Lake Life Review

For this Lake Life Review, I packed my sewing machine, way too much fabric, and my favorite sidekick—my twin sister Sarah, as my #along.

This review actually has two stars. First up is Joni and her beautiful quilt shop, Clover Cottage. She somehow moves 90% of her store into the Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp each time a retreat rolls around, creating a pop-up quilt paradise for retreaters and anyone else who wanders in. And second, of course, is the retreat itself.

A quick backstory: Sarah and I grew up with sewing in our veins. Our mom made our clothes when we were little, our bridesmaid dresses when we were grown, and quilts somewhere in-between. Sarah and I each made our first bed-size quilts back in high school—and yes, we still have them. After college, quilting slowed down until one retreat at Lou Ann’s Quilt Garden in Oelwein, IA reignited our love for it. Fast forward: Sarah now owns “Lou’s” and renamed it Farmer’s Daughters Quilts (yes, I am one of the daughters; no, I don’t technically count, but I do help with the design work), and together we even publish quilt patterns. So, when the opportunity to do a review on this retreat came up, there wasn’t a single hesitation.

Well, okay—there was one hesitation. Sarah and I had never been to a retreat where we didn’t know everyone personally that was attending. We usually retreated with our extended family or friends...that we knew beforehand. But here we were, heading to the TQM Quilt Retreat run by the one and only Susan Brown, not knowing a soul.

Now, what you need to know is this: What happens at Quilt Retreat stays at Quilt Retreat.

…Just kidding! Of course I’ll tell you about it. Just enough to get you curious enough to join in next time.

Sarah and I pulled up five minutes before move-in, which was 9 a.m. sharp. We wandered through three different quilting rooms before we finally found the right one. Turns out, this retreat was huge. Over 50 quilters from eight different states filled the camp. Out of all 51, only four of us were new! The rest were seasoned veterans who had been coming for years, adopting each other as extended family.

The retreat was hosted by Susan Brown, former retreat coordinator for Missouri Star Quilt Company and now the owner of TQM Rulers. She knows how to throw a party. Our room had just nine people—which quickly became the VIP room in our minds. Susan set up at my table, along with Barbara (a newbie like us, who wisely pulled out her seam ripper before sewing a single stitch because, “if it’s out, I won’t need it”). Sarah’s table was filled with quilting powerhouses: Courtney from Missouri Star, her friend Kathy, and the Wisconsin crew (Shari, Mindi, and Sue) at the third table, who became great friends from the get go! Everyone was so welcoming!

Sarah and I got right into sewing. Not very often do we get to focus on quilting only, nothing else. So there is no time to waste, we needed to get started!

And while every room was buzzing with creativity, people getting their station up and running, the stories started to come. What stood out most was the generosity. You ask someone what they are making, usually it is a gift or a quilt for an organization.

Barbara from my table makes baby quilts for Quilts Made with Love, in honor of her coworker’s daughter Nicole, who passed away after childbirth. The organization delivers baby quilts to hospitals for the new babies. Barbara tries to make 10 a year! Last year, she said she only made six because she and her sister were busy making quilts for all of her mom’s kids and grandkids. Her mom lived to be 97 and had collected fabric. Barbara and her sister made each of the kids and grandkids some sort of quilt or table runner as a memory quilt with the fabric and even using some of her mother’s clothing in them.

Sue, one of the Wisconsin gals, was sewing pillows. They were adorable. They both had pieced hearts on them. She then told us they were for Rachael’s Heart, a project that donates quilted pillows to families of organ donors during an annual Celebration of Life event—a time that honors their past loved ones as their gift of being an organ donor. What an amazing gift.

These were just a couple of projects we happened to hear about in our little room of nine. Can you imagine what was happening in the other three rooms? Quilters are, without fail, some of the most giving people you will ever meet.

Of course, a retreat isn’t only about sewing—it’s about fellowship and of course eating! And we were spoiled. The meals were included in the retreat, and Chef Kevin was our cook. If you’ve been reading Lake Life awhile, you might remember him—he was Chef Brandon’s right-hand man at the PLAC cooking class I reviewed, which was published in our Holiday 2025 issue. Let me tell you, Kevin stepped up as head chef like a pro, which being a head chef is nothing new for him. He has been cooking meals at the camp for years, he was also the head chef at the Inn...you know The Inn, the one and only... The Original Inn. His meals here on camp were so good we all wanted to take two plates just to fit it all in. After supper, Susan (not me, Susan, Not Sue from Wisconsin but THEE SUSAN, who ran this retreat...this gets confusing fast!) would gather us for announcements. Then we had Joni’s bingo games with prizes! It was so much fun. After the meal, there usually was a demonstration or an instruction of some sort. One was given by Courtney, from Sarah’s table, instructing us on how to make fabric postcards! You can actually send them in the mail. I haven’t sent mine yet, I am wondering how our local post office would like these. But Sarah sent hers to our new friend Mindi! We will have to hear from Mindi if she received it or not? Mindi! Let us know on our Facebook page!

Another demonstration was Susan’s recipe demonstration. She admitted that since retiring from Missouri Star, she’s started baking more and wanted to share one of her favorite recipes. This recipe you don’t need to preheat your oven or use non-stick spray. It is the best of all recipes. It is the M&M Casserole. She called up a volunteer and began with, “First, measure one cup of Peanut M&Ms.” Then came Regular. Pretzel. Caramel....”just a cup each.” Her helper poured....Susan stirred, until all four cups were in the slow cooker. And then Susan instructed, “Now dump in the rest of the bags!” Her volunteer looked at everyone and mouthed. “WHAT???” She had measured so carefully! Susan dumps in the rest of the bags and says “This is served best, anytime.” The whole room laughed, and then we happily added it to our already overflowing snack table. Because if there’s one thing quilters love more than quilting, it’s quilting and feasting.

There were so many little moments that made this retreat even more special and memorable.

A quilter asked Susan for a hammer—Susan nearly fainted—”What on earth do you need a hammer for?” Then Mary from Clover Cottage casually pulled one from her bag. (Of course she did.) It was to put in grommets; she wasn’t remodeling any room of the camp.

Kathy breezed by us one afternoon declaring, “I’m on my way somewhere, I just don’t know where.” Kathy wasn’t in our room. But we had nearly everyone swing by for visits because as I said we were the VIP room! Not because of Sarah and I, although we can pretend. It was because our room housed the main boss, Susan! Susan knew everyone, knew about their families, pets and pet-peeves. That is what you do when you sew at retreats. There is sewing....eating and chatting. You get to know a person quite well when together for a weekend retreat, or for some, a full week retreat.

Sarah and I only stayed two days, but by Friday night, we were back for show-and-tell—because we couldn’t resist seeing what everyone had made. That’s when you know a retreat has hooked you.

We saw beautiful quilts, table runners and even bags that people had been working on. And you guessed it, most of them were going to be gifted. Not that it isn’t’ good to keep any for yourself. You find yourself as a quilter, there are more projects than one house can hold. So, the giving begins.

And then, of course, there was Joni’s Clover Cottage shop, set up like a treasure chest for quilters. I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to make it feel like the whole store had packed its bags and come on retreat too. Bolts of fabric lined up, kits displayed, rulers you didn’t know you needed until suddenly you can’t imagine quilting without them, and patterns galore. If you’ve ever been to her shop in Emmetsburg, you know how charming it is, but when she brings it lakeside? Oh, it’s dangerous—in the best possible way.

We found ourselves popping in every time we walked past—just to “see what was new.” (Spoiler: everything was new, and everything begged to come home with us.) I told myself I didn’t need another fat quarter bundle, but then I touched it, and well, we all know how that ends. Sarah made a “desperation dash” when we realized we’d packed everything except the right flying geese ruler, and thankfully Joni had exactly what we needed. She also had about twenty other things I didn’t need but somehow absolutely had to have. That’s the magic of Clover Cottage—you go in for one thing and come out with a bag that could double as a workout weight.

Having a store available while you are at retreat is every quilter’s dream. If you forgot anything, well maybe not your power cord for your sewing machine, but anything else, you can grab it at the store. Run out of thread? BOOM! Joni’s there for you. Broke a needle and didn’t pack more? BOOM! Joni’s there for you. Didn’t bring your seam ripper because you thought you were perfect? BOOM! Joni’s there for you. Ran out of things to do? BOOM...wait a minute. A quilter doesn’t ever run out of projects. We always have more. But when we want to start on something new? BOOM! Joni’s there for you!

The best part? You don’t even have to be at retreat to enjoy it. While the quilters are tucked away stitching, Joni’s Clover Cottage pop-up shop is open to the public. Locals wander in, lake visitors stop by, and everyone leaves grinning with fabric in their arms. It’s like our own backyard quilt market, and we only have to wait until the next retreat for it to roll back in.

So here’s the verdict: even if you can’t swing the full retreat (and if you want to, sign up fast—the spots fill quick), go check out Joni and her Clover Cottage crew. Her shop setup is open to the public during retreats, and trust me, you won’t walk out empty-handed.

We came in as strangers. We left feeling like cousins. That’s the magic of quilt retreat—and a little shopping never hurts either.

The next TQM retreat at the Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp will be from February 25–March 4. If you can’t be part of the retreat, visit Joni’s store right here at camp. Stock up on enough projects to keep you busy until September, when she’ll be back again. OR if you didn’t, she is not far away, you can visit her at her store in Emmetsburg year-round. Call Joni at 712-852-2080.