Madison in March, Kansas City in April

I will be teaching at a couple new and new-to-me events soon. The Madison Knitters’ Guild hosts an annual Knit-In retreat in March. This year’s event is March 18-20, 2016, at the Clarion Suites at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Now, the Madison Knitters’ Guild is big. Really big. I gave a presentation for this guild a few years back, and there were over 200 knitters in the audience. Something special happens when you get that many knitters together. I’ve heard good things about their Knit-In, but I’ve never attended. I am really looking forward to my first time. This weekend event includes loads of wonderful knitting and fibery stuff. A “Pajama Party”, a “Wild and Wooly Party”, “Teacups and Knitting Needles”, 30 vendors, keynote speaker (Candace Eisner Strick) and banquet, and lots of classes. I’m teaching “The Surprising Yarn-Over” on Saturday afternoon, “Variations on Long Draw” on Sunday morning, and “The Diversity of Wool” on Sunday afternoon.

 

 

There are several fabulous instructors; if I weren’t teaching, I would certainly want to take classes. The list of luminaries includes: Candace Eisner Strick (featured teacher), Carol Anderson, Jan Falk, Mary Germain, Mary Jo Harris, Deb Jones, Kathy Krause, Jen Lucas, Jennifer Miller, Sarah Peasley, Elizabeth Prose, Theresa Schabes, Cheryl Stegert, and me, Amy Tyler. I’m so often listed last if the list is alphabetical.

There are classes in mosaic knitting, shadow knitting, double knitting, cast ons, Fair Isle knitting, cording and beading, spinning, lace knitting, entrelac, wet felting, Estonian knitting, crochet, finishing techniques, toe-up socks, Tunisian crochet, shawl design, and more. Something for every knitting taste.

In April, I’ll be flying to Kansas City, Missouri for the first PLY Away spinning retreat. This four-day event, sponsored by PLY Magazine, is April 21-24, 2016 at the Crown Center’s Westin Hotel.

The list of 27vendors makes my mouth water. I see shopping in my future. 

The retreat has an interesting format: there are four 2-day workshops, five 1-day workshops, and twenty-one half-day workshops. I’m teaching half-day workshops on Saturday and Sunday: two sessions of “Variations on Long Draw” (which are already full), and two sessions of “Variations on Short Draw” (one is full, but there’s still room in the Sunday afternoon session).

The top level instructors include Deb Robson, Beth Smith, Coleen Nimetz, Stephenie Gaustad, Jillian Moreno, Patsy Sue Zawistoski, Esther Rodgers, Amy King, Michelle Boyd, Abby Franquemont, Amy Tyler (that’s me), and Christina Pappas.

I so look forward to both events. It’s exciting to be a first-timer.