Knitting on the Coast Goes to...
the Fall 2026 St Dot's Artists' and Writers' Retreat

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

Friday, September 4 to Monday, September 7, 2026

The Schedule | Other Things to Know | Learn More & Sign Up

Join us for a relaxing getaway among the redwoods by the California coast!

This year we're yarn bombing the St Dot's Artists' and Writers' Retreat!

CHANGE OF PLANS AND DATES!

For 2026, the Knitting on the Coast Retreat is popping up at St Dorothy's Rest's homegrown event, their Artists' and Writers' Retreat, which will be held over Labor Day Weekend, September 4-7, 2026.

For decades Saint Dorothy's Rest has been hosting a biannual retreat for artists and writers to join one another as a community and work as individuals.

If you are more interested in community than classes and self-directed activity than schedules, this version of the Knitting on the Coast retreat is for you! You can stitch—or engage in any creative pursuit you like—among the redwoods by the California coast and enjoy hearty food as well as company that's smart, fun, and fabulous.

The retreat will still offer opportunities for participants to swap tips (and yarn) with other stitchers—but this year you'll have even more downtime to stroll among the redwoods, read a book, or do whatever you please, and you'll be in community with makers of other stripes...poets, writers, painters, quilters, songwriters, dyers, jewelry makers, cartoonists, and pretty much anyone who likes to create something out of nothing.

We hope you'll join us this September!

 

THE SCHEDULE

Arrival: Friday, September 4, after 1 pm

Departure: Monday, September 7, after lunch

Meals: Friday dinner through Monday lunch

 

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

The Artists' and Writers' Retreat has a long tradition of attendees sharing their new work in the evening. The Knitting on the Coast Retreat traditionally begins with show and tell and ends with a swap. We're sure we can merge these traditions.

So, don't forget to bring:

• An item you made for show and tell
• Something to swap—yarn, patterns, tools, whatever!

Other practical items to bring:

• Binoculars, clothing, and shoes appropriate for walking in the woods around St Dorothy's Rest or on the beach
• Flashlight for walking to and from dinner, s'mores, etc
• Robe and slippers for walking to the shared bathrooms
• Bathroom toiletries

Finally, you might want to bring some mad money, because there are many excellent yarn shops that you can get out on the way to or from the retreat, or as a break from your projects (just be sure to check the opening days and hours before you go!).

Recommended local shops include: Cast Away in Santa Rosa, 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.

 

LEARN MORE & SIGN UP

The St Dorothy's Rest Artists' and Writers' Retreat fee includes nine meals and three nights' accommodations.

The fee for a single room is $500.
The fee for a shared room is $400.

All rooms use shared bathrooms. Accommodations may be in multiple buildings; you can find photos and descriptions of their accommodations here on the St Dorothy's Rest website.

To learn more and sign up, visit the St Dorothy's Rest Artists' and Writers' Retreat page, or email Sam at sam@stdorothysrest.org—and please tell him we sent you!