To sign up for a La Conner retreat with Patricia in May or June 2026 +click here
To sign up for a Modern Medallion Mojo workshop at Woodland Ridge in August 2026 +click here
By Patricia Belyea
LA CONNER, WA — A quilt retreat. A waterfront town. Non-stop great food. Eleven gals gathered to create modern medallions with cloth and stitch in an idyllic setting.
Beyond inserting circles filled with exciting fabric combos, the makers built complex background compositions to embrace their medallions.
Although Japanese textiles weren’t required, plenty of yukata cotton turned up—especially since there was a pop-up shop right in the middle of the workroom.
Ten of the students had already taken a workshop with me, either in person or online. The eleventh had visited the Okan Arts Japanese textile shop in Seattle seven years ago. We were all old friends!
Late Wednesday afternoon, our group strolled up the street to visit the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Textile Arts Museum. Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s Virtual Voyage — Pixels and Patchwork exhibit had just opened, making us some of the first to see her new quilts!
On our final morning together, as we munched freshly baked banana nut muffins, I was surprised with a charming gift. Kim from Vermont had taken the lead in making a wall hanging for me. The front featured fabrics from everyone’s projects; the back was filled with kind words and a list of “Patricia Quotes.”
The whole experience was a joyful celebration of creativity, inspiration, and connection!
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
