Retreat

Have you ever been on a knitting retreat?

Over the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to attend a couple of retreats, each of them different. Some retreats offer classes to teach you new knitting or crafting skills; some are more like conferences, with speakers and workshops on professional skills like technical editing; and some retreats are purely about relaxing with your knitting friends. These retreats involve taking some time to knit on your works-in-progress, without unwanted interruptions, perhaps picking up a few knitting tips on the way, or leafing through a gorgeous knitting book. This is the kind of retreat I went on recently with my friends from my Knit Night.

Although we only stayed overnight at the retreat centre, we spent the whole Saturday and Sunday knitting, chatting and eating. There was a log burning stove, plenty of cosy chairs, and beautiful grounds to walk in, if we so chose. For those of us who ventured outside, there were some lovely woolly sheep and alpacas to say hello to, perfect for a group of knitters.

Since I started doing more design work, I have less time to knit projects that are just for me, so I loved being able to work on my Lilian jumper in beautiful Posh Yarn Martha DK. I also had time to experiment with some entrelac knitting. Whilst my attempt at brioche-entrelac (would that be briontrelac or entrioche?) wasn’t entirely successful, it did give me some ideas for using elements of entrelac in future designs.

A knitting retreat doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or expensive: my Knit Night group enjoy having the odd ‘knitting day’ at each other’s houses. Whatever form they take, retreats are an important part of self-care for knitters, so take some time out with your knitting friends to knit, chat, eat and … repeat.