Saturday, October 27, 2012

Knitting Retreat!

At the end of September (wow was it really a month ago??), I went on my first knitting retreat ever.

Actually I didn't just go, I led the half the workshops. :) I don't just do things half-way. Jump in with both feet, I say. (I kind of feel like the Yarn Harlot, but on a smaller scale.)

It was the Ram Wools Annual Knitting Retreat in Pinawa, Manitoba, September 28-30. Eleven knitters came and we had a blast!



Everyone arrived Friday night and we went for supper at a nearby country club restaurant. Then we got to know each other over some knitting, of course. They asked me how I became an expert knitter. I laughed and said I wasn't. I just knit. And spin. And dye yarn. A lot. And I like to bring other people over to the dark side share my love of knitting with others. ;-)

Bright and early Saturday morning we started up some dye pots and dyed some sock yarn and rovings with food colouring.


Everyone had way to much fun.





 
The colours were fantastic.


We used the techniques in this video.

Then in the afternoon, I taught some knitters how to spin their own yarn using spindles.





A whole new group of spinners were born!

On Sunday, we took those beginner spinning skills to another level and made coil art yarn like this:


The lovely ladies in my class were so enthusiastic that they all picked up this new skill with ease!



There was also some outdoor knitting, because the weather was gorgeous and the fall colours were beautiful along the Winnipeg River. 



What a lot of fun! Can't wait til the next one! :)