Switzerland Quilting Retreat

Meet Janice Gunner and our Arena Travel Tour Manager at London Heathrow airport for our flight to Zurich. We will be met by our coach and driver and transfer to our hotel. We will dine together in the hotel this evening.

Two full days of quilting workshops with Janice at Bernina Creative Centre with use of Bernina B590 sewing machines. Lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments are provided on both days.

A break from the sewing room today as we enjoy a full day excursion to Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland and once home to Einstein, James Joyce and Wagner. With our local guide we’ll take a walking tour of the Old Town, learning about the city’s past as we stroll its hidden alleyways and picturesque squares. After some free time for lunch, we’ll take a short boat ride on Lake Zurich to Kilchberg, home of the chocolate maker Lindt. Here, at their new chocolate museum, we’ll learn about the journey of the cocoa bean, from its growing region all the way to Europe, and how cocoa pods are processed into the finest chocolate. We'll see how chocolate conquered the world during its 5,000-year history, and how Switzerland became the chocolate capital of the world. In their chocolate factory, we’ll see how their small chocolate bars are produced and taste some samples. Our boat trip on Lake Zurich continues, as we take in the surrounding views from the water before returning to central Zurich.

Two full days of quilting workshops with Janice at Bernina Creative Centre with use of Bernina B590 sewing machines. On one of the days, we’ll take a guided tour of the Bernina factory. Lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments are provided on both days.

Today we’ll explore the history of the textile trade in Switzerland, which was concentrated in the eastern part of the country. Our first stop is the Textile Museum in Sorntal; set up to preserve the history of the textile industry in the region. Based in a former spinning mill dating back to 1850, the museum displays working textile machinery from the early days of industrialisation through to more recent times along with tools for flax processing, hand embroidery, knitting, fabric printing, and weaving. After out guided visit we’ll enjoy some refreshments before continuing to St Gallen.

St Gallen used to be a major textile centre known for its high-quality linen, cotton weaving and intricate lace and embroidery. At the beginning of the 20th century, the town's embroidery accounted for over 50 per cent of the world's production. When the town was founded, the monks grew the only crops that could thrive in the altitude (flax and hemp) and started weaving linen. In the 1700s, the weavers in St Gallen were inspired by how Turkish women embroidered silks and by the end of decade the town had nearly 40,000 embroiderers. In the 1860s, Swiss craftsmen invented a loom with a shuttle, the Schiffli machine. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, hand embroidery machines were built but handcrafted lace continued to be templates for inspiration. We’ll take a tour of St. Gallen, where the history of the textile industry whispers from every corner. Rich textile merchants poured their wealth into building flamboyant Art Nouveau mansions with beautiful bay windows and frescoes which still stand today. We’ll also visit the Abbey of Saint Gall and its renowned library, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

After some free time for lunch, we’ll have a guided visit of the Textile Museum in St. Gallen. The vast museum, with over 30,000 objects, showcases handmade lace, decorated Renaissance gowns, antique fabrics from around the world, and historical costumes. After the visit we’ll have some free time for shopping and personal sightseeing before returning to the hotel. We will dine together this evening.

Transfer to Zurich airport for our return flight to London Heathrow.