If you were active member of Stitch over the last 12 months, you would have had a hard time not seeing our announcements about the 2025 Big Stitch Trip.
This was Stitch’s history-making journey that saw 30 Stitch members travel down the US Pacific Northwest coast on a private tour organized by Trafalgar Tours, attending Stitch events with our local community members in Seattle, Portland, regional Oregon, and San Francisco, while having an amazing adventure along the way.
I got back from the trip a few weeks ago, and I’m still smiling. I keep finding myself going back to look at the photos of the trip, as if I somehow can’t believe how much fun we had.
I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say the Big Stitch Trip changed all our lives forever.
I certainly know I’m not alone in feeling it was a life-changing experience: many of the members on the trip have already signed up to our Big Stitch Trips in 2026, to Ireland and to Sicily. Some loved it so much, they are going on both trips!
It wasn’t just that the trip itself was amazing (although it was). It was that the connections we made ended up feeling deeper and more enriching than I think any of us had even hoped for. Weirdly, I feel like I miss everyone from the trip in ways that I’ve never felt on any regular tour, and I would feel very sad if we never got to travel together again. Luckily I know that’s not going to happen!
Of course, you can’t really know what I’m talking about unless you were there, but I figured I could try my best to give you all a taste of what the experience was like.
Whether it was the bonds we made on the journey, or the incredible love we felt from all our new communities in places like Seattle and Portland, or the incredible experience of long-time members making the journey to San Francisco from places like Indiana, Nevada, and Oregon just to see us, it was a privilege for me to be part of it, and to see firsthand how this wonderful community we have created is creating positive outcomes all over the world.
I am so humbled and grateful to all our Stitch family for being such incredible individuals, and collectively for everyone who supports, organizes and attends the events that make Stitch such an incredible adventure.
Below I’ll outline the connections that were made, the perspectives that were shifted, the conversations that were shared and the memories that were built that will last a lifetime.
But first, here’s a video that gives you just a taste of the highlights of the trip. Just look at those smiles!
Andrew Dowling
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