Garden Threads: A Slow Stitching Retreat

An Invitation to Linger in Beauty

A New Course Now Open!

Imagine this: a quiet corner, soft light, the slow rhythm of your hands stitching meaning into fabric. Outside, the garden whispers its wisdom. Inside, your spirit listens.

Are you looking for:

  • more stillness in your days so your soul can breathe?

  • a way to hold onto the beauty you see in a garden or landscape?

  • a tangible way to continue to linger in those beautiful moments?

  • a stress-free creative practice?

In Garden Threads we will do just that. Slow stitching becomes a gentle way to connect with your soul, inspired by the beauty of the garden and the joy of creating.

This course blends slow stitching with thoughtful reflection, encouraging you to notice, respond, and create from a place of grounded presence.

You will experience a mix of instruction, prompts for personal contemplative time, and an opportunity to share in community.

No special skills are needed. Just a desire to create with simple materials, slow down, and experience beauty.

We have a private community for sharing and encouragement. (Yay! Not another Facebook group!)

Earlybird Bonuses:

  • Special discounted pricing - $50 off the regular price! Until September 19, 2025. Use code VGAGTEARLY

  • Immediate access to the beautifully designed Garden Reflections Journal and early access to the classroom.

  • First 10 to register receive a gift - fabrics and thread from my collection

  • 2 Zoom calls to share your creations, ask questions, and reflect on the experience.

Garden Threads offers:

  • A simple, soulful way to deeply connect through slow stitching, inspired by gardens, beauty and creativity.

  • 20+ video lessons to learn stitching techniques that calm your mind and open your heart. (A $100+ value)

  • Monthly retreat style Stitching Circles (via Zoom) to stitch together, fostering a sense of quiet community. (A $150+ value)

  • 3 Bonus Lessons offering seasonal ideas will be added within the next year. (A $75 value)

  • A private community within the classroom. Yay! Not another Facebook group!

  • Garden Reflections Journal, a beautiful downloadable companion to prepare your heart and spirit for our creative journey.

  • Additional downloads to enhance your experience.

  • Resources to support you.

  • A practice thatā€™s all your own, yet shared with others, welcoming gardeners, artists, and curious beginners alikeā€”no skills needed.

  • Valued at $325, Your cost is $147 $97 with early bird discount until September 19, 2025.

  • Preview the content here. 

About the Instructor:

Hi, Iā€™m Susan Ernst, and like many, I found my deepest connection to something sacred not in church, but in the rhythms of my garden and in the joy of creating. That spark led me to dive deep into studying spirituality for over a decade, and now, with Garden Threads, I share slow stitching as a gentle way to explore that same wonderā€”no big theology, just a needle, thread, and an open heart.

"Young Woman Sewing in the Garden" by Marry Cassatt, 1900 (public domain)

Register Today

Early Bird Registration is open! Pay just $97 with code VGAGTEARLY

REGISTER HERE

Early Registration ends September 19, 2025

What Students Have Said about past offerings: 

What an amazing course! Susan is the ideal person to teach "art as a contemplative practice." Her whole demeanor and instruction is contemplative. Thank you!

Susan is a perfect facilitator - calm, gentle, guiding, caring, and she creates a safe environment. Susan created an environment perfect for attendees to feel safe in their vulnerability, necessary for the possibilities of discoveries and epiphanies. I came away enthused and excited. If you have a chance to learn from Susan, take it. 

I've collaborated with Susan on art projects, and attended a workshop she led. She combines thoughtful planning with gentle guidance for her participants, and unlimited creativity. Her "space" is warm, comfortable and welcoming. It's always a pleasure to work with her.

Whether you're a lifelong gardener, a creative spirit, or someone simply longing for a slower rhythm, Garden Threads offers a fresh way to connect with what you love.

A Practice Rooted in Hand Work

This course grew out of my year-long journey of making prayer flagsā€”a practice that deepened my creative life and invited me to listen closely to the seasons of the earth and the seasons of my soul.

Garden Threads continues this practice: gathering beauty, offering presence, and creating small, meaningful works with your hands.

To learn about my Prayer Flag Project, download my free e-book here:
Stitching Prayers: A Creative Guide to Contemplative Prayer Flags

or read about it in the Summer 2025 issues of In Her Garden Magazine and Greencraft. 

Questions? 

Read the FAQ section here.

Join Garden Threads, A Slow Stitching Retreat

Learn a new skill that grounds and supports you, and grow in community.

Use code VGAGTEARLY for $50 off until September 19, 2025

Yes Please!