems to bloom when a group of women gather, and that’s what we’re nurturing here.

If you love color, soft adventure, creativity, and the thrill of getting to know excellent people as well as new aspects of yourself, you will revel in this experience.

Where will we meet?

This magical experience is happening in a gorgeous, spacious home in Indio, California that features:

• a hot tub

• a game room

• a spacious patio

• a jetted bathtub

• washer and dryer

• a pool (unheated, but maybe you’re brave)

• a large kitchen

• inviting hang-out spaces

• and comfortable beds in a clean, modern home

Our location is 30 minutes from the Palm Springs International Airport and two and a half hours from LAX.

It’s also less than an hour from Joshua Tree National Park, in case you want to tack another adventure onto your trip.

nurturing meals are included, natch

You’ll be well nourished with fresh, uncomplicated and totally delish meals and snacks.

We’ll be offering dinner on Thursday night, breakfast and dinner on Friday and Saturday nights and a travel-friendly breakfast on Sunday morning.

We’ll have lots of snacks, fresh fruit and easy-to-nab food to keep you going throughout the day.

Plus plenty of coffee, tea, and chilled beverages.

If you choose to bring your own adult beverage you’re welcome to do so. We’re grownups here.

We’ll do our best to accommodate any food sensitivities and will work with you to be sure that your needs are met.

here’s what you need to know:

RESTORE runs from 4p on Thursday February 26th through 10a on Sunday March 1st.

Price includes all supplies, accommodations for three nights, six meals, all-day refreshments, and more memories than you can stuff in a hand-embellished drawstring pouch.

 $1311

or 3 payments of $444

About Robin, your guide

I am an artist, a healer and a lifelong stitcher. I’ve been a compulsive maker since as soon as I could get my hands on any art supplies, and stitching has been my constant companion for decades.

I’m a recovering perfectionist, an optimist, a believer in the power of creativity to steer us back into our truth, a wisdom junkie, and a total sucker for anything that involves getting away for a couple of days, preferably with lots of time outside.

I’m a massage therapist and a BodyTalk practitioner, which means I spend my work life helping people to feel more like themselves, which is a pretty good way to make a living.

Gathering creative, sensitive and heart-led humans so that we can make art together is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve built something of a reputation for bringing awesome people together in a way that allows each of us to feel safe, understood, and connected.

As a multi-passionate creative dabbler, you might find me writing essays, painting in my studio, art journaling, or piecing a quilt top that has absolutely no triangles or tricky math involved. But almost every evening, when it’s time to step back from the daily spin, I get out my hand stitching. It’s my solace. It’s my joy. And it’s my joy to share it with you.