Five Days I’ll Never Forget: My Creative Crochet Retreat Experience in Sicily
Some trips truly change you—not because of the places you visit, but because of the people you meet. That is exactly what the Creative Crochet Retreat in Sicily was for me.
It was five days packed with crocheting, learning, inspiration, laughter, incredible food, and bonding with 14 amazing women from all corners of the world. We were all brought together by a single shared passion: crochet. Add sunny Sicily, the scent of the sea, Mt. Etna looming in the background, and hosts who treat you like family, and you get a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Day 1: Breaking the Ice and Instantly Making Friends
Right from the start, it was clear we were in for something special.
Upon arriving at the gorgeous Villa Marina dei Greci, we received a warm welcome and got to know all the attendees. Each of us found a lovely little welcome gift waiting in our rooms: a yarn-ball-shaped candle made by Veles Cosmetics, and a leather bag from the brand Muud.
After settling in, we got ready for the Welcome Dinner, beautifully prepared by our private chef, Paolo Arrigo. To make everything feel even more festive, Chiara Candles and a local Sicilian Florist Shop put together a stunning table setting.
The evening kicked off in style—we all wore dresses from Enida’s Goddess collection. It was a sight that words can hardly do justice. We paired the dresses with gorgeous jewelry sent to us by Kalliope Jewelry from Greece, while Mara from Namaskar Messina took care of our professional hair and makeup (and even brought a small handmade gift for each of us!).
To capture it all perfectly—as fitting for true goddesses—we had two photographers and a drone shoot. Our main photographer for all five days was the fantastic Chelsea Johnson, while Giovanni from Sicily joined us for the first evening, capturing beautiful videos and unforgettable drone footage.
Fourteen women from different countries, cultures, and walks of life sat at the same table, laughing and talking as if we had known each other for years. After dinner, we had a Limoncello Crochet Night. Spending the evening crocheting, chatting, singing, dancing, laughing, and swapping ideas made me realize right then and there that this was going to be so much more than just a standard crochet retreat.
Day 2: Enida – Yarns Design – Go Handmade Workshop & Our Main Project, the Marina Shawl
Our second day started with the first workshop led by Enida from Yarns Design, who was also the main organizer of the retreat and a true creative powerhouse.
She shared her design journey with us—how her collections come to life and what goes on behind the scenes of a successful crochet brand. It was incredibly inspiring to hear how much love, hard work, and grit goes into every single design.
After the theory section, we started working on the retreat’s main project: the Marina Shawl, using gorgeous yarn from Go Handmade. Every participant received their own yarn package alongside KnitPro crochet hooks, which we used throughout the entire retreat.
A Massive Global Moment: During Enida’s workshop, we hosted a live stream Crochet Along. Crafters who had signed up in advance could join in and start crocheting the Marina Shawl using a pattern Enida had sent them. At that exact moment, over 400 women worldwide were working on the project together. It was such a powerful moment, and I don’t think I fully realized the scale of it until later.
In the afternoon, we went on an unforgettable tour of Taormina. We strolled through its beautiful streets, soaked in every corner of this magical town, and had lunch at a wonderful local restaurant called Kuttigghiu.
After lunch, we turned heads by crocheting right on the streets of Taormina while captured more stunning drone footage. We kept the day going at the Blue Sky Bar Taormina, which was full of laughter, dancing, great conversation, and delicious food. We caught a brief sun shower, but right after, a spectacular rainbow appeared. It was one of those moments where everyone stops, looks up at the sky, and just smiles. I know that image will stick with me forever.
We wrapped up the evening back at the villa with some relaxed crocheting and chatting.
Day 3: Agnes – Durable Lava Top & George the Alpaca, Who Stole Our Hearts
Day three was reserved for a workshop led by Agnes, the creator behind the ACCrochets profile.
She talked about her creative path, her designs that have gone viral worldwide, and showed us how simple ideas can turn into signature pieces. She also shared incredibly useful tips on YouTube, filming videos, and content creation.
We were also thrilled to be joined during the workshop by representatives from Durable Yarn. They brought along various types of yarn that the attendees could pick out and take home, and they even put together backpacks stuffed with beautiful Durable accessories for each of us. We were absolutely thrilled!
The hands-on part of the workshop was a blast because we were finishing up the Lava Top, which Agnes had designed specifically for the retreat. Since everyone chose their own colorway, it was fascinating to see how different the exact same pattern could look. Naturally, as soon as we finished, we did exactly what you’d expect: a beach photoshoot! I don’t think a single one of us could resist putting the top on right away to snap some photos.
After lunch, we headed out on one of the best adventures of the whole trip.
We went to the foothills of Mt. Etna, where we were greeted by the wonderful hosts of Alpaca Etna Rooms, led by Luciano Domanti. We got to go for a walk with alpacas, which was one of my favorite experiences of the entire retreat. I absolutely love animals, and I can barely describe how much fun I had. I had the honor of walking an alpaca named Lady Bug, who had a totally wild haircut!
Still, the star of the show was an adorable male alpaca named George. He stole our hearts so completely that we later made a custom sticker of him to use in our group chat.
After our walk, our hosts set up a beautiful aperitivo with local food and walked us through the entire process of producing alpaca wool. It was fascinating to see how much effort and care goes into every single skein. Needless to say, almost all of us bought some alpaca yarn to take home—and I think George was the main reason why!
No sentence sums up that day better than what Jazz said:
“Holy George!”
Day 4: Barbara – Lana Gatto – Penelope: Natural Silk Dyeing & The Magic of Volcanic Vineyards
On the fourth day of our Sicilian retreat, we were joined by the lovely Barbara (@penelope_panarea) from Panarea, a deeply inspiring woman whose love for nature and natural dyeing shines through in every word she speaks. Together, we learned how to dye yarn using natural ingredients. This was a completely new world for me; honestly, I knew next to nothing about it beforehand, and I am definitely going to dive deeper into it in the future. We used Lana Gatto Silky silk yarn.
Arianna from Lana Gatto joined the workshop too and surprised us with some beautiful gifts: a Sicilian-style beach tote, a cotton towel, and a handy cotton pouch that perfectly fits the yarn for a new project. Barbara showed us the whole preparation process, and our goal was to dye pure white silk into soft, golden shades using chamomile.
Natural dyeing is not something you can rush; it requires patience and time. Because of that, we used the down-time between steps to swim in the sea right in front of the villa—which features a beautiful black volcanic stone beach—as well as lounge by the pool, sunbathe, and, of course, take photos. While the yarn was steeping, some of the attendees started working on the Plumeria Bandana, a design of mine created specially for this retreat. Everyone received a printed pattern and a skein of Lana Gatto Silky yarn so they could finish it at home.
Once the silk was ready, we rinsed it out and hung it to dry right on the beach. The golden strands swaying in the sea breeze looked like a genuine art installation. The idea for this beautiful setup came from Enida, and it’s another moment I’ll cherish for a long time. Naturally, everyone wanted a photo in front of it. We all got to take home 15 grams of our naturally dyed silk yarn.
In the afternoon, we visited the Cottanera Winery, nestled at the foot of Mt. Etna, where the vines grow in volcanic soil.The welcome was fantastic, but what I loved most was learning that women play the pivotal roles in their wine production—from the vineyards all the way to the final product. As a group of women, we felt incredibly proud to hear that story.Alongside the wine tasting, we sampled local cheeses, toured the wine cellar, and soaked in the views of the Etna vineyards with a glass of wine in hand while crocheting away on our main project, the Marina Shawl.
We ended the evening completely spontaneously. We decided to head into town without any set plans, and those nights usually turn out to be the absolute best. It was filled with laughter, music, dancing, and memories that will thankfully live forever in our camera rolls.
Day 5: Mahira – Cicka Design – Muud Living: Crochet Content Creation Workshop & The Terra Bag
The final working day of the retreat was particularly emotional for me because I was the one leading the last workshop.I wanted to show everyone that nowadays, just making a beautiful handmade item isn’t always enough. We talked about how to present your work on social media, how to film video content, photograph products, and tell your story authentically. My goal was to teach them how to create high-quality content right from home. I also handed out a detailed guide packed with information that personally helped me when I was first starting out with social media and crochet.I was so touched by how open all the women were. We shared experiences, tips, ideas, and the daily challenges we face as creatives.
The second half of the workshop was completely hands-on. Together, we finished the Terra Bag using Braided Fine Durable Yarn and gorgeous Muud leather accessories. I have to give a shout-out to the KnitPro Zing collection here—those hooks were perfect for working with this specific cord, which is a bit stiffer and requires high-quality, sturdy hooks.The absolute best feeling for me was seeing everyone finish their project and head home with a completely unique bag in their favorite color.
The Photoshoots
With the Terra bags finished and the Marina Shawls wrapped up (our main project that we literally crocheted everywhere we went), we used our post-workshop time for a big group photoshoot. We shot with our wonderful photographer, Chelsea Johnson, who worked tirelessly to document every single detail of the retreat (and whose photos you can see throughout this blog!). Every woman got a professional individual photoshoot during the retreat, leaving us all with high-resolution photos of ourselves and the entire event.
Goodbyes are Never Easy
After our photos and one final Goodbye Lunch together, it was time to say farewell. To make the parting a little easier, the attendees were spoiled with even more parting gifts to take home:
Go Handmade Bamboo Yarn for the Zurri Skirt (designed by Agnes specially for the retreat)
Lana Gatto Sugar Cane for the Etna Cardigan (designed by Enida specially for the retreat)
Lana Gatto Silky for the Plumeria Bandana (designed by me)
Honestly, I didn’t expect saying goodbye to be so hard. In just five short days, we built friendships that felt like they had lasted for years. We laughed together, learned from one another, traveled, crocheted, and shared countless moments and emotions that pictures can’t fully capture.
There were tears—the honest kind that come when you know something truly special is coming to an end.
I didn’t just bring home finished projects, fresh inspiration, and pretty pictures. I brought home lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories, and a profound reminder that creativity truly connects people, no matter where they come from or what language they speak.
And that’s exactly why I know this wasn’t a final goodbye. It was just a “see you later.”
As Jazz beautifully put it:
“Holy George! This was amazing—let’s do it all over again next year!!!”
Below are some additional links and resources:
- Creative crochet retreat official website
- Shop the retreat – Explore the carefully curated patterns, yarns, tools, project bags, and accessories featured throughout the Creative Crochet Retreat.
- Agnes (@accrochets)
- Enida (@yarns_design)
- Mahira (@cickadesign)
Official Creative Crochet Retreat Photographer was Chelsea Johnson (@pronetowanderphotography)
