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Next summer, for the first time ever, Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee, Tennessee will kick off its traditional two weeks of arts programming with a long-weekend getaway just for knitters, hosted by us!

When Claire Reishman (the creative and organizational powerhouse behind Shakerag Workshops since its inception in 2005) approached us last year about teaching a workshop at Shakerag in 2018, we told her about our dream for a different kind of knitting event. That’s how this weekend got started.

(This is Claire. She hand-embellishes her Shakerag souvenir t-shirt every year. No repeats!)

The Shakerag Knitting Getaway (June 7-10, 2018) will be a true escape: a few beautiful days for knitters to gather at the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee campus to enjoy: good food, beautiful natural surroundings, knitting, and each other.

There will not be formal classes, or at least not the kind of classes you may be used to. Instead, we will knit and hang out; eat and drink; hike Shakerag Hollow; swim in pristine water; do yoga; dye cloth, yarn or fiber in an indigo vat; learn to crochet; have a session with an MDK-certified Knitting Doctor; and elevate our photo skills with a master of knitting photography.

Each participant will do all of these things, any of these things, or, perhaps, none of these things—exactly as we wish.

The constant will be: relaxation and knitting in the company of  knitters. We’re planning on laughing a lot.

The Schedule

Please note: the schedule is still in formation, but it’s going to go something like this.

Arrive on Thursday evening in time for Happy Hour and a delicious supper in the dining hall.

On Friday and Saturday, all participants will have these options, with time to do them all if desired:

  • Learn to crochet with the San Francisco Bay Area’s granny-square wizard, Liz Kaplan.

  • Learn how to photograph your knits, and also work photo editing magic on your smartphone, from photographer Gale Zucker.

  • Solve your WIP conundrums with our knitting doc-in-a-box, Julia Farwell-Clay.

  • Dunk your favorite yarn, fiber, or clothing (or your hair; there’s always somebody who wants to dye their hair) in an indigo dye vat set up for us by master natural dyer Catherine Ellis (who will be teaching during Week 1 of Shakerag’s regular schedule, for those who want to extend their stay.)

  • Hang out with some of the knitting world’s nicest teachers and designers, several of whom are coming at our invitation, just for fun and to hang out with you.
  • Other delights currently being brewed. (We kinda think a knitting party needs to have raffles and/or door prizes. We’re right about this, yes?)

Morning activity options will include swimming, yoga, and hikes in the beautiful woods of the Cumberland Plateau.

The main afternoon option is a swim in the pristine lake that Shakeraggers call The Res. Swim out to the dock or knit on a rock; it’s up to you, and it’s heavenly.

(This is the Res. those two tiny people are shakeraggers, having the time of their lives.)

Each evening will begin with a Happy Hour, followed by one of the locally sourced dinners for which Shakerag Workshops is beloved.

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(The Shakerag Dining Hall is like hogwarts but with homegrown tomatoes.)

Evening entertainment will be something where knitting is encouraged. (At this time, we cannot definitively rule out karaoke. Ann has a machine.)

It wouldn’t be a knitting getaway without a little shopping, right? We got this! Plans are in the works for a market featuring special Tennessee yarns, plus other tempting treats for your needles.

On Sunday morning, we’ll have one last delicious breakfast and say our goodbyes. Some of us will stay on for the first week of Shakerag Workshops. The rest of us will put our names on the list for the next Shakerag Knitting Getaway.

Why Are We Doing This?

In 2015, we attended Week 1 of Shakerag Workshops together. It was an incredible experience. We loved the class we took, but more than anything, we reveled in the time away from it all and the atmosphere of well-being and friendship. (We also bonded to Claire Reishman like a couple of wayward ducklings.)

(Everyone takes pictures of the coneflowers at Shakerag. It’s a rule.)

Time is the greatest luxury. We crave the liberty of time spent close to nature, freed from the logistics of daily life. For that one week at Shakerag, time slowed down. We were surrounded by friendly faces, in an ambiance that was both exciting and easy-going.

In short, it was a rare experience for which the word “bliss” actually seemed accurate.

At some point during the week, we asked Claire—who knits, mainly socks, in addition to everything else she does—WHY ISN’T THERE KNITTING AT SHAKERAG?

In 2018, by cracky, there will be knitting at Shakerag.

The Details

(Dorm sweet dorm. single occupancy is available, but double occupancy is how we roll.)

Details for the weekend (and for the two subsequent weeks of Shakerag programming) can be found here on the official Shakerag website. (Spoiler alert: we get to live in dorms!)

Participation in the Shakerag Knitting Getaway is limited to 85 people.

Registration is open today (even though the page says it opens on August 1, it’s open today).

Shakerag will notify registrants of their acceptance by August 20.

If we have more than 85 registrants before August 15, we will select 85 participants by lottery, and the remaining registrants will be placed on a waiting list. Only the registration fee ($50) is due at registration, and that fee will be refunded if a space in the class is not available.

What’s It Like At Shakerag?

For more photos and a taste of the Shakerag experience, we recommend Dianne MacDonald’s blog post on her experience in 2015, and this report from Leslie Marsh, who attended this past June.

We Can’t Wait

We hope to see you there, and make our virtual happy place a real place, if only for one long weekend.

Love,

Ann and Kay

55 Comments

  • Looks fantastic! But it conflicts with our annual anniversary trip to the Caribbean.

  • I just went to my email to write a note to you guys asking when/if you would be giving a knitting retreat. Imagine my surprise to see a notification about this post!
    Questions:
    1) is there air conditioning?
    2) is there any single room occupancy available?

    • OK. Just registered. Hope it took. Very excited. Haven’t flown since 2004. How long is the drive? 😉

  • And if I went, then next year he could say, well I have to go on a golf vacation with the guys. You see where this is going… Breakdown of the marriage over knitting

    • Au contraire, Helen L., this is what will SAVE your marriage! One year you go away for a workshop and he gets to eat takeout and never wash the dishes. The next year he goes away for a golf vacation and you get to stay home and knit for the entire day, and eat out of the salad bowl, and rearrange the medicine cabinet to suit yourself, and take naps.

      I’m assuming you don’t have children at home. If you do… well, there’s always later.

  • I CANT WAIT.
    (Yup.Shouting.) xox

  • I am so excited about this- Hooray!

  • Oh, man! This looks like so much fun!!

  • I didn’t even finish reading the description, I quick went to register. Hope I get in. Of course this is the morning that I finally slept in after not sleeping in the night!

  • This sounds absolutely fabulous!!

  • Do you know if there is airport shuttle availability for the knitting weekend? If I’m reading correctly, the options are for the week long classes.

    • I might have blindly registered! week long classes? June 7-10..a weekend. Whatever, I hope I’m in!!!!!

      • Shakerag’s regular week-long sessions start on June 10. The Knitting Getaway is a long weekend from June 7-10.

  • Registered! And so excited!

  • I’m in! What a wonderful weekend to look forward to!

  • YESSSSS!!! Just signed up. Hope I get in!

  • Well this just sounds like a Fine Time!

  • I registered, I think but I didn’t get a confirmation. Plus, it was $150, not $50. Did I do something incorrectly?
    Cannot wait. I’ve never been to Tennessee!

    • You dont know what you are missing, especially the mountains in East TN.

    • I think $50 refers to the non-refundable portion that goes to the Shakerag folks.However if this is over-enrolled I’m hoping some portion of the $150 will be refunded.

      I signed up anyway.

      • Oh wait, it says the $50 is refundable if you don’t get a space.

        • Hi Lisa (and everyone): we’ve contacted Shakerag about charging more than the $50 registration fee and hope that will be corrected today with a refund if you were charged more than $50. This is not happening consistently, thank goodness.

          If we are oversubscribed and have to do a lottery, anyone who does not get a place at the getaway will get a refund of the $50 registration fee.

  • I registered!!!SO EXCITED!!!!!! Y’all, Sewanee (my alma mater) is just gorgeous, close to heaven on Earth. To toss in a knitting retreat, well…

    I hope I get in!

  • WHAT GALE SAID!

  • Awesomesauce!!! I’m registered, have enticed a friend to join me, have blocked out the dates on my calendar, and am already thinking about what yarn to pack (clothes being incidental to a knitting retreat). Can’t wait to meet y’all!!!

  • Yeah, there’s definitely going to be a lottery for this one…need to do some things to up my karma quotient asap.

  • I was charged $185 to register. Is that correct? Is part of it refundable?

    • Hi there–that’s an error. We’ve contacted Shakerag to get it rectified today. So sorry for the inconvenience.

      • Kay,
        I was charged $233. I was excited. I thought that meant I was in for sure. I am a little confused…..if there are more than 85 interested knitters then it is by lottery? Not first come?

  • Yippee! Hope I get in! I feverishly registered, got charged $135 for some reason, which I understand may be revisited, am trying to convince a girlfriend to join me, and held out the idea of a simultaneous fly-fishing weekend in the area for my husband. Life is good. So grateful you’re holding a lottery for those of us who see our emails after sleeping in, working out, grocery shopping or dog walking (or all of the above).

  • This sounds like SO MUCH FUN! How clever of you to see a need (knitting at Shakerag) and then fill it. You are the best!

  • Very excited – what a special opportunity, and perfect way to retreat! I was charged $150, but know things will get sorted in time. And, if I get to go, I’ve paid a larger chunk of the overall fee!

  • Just yesterday I was with friends talking about wanting a different kind of knitting retreat and we pretty much exactly described this retreat before ever hearing about it. Thank you for (apparently) reading our minds and designing what appears to be the perfect knitting weekend! Registered and hoping like crazy to get a spot (because no way do fewer than 85 people register for something that looks this wonderful)!

  • Well, I have nod idea if the dates will work, but I’m going to register anyway and hope for the best.

  • Hey there. The registration process was a bit confusing as the knitting retreat wasn’t an option. I just left the first page pretty blank and put in the comments it was for the knitting retreat. I paid $50…..Is that all I need to do?

    I am so excited!!!
    Thank you!

  • I registered, with hope in my heart that I will get in! Then informed daughter that, in selecting a wedding date, that weekend is definitely OUT. Mama will be away!

  • AAAAARRRRGH! I would love to go, but that’s the weekend after my kid graduates from high school. I have the feeling it’s going to be kind of busy.

  • I am registered! Yay for adult camp! And who knew one would fall into my lap that includes my favorite thing??? Yay Ann and Kay!!!

  • Hey, y’all….not to be a pill, but I registered yesterday morning, and have not received any kind of confirmation…nor did any money disappear from my bank account. How do I know if I’m registered or not?

  • Hey everyone:

    If you only fill in your personal info (name/address/etc), select the option to register for the Knitting Getaway, and then the Ann Shayne + Kay Gardiner option (only appears after selecting the Knitting Getaway), leave everything below Room Information blank, then you will only be charged $50. If you select a different option and/or start filling in room info you will get different charges. Don’t ask me how often I filled out the form to learn this! I received 2 email confirmations (one submission/payment, one registration) within 10-15 minutes.

    I’m assuming after the allotted 85 spaces are confirmed, we will have options to sort out lodging and transportation. At least I hope that is the case!

    This is not an official announcement; I’m only reporting my registration experience in case it may be helpful.

    • Thank you for this tutorial–your work was not in vain!

    • Well, I registered before I read this. Charged $179. Will see what happens.

      • Me too!

  • I’m in Canada and there are only states listed in the address area – any suggestions.

  • Just checking…I registered on Aug. 1 and have received no email confirmation yet. The registration fee shows on my credit card, but I’ve heard nothing from Shakerag. And I know others have received confirmations. Thinking maybe I did something wrong, I called and had to leave a voice mail. And the next day when I had not heard anything, I called again and even left my email address, thinking maybe I typed it in wrong. But I’m still waiting to hear something. Anything.

    • HI Ann and Kay, hope you remember me (Tilleke S.’s assistant at Shakerag). Looking forward to this weekend and hanging out with you again in a new stitchy way! Arlene

      • Arlene! We will have such a good time!

  • I heard that by yesterday morning there were over 100 sign ups. Hopefully I will finally win a lottery!

  • Any idea when the lottery will happen?

    • Hi Lisa,

      I emailed you but it bounced. Please email me at kay@masondixonknitting.com.

      Thanks!
      Kay

  • Woo hoo, I finally won something! Now just hoping I can really go.

  • I haven’t heard anything. Does that mean I wasn’t selected? Susan

    • I was notified that I was not selected via email. You may want to check your junkmail, or follow-up directly.

  • Sadly, and with many sniffles and tears, I cancelled my spot at Shakerag this week. I was feeling guilty about not going to CA to see my sailor son. I hope you do the workshop again! For whoever was on the wait list and got my spot, you’re welcome!

  • This Sassy Sue would live to come BUT …. besides knitting and my husband, my garden is my life (my obsession?). June is prime garden time. March in Edinburgh: definitely NOT prime garden time. We had 14 inches of snow the day after we returned!
    Shakerag does look heavenly. Xoxo Deenie

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