A little over a month ago I attended the Hill Country Weavers’s retreat in Austin, Texas. As if having more fun than should be legal wasn’t enough, I received another gift for teaching. Cindy, the main organizer and one of my best besties knitted this hat for me.
This is called the Keep Austin Weird Hat. It’s made with two contrasting skeins of Noro yarn (though I can’t tell where one skein begins and the other ends in this hat) and is incredibly warm and comfortable. Even my twenty-year-old sons approve. Contact Hill Country Weavers for the pattern — I’m sure they’d send it to you.
Where I live, spring is a three-month fight between winter and summer. There are sure to be many more cold days before summer wins. And I plan to wear this hat every one of them!
Last weekend, I had the good fortune to teach for the first-ever Knitting in the Hills Getaway sponsored by Hill Country Weavers in Austin, Texas. Nestled in the hills outside of Austin, Romi Hill and I joined 60 students for three days of pure bliss at the Red Corral Ranch, which is a popular site for weddings.
This was a pure Cadillac experience. We were greeted by a white peacock in full regalia (a nod to the brides, I suppose).
Other peacocks roamed the grounds and perched in stately oaks outside the classrooms.
Throughout the weekend, our every need was attended to, including gourmet catered meals, an on-site massage therapist, comfortable beds, door prizes, raffle prizes, blackberry margaritas, and lots and lots of hand-dyed yarn.
If you want to have a lot of fun and experience some true Texas hospitality, get on the Hill Country Weavers mailing list so you can be the first to sign up for the retreat next year.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I head to San Juan Island, Washington, for Cat Bordhi’s week-long Visionary Retreat (unfortunately, Cat has other travel plans so she won’t join us this year). This intensive retreat is for people in the craft industry to get together and share knowledge and resources to help one another publish their work.
For the next week, I’ll partake in intense discussions about the knitting industry, review book ideas, offer advice to potential authors, seek input on my projects, and rub elbows with some of the most influential and innovative people in the knitting world. If last year is any indication, I’ll come away exhausted but invigorated with new ideas and renewed energy.
I don’t know how much time I’ll have to knit (meetings often continue into the evening hours), but I plan to work on a shawl that I started with yarn I received at last year’s retreat. One of the many perks of the retreat is that yarn companies donate yarn in the hopes that it will find its way into a visionary publication. Last year, I walked away with a hefty skein of Marine Silk Lace from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It’s 868 yards of a luscious blend of 51% silk, 29% merino, and 20% sea cell rayon with heavenly sheen and glorious drape. I promptly wound the yarn into a ball and started a reversible scarf. But I soon put it down when other deadlines arose. It’s been quietly nagging me every since. I think it’s fitting that I should finish it at the retreat this year. At least I’ll be able to knit on the plane and ferry.
A couple week ago I had the very good fortune to join 120 other knitters in Canandaigua, New York, for the twelfth-annual Knitter’s Review Retreat, hosted by the most lovely Clara Parkes. This was my fifth year. In the past, I’ve attended as an instructor but this year I treated myself to full experience and attended, as Clara put it, “as a civilian and loving every minute of it.”
I’ve been to a lot of retreats, gatherings, etc., but this one stands out as really special. In addition to two classes (I took Knitting Happily Ever After with Carson Demers and Knit to Flatter with Amy Herzog), there was ample time to relax and knit with the friends I’ve made over the years, join in riveting discussions about yarn, fit, and ergonomics, shop for yarn, and have all my meals prepared for me.
In a nutshell, here’s what I learned this year:
I can travel across country and partake in a knitting event without any mishaps, which is quite a relief after the series of “challenges” I faced earlier this fall.
Three to four days a year of having no responsibilities is a must (I hope my husband reads this).
I can knit to flatter my body size and shape (thank you Amy Herzog!).
If I take more breaks while knitting, I can knit longer (thank you Carson Demers!).
No matter how fervently I promise myself I will not accumulate any more yarn, I will.
Clockwise from lower left: fingering weight yarn from Hedgehog Fibres for socks or a shawl (a gift from fellow retreater, Minh, who is currently living in the UK), Brooklyn Tweed Shelter for a cardigan, and Spirit Trail Brigantia for, guess what? — another skirt!
Good thing winter has arrived — I’ve got a LOT of knitting to do.
