OLFA Interview – Koosa Mountain Lodge
Tucked high in the hills of North Georgia near Dahlonega, Koosa Mountain Lodge isn’t just a retreat—it’s the result of a decades-long dream stitched together with love, creativity, and vision. Owners Mary and Adam Sowatzka took the dream of a retirement home one step further.
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Q: Please introduce yourself to our readers – where are you from, how did you got your start in sewing and quilting.
A: I am from just south of Green Bay, Wisconsin. I grew up in a little town called Wrightstown. The total population was just over 1000 people. I come from a long line of quilters. My Grandma Ausloos made crazy quilts and crocheted afghans. She was the ultimate scrap quilter. My mother started quilting after all of her children were grown, but she always sewed. I am the youngest of 12 children, and most of my 7 sisters sew and quilt. My sister Bonnie owns two quilt shops in Wisconsin, and she gave me my first sewing machine for my wedding 30 years ago. I sewed off and on, making curtains, dresses for my daughter and other projects for most of my marriage. When I started homeschooling our three older children, some of the families in the homeschool group asked me if I could teach their children how to sew. I started weekly sewing lessons, and those lessons eventually transformed into quilting sessions with the moms while the kids played together.
Q: Where is Koosa Mountain Lodge located? What are some of the closer cities?
A: Koosa Mountain Lodge and Retreat is located just north of Dahlonega, GA. Koosa Mountain is 60 miles north of Atlanta. The location seems like it is remote, but it is only 20 minutes to Dahlonega in one direction and Cleveland, GA in the other direction. Koosa Mountain is in the heart of the Georgia Wine country, with several wineries on the same road.
Q: Why does quilting mean so much to you?
A: Quilts have always had special meaning for me, and my Grandma Ausloos was the one who started it all. My Grandma Ausloos passed away 3 days short of her 100th birthday. She was a widow for over 50 years. Grandma Ausloos had 9 children, the youngest was just 3 years old when my grandfather passed away. She learned to make due with whatever she had, and she hated seeing anything go to waste. She made the most beautiful scrappy quilts and afghans. Grandma made sure that every new member of the family got a handmade quilt or afghan from her. She would wrap you up in the quilt, and say to you, “I’m not good for much, but I can pray for you. I prayed for you while I made you this so my prayers for you are stitched into this blanket. Whenever you need a hug, wrap up in it and it will be a big hug from me” Now, whenever I make a quilt for someone, I think about them and stitch my wishes for them into the quilt.
Q: Tell us how the idea of Koosa Mountain Lodge began? Was it always your plan to open a retreat center?
A: I had toyed with the idea of a maker’s space for several years. My original idea was to have a space that was available for people to come together to teach, learn and work together on projects. The original idea was several classrooms set up for any kind of craft. As I became more interested and involved with quilting, the idea changed into a more focused space.
Q: What made you take the leap from an idea to reality?
A: My husband and I have owned a small cabin just outside Dahlonega for almost 20 years. We bought the cabin when the kids were young, and we spent as much time together there as we could. I was homeschooling the kids at the time, so we were able to spend several days a week there. As the kids got older, we were outgrowing the space and started looking for ways to expand the original cabin. We were looking for a small parcel of land where we could build a garage. Adam, my husband, found property for sale and when he zoomed out to look and see what was around the land, he saw the lodge for sale. It was listed as a short sale, so it was a really good deal. I was resistant to purchasing such a large property and it took him several days to convince me to even go look at it. When we went to look at it, I was still resisting buying it until Adam mentioned that it would make a great place for the quilt retreat I was always talking about starting.
Q: You opened Koosa Mountain Lodge at the very beginning of the pandemic. It had to be challenging! How did you make it work?
A: Opening the retreat at the beginning of the pandemic turned out to be a great blessing for my family. I opened in January of 2020, had one retreat and then closed down because of the pandemic. At that time, no one really knew what was going on. My oldest was a senior at Georgia Tech when the closed the campus. He had a lot of fraternity brothers who were international students and they had no idea what to do. They couldn’t stay on campus and didn’t know if they went home if they would be allowed back. My son and about 8 of his fraternity brothers moved into the lodge and stayed there until the end of the semester. After that, they were able to make informed decisions about their next steps. I was so thankful to be able to give them a space to stay so they could finish their semester without worrying about getting sick or having to isolate themselves.
Adam is an environmental attorney and does incident response for his clients. He had a client with an explosion at a facility in Maine early in the pandemic. He had to get special permission from the governor of Maine to enter the state and he spent almost a month there. When he returned home, he was able to stay at the lodge and isolate himself to make sure he didn’t bring illness back to the rest of the family. We were able to social distance and have dinners together on the porch while making sure we were safe.
After the vaccines were available and people were more comfortable getting together, business took off. Quilters were ready to get out of the house and spend some time in person with their friends.
Q: What’s a typical retreat like? Do quilters come alone or in groups? What are the demographics of your attendees?
A: A typical retreat lasts from Wednesday morning to Sunday afternoon. Most are groups are made up of friends or guild members. Typically, the demographic is retired women, but I’ve had a wide variety of groups. Some groups are made up of mostly mother daughter pairs. I’ve had groups of mostly men. My oldest retreat attendee is in her mid 90’s and my youngest was 18.
Are there other amenities at the lodge or nearby for when people need a break from sewing?
One of the things that makes Koosa Mountain Retreat and Lodge unique is the surrounding area. World class fly fishing, hiking and kayaking are just minutes from the property. We also have two very nice quilt shops within 20 minutes of Koosa Mountain. Koosa Mountain is also in the middle of the Georgia Wine Highway, which means we have about a dozen wineries within a few miles of Koosa. We even have a winery that will bring wine and do an on-site tasting for us.
Q: What do you hope quilters take away from a stay in the mountains at your retreat center?
A: That list is long! First of all, I want my guests to feel like this is their home while they are here. So, I want them to leave with the sense that they were able to relax and be themselves while they were here. I want my guests to feel rested, relaxed and rejuvenated. I want them to leave with new friends or deeper relationships with old friends. I want them to be inspired to try something new or motivated to finish something they’ve already been working on. I want them to leave with a sense of community and connection. Mostly, I want them to leave with a reservation for their next retreat at Koosa Mountain!
Q: Have you made many changes to the lodge or the way you run it since you began? What kinds of plans do you have for the future?
A: The lodge was being run as a VRBO when we bought it. It had been years since the actual owners of the lodge stayed here so there was a lot of maintenance that needed to be done. We had new HVAC systems installed, a new roof, and got rid of all the carpeting throughout the building. We remodeled one bathroom to take out the bathtub and install a walk in shower. We added the patio and firepit outside, that was a major undertaking and I’m so happy we did it!
In addition to the big changes we made, we made many small upgrades like better lighting, grab bars in the bathrooms, and added an ice maker.
This year, we built an additional building we are calling the Retreat. So, the new building is the Retreat and the original building is the Lodge. The new building has some features that make it a little easier for some of my guests. We have 8 bedrooms with two twin beds. Each bedroom has a bathroom attached. The bedrooms are all on one level and the kitchen an workroom are on the lower level. We have an elevator for those who cannot do the stairs.
We will continue to run both buildings as quilt retreats for as long as its fun. We have plans to add bathrooms to the original Lodge to make it more comfortable for our guests.
Q: How often do you bring in special guests to teach?
A: I bring in special guests to teach at least three times a year. When Heidi Pridemore of the Whimsical Workshop teaches here, she teaches two or three projects over the course of the weekend. I also have teachers that book the retreat and set up their own classes.
Q: What’s the one thing you love best about hosting retreats?
A: 100% the community I have built around Koosa Mountain Lodge and Retreat. I have met so many wonderful people since I first opened. Many of my guests have become dear friends. I also love seeing the connections and friendships that are made while at Koosa. I know of one group of friends that met at Koosa that just spent 10 days in Ireland together.
Its really hard for some people to make friends as adults. I love that I have created a space where people can come together and make new friends.
Q: When you aren’t at Koosa Mountain Lodge, where would we find you? Do you have special getaway places you love to visit?
A: I spend as much time at Koosa as I can. I have a studio on the property where I have my longarms and my fabric stash. If I am not at my studio, I can sometimes be found at home in Atlanta. I do travel a lot, and am usually ready for an adventure. I love a good road trip, but I’m also a fan of international travel. I am also huge baseball and football fan. I’ve been to 23 of the MLB stadiums and one of my goals is to go to a game in every stadium. So, the short answer to the question, is you never know where you’ll find me.
Q: Are there other hobbies you enjoy?
A: In addition to quilting and traveling, I love read. I’ve always got at least one or two books I’m currently reading. I also love to hunt and fish. We either use the meat ourselves or donate it, so none of it goes to waste.
I also love hand embroidery and counted cross stitch. I’ve got too many of those projects started! I am very interested in learning needle turn applique.
Q: When you’re sewing – shoes on or off – close the OLFA cutter as soon as you finish the cut – wind extra bobbins?
A: I start with shoes on, then kick them off at some point while I’m sewing. I can sometimes accumulate several pairs of shoes under my sewing table.
I definitely close the OLFA cutter whenever I set it down. It only took me one bloody knuckle to convince me that it’s a good habit to have. I wind extra bobbins, I dislike stopping to wind bobbins in the middle of a project. My friend suggested that I wind 8 bobbins and when they are gone then I know that its time to change my needle. I don’t really follow that advice but I thought it was clever.
Q: What’s your secret indulgence?
A: My secret indulgence is not really a secret. I love scissors! It started out innocently enough, but it grew into a bit of an obsession. I probably have over 100 pairs of all different kinds of scissors.
To learn more or book your group’s stay, visit KoosaMountainLodge.com.
