Make, Wear, Love Knitting Retreat

A few weeks ago, my Mother and I travelled to Pacific Grove, CA to attend the Make, Wear, Love Knitting Retreat, sponsored by Amy Herzog.  I've been using Amy's Custom Fit software for several years now, and have loved the results I've gotten on sweaters I've knit for myself.  This made me so excited to finally be able to meet Amy and to take some classes from her.

The retreat setting was beautiful, at the Asilomar State Park on the Monterrey Peninsula.  It rained nearly the entire time we were there, but it was pretty just the same.

We took classes from Amy Herzog, Clara Parks, Julie Wiesenberger (Coco Knits), and Norah Gaughan.  The classes were fantastic!  In addition, there was a great fashion show, where everyone modeled their Custom Fit sweaters.

The meals were all included in the retreat cost, and the food was delicious.  We made so many new knitting friends, many of which I have been talking to in the Ravelry groups for years.  I was even a little starstruck, when Amy joined our table at lunch.  It was so fun to meet her in-person and to talk to her about her upcoming book and all of the new features to be added to Custom Fit.

The humidity made sure my hair was nice and straight, the entire time we were there, but I didn't care because I had the opportunity to meet some of the Bloggers I have been following for years.  Such as Kristen Rettig of "Knitionary", Kim McBrien Evans of "Indigo Dragonfly", and Leah of "Yarn Stylist".

Many thanks to "Wendy of Chicago".  It was so fun to meet you, and you made my day, with your compliments of the custom fit sweaters I modelled in the fashion show.  I hope to see you again, as I think we have a lot in common.

I learned so many new techniques and methods to add to my knitting.  One of my favorites was an English tailored shoulder for top-down sweater construction.  It is the perfect alternative to a raglan sleeve, or even a continguous shoulder, which I do not like (no stability to hold the garment on your shoulders).   The sample we started in class (Julie Wiesenberger's English Tailoring on Top-Down Sweaters), turned into this darling little cardigan for my Grand-daughter "Stevey".  I used the lace design on the cardigan to make her a matching bonnet.

I know it has been a while since I've blogged, but you may remember this Flame Stitch Cardigan that I had started.  It was to be a cropped, summer cardigan to wear with my sundresses.  I love the way it turned out, however, I ran out of yarn before sleeves could be knit.  I even had to pull apart my swatch to add the collar and arm bands.  As you can see, it is now a cropped vest.

Next in line, was the "The Sunshower Cardigan" by Andi Satterlund.  I loved the design of this cardigan, but didn't like the construction.  So, I have completely redesigned it, as a bottom-up cardigan, rather than the top-down, as written.  It is coming along, as I've just split for the armholes.

Here is my swatch.  It is knit of Wollemeise Pure.  I hope I have enough yarn for sleeves this time.  We'll see.

We are getting close to the end of the season for our Knit Nights.  The following are some of the completed projects from our group this year:

Some projects were knit, some crocheted, some quilted and some baked.  It has been a great year, and we have had a lot of laughs.  Next year our knit-a-long will be chosen from some cute little critters, like this bunny.  We'll be starting up again in September.  Everyone is invited.

In family news . . . my cute little twin grandchildren; "Zach and Zoey", just turned "1", along with moving into a brand new house.  

We are so excited for them.  Those little guys could unpack the boxes faster than they could be packed.  They are just two little disasters.  Zach is walking now, and Zoey can crawl faster than you could believe.  I wish their parents good luck in keeping their new house clean.  Happy Knitting . . .