Licensed2Knit

Sunrise over beautiful Lake Geneva…the beginning of day two and wonderful weekend spent at the Heartland Retreat…see pictures here.I had a wonderful time this weekend with some truly remarkable women. I loved meeting all the new ladies and getting to spend some quality time with the repeat retreaters.

Our weekend began with a serious snow storm which left poor Claire from MA out of luck for attending this year…I do hope to see you next year though Claire. After making the arduous journey to Delavan, we had a hearty meal and changed into our pajamas for some serious late night fun. The shared out successes and disappointments such as Gail’s felted Clapotis…we are hopeful that Lesley’s suggestion of soaking the wounded shawl in some cheapo hairconditioner will release the grip of the fibers and save the shawl from the shredder.

Lesley Edmondson from Wool & Co. created much excitement among the ladies as she guided them through the miracle of needle felting decorative orbs. Many ladies caught the needle bug and bought roving to take home and play with. I found a spectacular scarf created by Wool & Co that was knit from Koigu and KSH…yes I had to have the fibers myself as did many other ladies as the supply of these two yarns dwindled into the single digits.

The next day we rose bright and early to greet our special guests for the day, Beth Walker-O’Brien and everyone’s favorite spinner Toni Neil. Beth really expanded our Aran capabilities with her innovative approach of knitting the cables in panels and joining them as you go. She also brought with her the blue print and design possibilities of knitted hexagons. Toni Neil brought with her some very special Blue Moon Fibers such as Socks That Rock and the Angora. I bought a skein of both to knit myself a stylish and warm hat in a beautiful shades of denim. Toni also treated us to a spindle session which I hadn’t tried since last year…I was surprised at how I had improved despite my lack of practice. My yarn looks amazingly smooth and appears to be a worsted weight yarn.

Later in the evening we played a word game with the markers and flip chart that Beth had used earlier in the day. We used the word entrelac and made more words that I thought were capable from it’s letters. Then Laurel decided to delight us with her knowledge of how Dr. 90210 is capable of making mountains out of mole hills I haven’t laughed that hard in a while…thank you ladies.

This morning I was able to treat the ladies to a wonderful breakfast of cinnamon rolls followed by an overdose of fiber with a sprinkle of a seated massage. Many generous yarn companies donated fiber for us to taste. I made a menu and served each selection to these hungry knitters. Their excitement was contagious. Many thanks goes to the following companies for making this possible…Karabella, Plymouth, Classic Elite, Beaverslide Dry Goods, Lorna’s Laces, Blue Sky Alpacas, Briar Rose Fibers, Tilli Tomas, Mountain Colors, Berroco, Tahki Stacy Charles, Inc. and Trendsetter Yarns.

I am really tired but very happy that the weekend seemed to turn out so well. Thank you ladies for joining me on this wonderful relaxing weekend. I already have thoughts swirling my brain for future retreat activities.

Dove Promises Message ~ Discover yourself.