Thea M. Gray: Knitting Retreat 2009

Knitting on the Coast

A Knitting Retreat in Pescadero, California

September 25-27, 2009

Join us for a relaxing knitting getaway on the California coast! You'll gain new skills while soaking up beautiful vistas. Geared to advanced beginners and intermediate knitters, the retreat provides both formal classes and an informal setting where you can get answers to your knitting bugaboos.

Class Materials and Homework

Other Things to Bring

To Sign Up

The Schedule

Friday, September 25

7:00-9:00 pm: TECHNIQUE SAMPLER.

We'll dip into a tasty sampler of techniques for fixing mistakes, seaming, and making buttonholes.

Saturday, September 26

9:00 am-noon: MAZE AND CHEVRON HAT.

Pattern and photos by, and copyright of, Deborah Bennett.

This fun mosaic pattern by Deborah Bennett will give a slip-stitch newbie a great introduction and an old hand good practice in the technique. We'll start off at the brim with the attractive braided band. This could make a great tea cosy, too!

Noon-1:30 pm: Lunch break (on site or in Pescadero)

1:30-4:30 pm: CHART YOUR OWN HAT OR MITTENS.

Clockwise from top left, example patterns and photos by, and copyright of, laurabc, Seraphim, ravenblack, and jessibird

Using the blanks by helloyarn (aka Adrian Bizilia), we'll draw up our own designs for stranded knitting and then make them a reality. Students who can do the homework can launch right into their new patterns.

4:30-8:00 pm: Free time and dinner break

4:45-6:45 pm: Optional naturalist-led hike ($5 per person)

8:00-10:00 pm: A GOOD OL' FASHIONED STITCH 'N BITCH.

A combination stitch 'n bitch, knitting clinic, and yarn swap! Bring projects to show and work on, plus a skein or two from your yarn stash to swap. If you'd like help reading a pattern, bring several copies so anyone who wishes can follow along as we work through it.

Sunday, September 27

STANDALONE CLASSES

9:30-11:30 am: INTRO TO DROP SPINNING.

(Optional additional class; separate $50 tuition, maximum of 12 students)

Kathy will teach the basics of drop-spinning-besides being the oldest method of spinning, it's a great way to learn the basic principles before trying a spinning wheel. She'll also demonstrate how fiber is prepared for spinning, and bring a couple of her spinning wheels for students to try out, too. Tuition includes drop spindle and practice fiber.

Sign up for the Standalone classes

11:30-12:30 pm: Lunch break

12:30-3:00 pm: LARUS & ARDEA FINGERLESS MITTS.

(Optional additional class; separate $45 tuition; maximum of 15 students)

Pattern by and copyright Spinnity, photos by and copyright William F. Walker.

Spinnity teaches us the Swedish twined knitting skills we'll need to knit her beautiful mitts, from the three-strand cast-on, straight twined knitting, and twined purl, to crook stitch patterns and chain paths. You'll find the pattern for these lovely long-wearing mitts at Knitty. Must be comfortable working in the round with double pointed needles or two circulars.

The Setting

Crashing waves on a rugged coastline, a picturesque lighthouse, great hiking and charming towns to explore nearby, and a group of interesting knitters to hang out with. What more could you want on a nice fall weekend?

This year we'll have our own little house to ourselves, a historic lighthouse keepers' home, at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel in Pescadero, on the coast 50 miles south of San Francisco.

Love to cook? We'll have our own kitchen and dining room in which you can make and enjoy your meals, and you can always grill up something on the barbeque and eat at a picnic table overlooking the ocean.

Prefer to have others do the cooking? You'll find delis and Duarte's, a classic tavern, just five miles away.

Our house has two rooms with three bunk beds to accommodate six people each; one will be all women, the other, potentially mixed. Bring your own bedding or sleeping bag and towel. You might want to bring a swimsuit, too, in case there are sign-up slots available for the cliffside hot tub.

A cooperative spirit is an important component of the hostel experience. During the weekend, everyone will assist with daily cleaning chores, requiring about five to ten minutes each day.

The Teachers

Thea Gray teaches knitting at BookShop West Portal in San Francisco. She began knitting in third grade and has barely stopped since, even flying 6000 miles in a weekend to polish her couture techniques. Known for bountiful patience, Thea loves teaching the joys of knitting. You can find her on Ravelry as knitOrama.

Thea creates a warm, welcoming environment, in which I feel very comfortable asking for clarification or repetition. She's a great listener, and creatively adjusts her teaching style to the needs of her students, depending on their level of experience.

— Jenny, MLA degree candidate

Not only is Thea a patient and thorough teacher, she's enthusiastic and skilled in many different knitting techniques. She's helped me go beyond merely following patterns.

— Rachella, freelance writer and editor

Thea's terrific! She's not only knowledgeable but also incredibly patient with all our mistakes. Her humor and demeanor make both the classes and the drop-ins a great experience.

— Jeanne, rookie knitter

Kathy Fugitt has been a spinner for many years and has taught spinning in a variety of venues, including Renaissance fairs and children's art classes. You can tell she's a spinner by all the wheels, spindles, and other stuff associated with the 'textillian' life that she has amassed.

Spinnity—designer of Larus & Ardus—spins, birds, and knits in the SF Bay Area. She has a bad habit of combining hobbies “in the field,” which sometimes leads to muddy knitting projects and broken dpns. She blogs at http:// spinnity.blogspot.com.

THE GOODIES

Participants in the main retreat will receive goodies generously donated by the likes of Be Sweet, Black Mountain Artisans, Bookshop West Portal, Crystal Palace, Interweave Press, Knit Picks, Knitting Fever (US distributors of Noro), Sirona Springs and Soak Wash, Inc., and have the chance to win door prizes from Debra's Garden, Indigo Moon Yarns, Peace Fleece, and Westminster Fibers (US distributors of Rowan).

PREREQUISITES

At a minimum, all participants must be able to cast on, knit and purl (and distinguish between the two by sight), and bind off. For the Laurus & Ardea Fingerless Mitts class, students must be comfortable working in the round with double pointed needles or two circulars. Retreat attendees can practice their knitting-in-the-round skills in the Maze and Chevron and Chart Your Own classes.

CLASS MATERIALS AND HOMEWORK

TECHNIQUE SAMPLER.

Three swatches (CO 18 sts leaving a long tail and work stockinette for 24 rows) knit on size 8 needles with smooth, light-colored worsted weight yarn – two bound-off, one still on needles and attached to yarn ball
An additional 1 ounce of smooth, light-colored worsted weight yarn to practice techniques; wool or a yarn with some elasticity is preferred.
Size US 8 (5 mm) needles (circular, straight, or double point)
A tapestry needle and a crochet hook, size F (3.75 mm)

MAZE AND CHEVRON HAT.

1 copy of pattern from http://deborah.best.vwh.net/free-knitting-patterns/maze-and-chevron-hat/maze-and-chevron-hat.pdf
85 yards each of two colors of any worsted-weight yarn

CHART YOUR OWN HAT OR MITTENS.

Knitting the mittens will allow you to see the pattern you chart develop more quickly. After deciding whether to make a hat or mittens, follow the appropriate material requirements and homework instructions below.

Completing the optional homework for the mittens is, well, optional, but will allow you to launch right into your pattern as soon as it is complete. If you like, prior to the retreat you may also play with the pattern blanks, sketching in potential designs. At the retreat I will a variety of stitch pattern treasuries on hand for inspiration.

Mittens

4 copies of the mittens pattern from http://www.helloyarn.com/genericnorwegianmitten.htm
Dale of Norway Hauk in natural (contrast color) and black (main color) - 1 skein each, plus a bit of scrap yarn for thumb placement – or substitute other colors or another sport weight wool. If you use two colors and keep your color use even, you'll need about 100 meters (50 g) of each color. You can create a pattern that uses more than two colors and adjust the total yarn quantities accordingly.
Size US 3 (3.25 mm) double pointed needles, two circulars, or long circular for magic loop-or whatever size you need for gauge. Knit at 6 sts per 1 inch in stockinette, the pattern will make a mitten about 8" in circumference. If you are knitting for a smaller or larger hand, or if you are unable to achieve the gauge with the specified needles, you can either use smaller or larger needles (use a smaller needle if your gauge is too large or your target hand is smaller; use a larger needle if your gauge is too small or your target hand is larger), or use thinner or thicker yarn. You could even make both needle and yarn adjustments if necessary. While the DK (sport) weight yarn specified will make a mitten about 8" around, per helloyarn, "8 sts per inch (fingering weight) would make one 6" around and 5 sts per inch (worsted weight) would do 9.5" around, etc."
Mandatory homework: Measure the recipient's hands and decide which size you want to make: for example, 6", 8", or 9.5" around. My palm is about 3" wide and I like the palm of my mittens to be 4" wide. To determine whether you can use the specified needle size (US 3, or 3.25 mm) and yarn weight (DK, aka sport) or must adjust to match your target gauge and ultimate dimension, cast on 24 stitches and work 28 rows in stockinette. For a mitten 6" around, you'd want your swatch to turn out 3" square; for an 8" mitten, you'd want it to be 4" square; for a 9.5" mitten, it should be 4.75" square. If your gauge swatch is larger or smaller than you want it to be, adjust by using smaller or larger needles, respectively, or by changing yarn size. Remember that with 24 sts, the gauge swatch has exactly half the total number of stitches we'll cast on for the mitten, so you'll want the swatch to be about an inch wider than the recipient's palm. Confused? Drop me a line.
Optional homework: Using your darker color, cast 48 sts onto needles according to your preferred method for working in the round: double point needles, two circulars, or a long circular for the magic loop technique. Join the stitches to work in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches. Starting with the darker color, alternate your two yarns in a 1 x 1 rib. Knit 2 inches for the cuff. Leave your work on the needles or place on a stitch holder.

Hat

4 copies of the hat pattern from http://www.helloyarn.com/genericnorwegianhat.htm
Dale of Norway Hauk in natural (contrast color) and black (main color) - 1 skein each, plus 20 g sport weight Merino wool or cotton for the lining, and scrap yarn for provisional cast on. (You can sub other colors or another sport weight wool if you prefer. If you use two colors and keep your color use even, you'll need about 100 meters (50 g) of each color. You can create a pattern that uses more than two colors and adjust the total yarn quantities accordingly.
Size US 3 (3.25 mm) double point needles, two circulars, or long circular for magic loop—or whatever size you need for gauge, which is 6 sts per 1 inch in stockinette. Knit at this gauge, the pattern will make a hat 21" in circumference, which will fits a 23" or so head well. If you are knitting for a smaller or larger head, or if you are unable to achieve the gauge with the specified needles, use smaller or larger needles (use a smaller needle if your gauge is too large or your target head is smaller; use a larger needle if your gauge is too small or your target head is larger).
Mandatory homework: To determine whether you can use the specified needle size (US 3, or 3.25 mm) or must adjust your needle size to match the pattern's gauge, cast on 24 stitches and work 28 rows in stockinette. If your gauge swatch is larger or smaller than 4” square, adjust by using smaller or larger needles, respectively.

A GOOD OL' FASHIONED STITCH 'N BITCH.

Current projects to show and work on during the clinic
A skein from your stash to swap
Multiple copies of a pattern that you'd like help deciphering

INTRO TO DROP SPINNING.

No prerequisites or required materials (other than the usual positive attitude and willingness to learn!)

LARUS & ARDEA FINGERLESS MITTS.

1 copy of the pattern from http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTlarusardea.php
220 yards and 15 yards of worsted weight wool in solid or heather. Samples were knit in Cascade 220
Set of double points or two circular needles in size US 3 (3.25 mm)

OTHER THINGS TO BRING

Food for the weekend (optional; there are restaurants and grocery stores nearby)
Bedding or sleeping bag and towel
Pen, pencil, and highlighter
Binoculars (optional)
Clothing appropriate for hiking (optional)
Bathing suit in case there are sign-up slots available for the hot tub (optional)

TO SIGN UP

To sign up, either complete the following form and click through to pay with your credit card via PayPal, or print out a pdf of the retreat brochure, complete the form, and mail a check, made out to Thea Gray, to 371 Wawona St, SF, CA 94127

To hold a place when paying by check, you may send a message indicating that your registration form and check are in the mail. Places not secured by a receipt of a check within a week of notification will be forfeited.

The main retreat has sold out. To add your name to the waiting list, please contact me. You can still sign up for one or both of Sunday's standalone classes:

Sign up for the Naturalist-led hike ($5)