Knitting on the Coast 2025 Retreat

A retreat at St Dorothy's Rest in Camp Meeker, California:

Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 10, 2025 REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

The theme of the 2025 Knitting on the Coast Retreat is something we could all use…a little rejuvenation. Our inspiration comes from the uroboros, an ancient Greek and Egyptian symbol of a serpent eating its tail, often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal and rejuvenation. Also, in early 2025 we will transition from the Chinese zodiac Year of the Dragon to that of the Snake. People born under the sign of the snake are considered deep thinkers possessing a sharp wit and a keen eye for detail—which sounds like a lot of knitters we know.

We hope you'll join us this March to enjoy:

THE KNIT-RELATED CLASSES

STITCHING SOCIALS	HAND-DYED YARN	GORGEOUS CABLES	FINESSED FINISHING	CABLE NEEDLE + STITCH HOLDER

Meet new friends and find inspiration at three STITCHING SOCIALS throughout the weekend.

Have you swooned at a skein of hand-dyed yarn and then nearly passed out at its price? Kathy will teach us some cool techniques for you own HAND-DYED YARN...made in a crockpot!

If you've never knit a cable, you might think it's really hard—magic, even. It's not, but there are ways to make GORGEOUS CABLES. Thea will teach these techniques, plus how to cable without a needle and fix mistakes rows later.

We're going to circle back to finishing, as Thea teaches us how to make our knitting look more polished—to really FINESSE OUR FINISHING—as well as how fix some common issues by tinking, frogging, and more.

Rita will lead us through making two tools, a CABLE NEEDLE that looks like a snake and can be worn as a ring *and* a STITCH HOLDER that can be worn as a pin and hold the cable needle. Both are inspired by an Etsy artisan, Eugenia of Materia Morfosi.

As usual, classes will be punctuated with opportunities for participants to swap tips with other knitters, seek solitude, and see some birds—all amidst the beauty of the redwoods.

 

EXTRA ADVENTURE

Nature Walk

Join us as we take another mellow hike to explore nearby woods or coastline from with a knitter's eye. You may find inspiration for future projects in a bird's plummage or the landscape's palette, but you'll surely find it a treat for the eyes and the body.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, March 7

3:30-5:00 pm	Arrival at St Dorothy’s Rest
5:30-6:00 pm	Orientation and introductions
6:00-7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30-9:00 pm	STITCH ‘N BITCH: SHOW AND TELL. Bring a crafted item for show and tell, a cultural recommendation (book, movie, TV show, exhibition, etc), and a brief story about something you learned this past year.

Saturday, March 8

8:00-9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00-noon	MAKE YOUR OWN KNITTING TOOLS. Rita will lead us through making two tools, a cable needle that looks like a snake and can be worn as a ring *and* a stitch holder/marker that can be worn as a pin and hold the cable needle. Both are inspired by an Etsy artisan, Eugenia of Materia Morfosi.
12:30-1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30-4:30 pm	CABLE MAGIC. If you've never knit a cable, you might think it's really hard…magic, even. It's not, but there are ways to make your cables look better. Thea will teach these, plus cabling without a needle (tho now you'll have a cable ring!) and fixing mistakes rows later.
6:00-7:00 pm	Dinner
7:00-9:00 pm	STITCH ‘N BITCH: PROJECT & YARN WHISPERING! Stuck in a project? Bring it! No UFOs? We'll help you devise plans for an orphan skein. Plus...goodie bags!
9:00-10:00 pm	S’mores under the stars

Sunday, March 9

8:00-9:00 am	Breakfast
9:15-12:15 pm	Nature walk or free time
12:30-1:30 pm	Lunch
2:00-5:00 pm	DYE YOUR OWN YARN! Have you ever swooned at a skein of hand-dyed yarn andthen nearly passed out at its price? Kathy will teach us to how to create cool hand-dyed effects that you can then play with at home.
6:00-7:00 pm	Dinner
7:00-9:00 pm	STITCH ‘N BITCH: SWAP! Bring something to swap—yarn, patterns, tools, whatever! The optional extra: a chair massage!

Monday, March 10

8:00-9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00-9:30 am	Group photo
10:00-Noon	CIRCLING BACK TO FINISHING. Thea will teach you how to make your knitting look more polished, plus how to fix some common issues by tinking, frogging, and more.
12:30-1:30 pm	Lunch and goodbyes
Afterward	Nearby yarn shops. Some LYSs worth checking out on the way to or from the retreat or during your downtime (check the hours before you go!) include: Cast Away in Santa Rosa, Black Mountain Artisans/Bo-Rage Yarns in Point Reyes Station, Fiber Circle Studio and Dharma Trading in Petaluma (Dharma Trading is open Friday and Saturday), and Purls of Joy in Healdsburg (all in the North Bay) and, farther south, Avenue Yarns in Albany, Black Squirrel in Berkeley, A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland, A Coven of Stitches on Alameda, ImagiKnit in Berkeley and San Francisco, Firebird Yarns in San Francisco, and Royal Bee Yarn in Pacifica.

 

THE SETTING

The 2025 retreat marks the sixteenth retreat and the fourteenth at the beautiful St. Dorothy’s Rest, situated among the cool beautiful redwoods between the Russian River and Occidental in Camp Meeker, 1-1/2 hours north of San Francisco. This year to allow more students to have private rooms, we'll spread out between lovely old Lydia House…
Beautiful Lydia House	...with its charming living room
Light-filled porch	...and interior- and exterior-facing bedrooms
And the newer Farmer's Lodge…
Rustic Farmer Lodge	...with its hospitable living room
Comfortable porches...	...and cozy bedrooms
Whether in Lydia or Farmer's, all rooms exude a simple charm and share clean, tidy baths. Those students who do not choose a roommate will have one selected for them. We will be treated to delicious, seasonal, locally sourced meals from Friday's dinner through Monday's lunch. During your free time, go on the nature hike, take a stroll in the woods, pop into Occidental to browse the cute shops, or just hang out and chat with fellow knitters. Lots of interesting knitters in a cozy and beautiful setting. What more could you want on a lovely winter weekend?

 

THE TEACHERS

The founder of Knitting on the Coast, Thea Gray formerly taught 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 sharing 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, designer 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, writer and editor

 

Rita Rodriguez has been making jewelry for 30+ years and loves devising ways to combine knitting with jewelry for our retreat. This year she’ll teach us to make both an awesome functional cable needle ring and stitch holder pin!	Kathy Fugitt is a fun, fearless, multi-crafty artisan—spinner, dyer, knitter, weaver, quilter, ceramicist, and more. Some of her creations can be found at @fugittforms on instagram.

A sampling of feedback from recent retreats:

• The workshops were really informative. I loved every single one. I especially found the color theory lesson challenging and rewarding and learned a lot in how to choose colors for colorwork. The whole retreat was really great.
• All classes and the group of people were really nice. I think it was the best retreat that I've attended.
• A lovely time indeed! I loved the variety and the addition of a jewelry class! The teachers put so much preparation and thought into the classes and it showed. Thank you.
• I want to thank you again for a fabulous time!
• Excellent teaching. Restored my interest in taking classes, after a couple of bad experiences. Also loved the relaxing location.
• Thank you thank you thank you.
• The location was beautiful, food was great, teaching was great!
• I loved everything. I appreciate so much all the energy put into the retreat. I loved all the classes and teachers.
• Thank you so much for putting it all together, it was magical.
• Had a fantastic time. Thank you!
• I had such a great time! Thanks for all the hard work you put into such a fun weekend.
• I am definitely interested in all your retreats. You really are a fabulous teacher.