We Don't Eat As Much As The Quilters!

I had the grand and wonderful experience of attending Shopies Knitting Retreat this weekend. A total of 48 knitters from the Kentucky-Indiana area gathered together at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana. The setting was divine. I would highly recommend a visit to the park, for a day, a weekend, whatever your schedule permits. The park inn was beautifully decorated and the accommodations were superb. There is a restaurant on site so I didn't have to leave at all from my Friday afternoon arrival until my departure on Sunday morning.

This is the sunrise view that greeted me in the mornings. The photo was taken just outside my room. What a view.

This is just one of the many welcoming areas in the Inn with comfy seating, warm fireplaces and beautiful views. Doesn't it just look like a place for knitting?
Speaking of knitting, that is what this weekend was for. We first gathered on Friday night for informal introductions and to receive our goody bags.

The knitters closest to the camera were at my table. Clockwise from the upper left, Candie, Anita(mostly hidden), Suzy, a very fun lady that I am sorry to say will remain nameless, and Therese. (I am happy to call Therese my new friend. I enjoyed meeting her very much)

We received our bags that contained yarn, needles, a pattern book from Mission Falls, and various notions. It also contained our "number" . We were called to the yarn table to choose our yarn, in numerical order, for the project we would knit in class on Saturday.

Could you chose just one from this fine assortment? Barb, the owner of Shopies, did a fantastic job of assembling bags of beautiful colorways. I was #40 , and a little afraid that I would have to choose from the left overs. I sort of felt like the last kid chosen in grade school from the playground. I was totally happy with the selection though. Like I said, Barb did such a fantastic job that there were no bad combinations.

We also had a yarn swap on Friday night. I got a really good skein of Trendsetter yarn (Mohair)! Thanks to whoever brought it. I think it is destined to become a pair of Mrs. Beetons.

On Saturday morning we were treated to instruction from Anastasia Blaes. Anastasia is the author of Yarn Cocktails. She taught us to knit a modular purse from her collection. Anastasia is a warm, friendly, and humorous woman. She lost her voice before her arrival but she "played thru the pain" and arrived with a cheerful attitude. She did have a little voice assistance from one of the retreat participants, Paula.

(Sorry, I tried twice to upload the video without success)

We knit all day and enjoyed it immensely,(except the occasional frustration of not "getting" the technique)

At dinner we pushed our tables together, much to the disdain of the staff. One of the ladies was at the buffet when someone from the kitchen was refilling the trays. The staff asked if we were the knitters. When the answer was yes, the staff member said, "You all don't eat as much as the quilters". That became the quote of the retreat. I can envision it being repeated year after year. Thus the name of this post.

After dinner we gathered for the last time and shared our "bloopers". Most everyone said they had not kept their bloopers and had ripped them out and reused the wool. There were a few of us willing to share though.

This is a modular knitted and felted hat that we lovingly nicknamed the Marge Simpson Hat. I am glad to see this. I was planning to knit this hat. Notice the word was.

This lovely lady knit a sleeveless top that was a LITTLE misshapen and mismatched. So much so that she didn't even bother to seam it up.

This is a beautiful shawl that turned out just a little too big. Barb helped to make a few adjustments, add a collar, seam up the arms and now we have a shrug.

Meet Debbie, or Debra (depends on location and her mood I'm told). She is the only person that I have ever met who took a class from Elizabeth Zimmerman. Her sweater was beautifully knit from hand spun cotton. The problem was it just didn't fit very well. Such a shame. Blame it on the cotton.

Last years winner, this woman knit a shawl that never grew. She said that she kept on knitting and it never got big enough. It is a knitting phenomenon.

My entry in the contest, a bulky weight sweater. Just like Debbie/ra's sweater it is a perfectly good knit. The problem lies in the fact that big girls should not wear bulky knit sweaters. I not only knit one, I knit a second one too!
And the winner is.......(drum roll)............ The newly named, conjoined twin shrug. Large enough to comfortably fit two people.

I don't have pictures of the stash contest but believe me I feel so much better about my own small stash problem after viewing pictures of some H-U-G-E stashes out there.

One more picture.

The woman in orange blouse is a Master Beader. Her name is Diane and she was wearing one of her pieces. She teaches beading and I may have to take a class, watch for a beading blog coming to you soon. Don't let the beading stores know I'm thinking about this. They would surely overstock beads to sell me.