Fun
Postcards from Sewanee
Nothing can get a good knitting getaway down. At least not anything weather-related.
Last Thursday, 100 knitters gathered on the campus of the St. Andrew’s Sewanee School in the gentle mountains of Tennesee’s Cumberland Plateau, for the second annual MDK Knitting Getaway. As in 2018, our retreat for knitters served as a weekend kickoff to two weeks of fantastic art and craft classes at Shakerag Workshops, on the same campus.
Our Host
Our host was the indomitable Claire Reishman: potter, horsewoman, knitter, founder of Shakerag Workshops, and force of nature.
Claire Reishman, fashion plate, always rocking the handmade wardrobe. In this case, a Shakerag Top and Alabama Chanin swing skirt.
One of our main purposes in organizing the Knitting Getaway was a simple one: we wanted to share Claire. From the first hug to the last poem, she lifted us up.
As for any event where people have to sleep and eat, space was limited. We were sad when a couple of people had to cancel at the last minute, but overjoyed when their places were taken by knitters who’d hung tough on the waiting list until the very end and managed to get themselves to the mountain in time.
Our Teachers
Our teachers were a joyful, sassy bunch.
Donna Brown guided us as we painted sock blanks with natural pigments.
As we daubed with Donna’s well-worn Japanese brushes, and diluted cups of dye to the shades we wanted, Donna enlightened us on where these pigments came from in nature, and how they traditionally have been used.
Advanced bartending skills required.
A dyeing class will win the photo contest at any workshop. That’s just the way it is.
Sunne Meyer’s class was an introduction to something new for most knitters.
Sunne taught the basics of the Alabama Chanin method of hand-stitching to create beautifully embellished fabrics and garments.
Her own weekend wardrobe was a live-action promo for the technique. At the end of class, many people had a single, exquisite square of stitching to sew onto the back of their souvenir project pouch, for easy identification.
Jillian Moreno’s class brought out our inner camper, as we used cardboard tablet looms to weave cuff bracelets, bedazzled as desired.
Campers Nell, Amy, and Ellen, temporarily hypnotized by Jillian’s electric spinning wheel.
The last class on Saturday included spontaneous disco dancing. All classes included laughter and learning about yarn construction.
Everyone, and we mean everyone, wanted Jillian’s mustard linen apron.
Ann Weaver taught a short intensive on making knitted braids, using her Braid-o-rama cowl as the starting point.
Ann’s inventive brilliance as a teacher was turned up to 11, and we are now officially braid-crazy.
As a Special Surprise, we had a floating fifth teacher this year: Max Daniels came!
Max walked and knit among us, dispensing self-care wisdom as only a life coach can.
In sharp contrast to 2018’s sunny heat, it rained pretty much nonstop all weekend. This cut the traffic to the swimming hole down to practically zero (Jillian could not be stopped—understandably, as she had a new swimsuit), but otherwise the weather didn’t hold us back. We still hiked Shakerag Hollow (mud be damned), bike-toured Sewanee and the University of the South’s beautiful campus, shopped at Mooney’s and at the Fringe Supply Co. pop-up that appeared like a vision on Saturday, and relished our crack-of-dawn restorative yoga sessions with Robie Jackson. (Some of us did the extra-restorative form of yoga known as Sleeping Through Yoga and Just Showing Up For Breakfast.)
The food was grand. The staff was inspiring to all, constantly positive and present to help. We parted from each other with sadness, but with renewed optimism about life and each other.
And that’s what a getaway is for.
Up top: a mad mix of photos from Saturday night’s raucous fashion show, courtesy of Knitting Getter-away Judi Jetson, our paparazza. Thank you to everyone who paraded their Shakerag Tops, their Norah Gaughan Sweaters, their Sail-Away Shawls, and most of all themselves.
Wondering about next year? The next MDK Knitting Getaway will take place from June 11-14, 2020. We will post all the details and signup information later this summer, probably in August. Fear not: we will announce it loudly. Due to the limited space, admission will be by lottery as in years past, but there will be an ample window of time to enter. Sign up for Snippets so you don’t miss a thing!
Fabulous – wish I didn’t live so far away! And PLEASE can you supply the name of the pattern for the lovely garter stitch, multi coloured A-line tee in the slideshow at the top. PLEASE!! <3 xx
I suspect that you mean the striped tee. I was struck by it too and searched it out on Ravelry. It isn’t garter but it’s amazing, isn’t it? Here’s the link to jrs’ project page which names the pattern she used etc.: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/jrs/kathryn
Thanks for hunting that down; I’m a little late to the comments.
Any chance of IDing the blue and white striped top next to the A-line one?
I asked about that one and I hope that I’m remembering correctly — Deauville by Tina Tse in Pom Pom Quarterly Summer 2018.
That’s the one I’m curious about too.
Thank you Barbara, for figuring that out! It’s even more amazing in person, such a great fit.
I second that request!
So jealous! wish my school year didn’t end so late!
I second that. Hopefully, after I retire I will score a spot.
So, so sad I had to miss!
Sorry I had to bail out this year. Looks like such a blast!
So many happy memories! Thanks for all the efforts went to putting it on! It was magical.
I will never be able to explain the mad chemistry created by Claire, Ann, Kay, the staff, and my fellow knitters…but there is proof above that I got on a stage -more than once!! Never has there been a warmer, safer, jollier place than these MDK retreats. Perhaps my favorite memories are of knitters discussing yarn choices and patterns BEFORE COFFEE in the dining hall! (Also of knitters gently patting my knitwear while they circled me and asked me questions….) Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
This comment means the world to me, Robin. Warm, safe, and jolly is what we are aiming for at all times.
Looks lika a great fun time was had by ALL!! So envious;)
I have been enjoying the pictures on IG and here on MDK. They have been giving me a feeling of being there. People have done some fine work, too. The knitting, the Alabama Chanin, the spinning, that patchwork quilt to name a few. The beauty of the trees in the mist, those amazing strawberries, the head thrown mugs promising really good coffee.
I think that the knitting getaway is a very special time. Folks can choose to participate or not in everything that is offered. It may be the only time in the whole year that a person gets a slow down enough to hear that still small voice inside and what she has to say.
Well I just have to laugh because I’ve had a problem trying to make this comment. My first attempt got lost and then my second attempt ended up being as a reply which was not originally intended. The funniest thing is that when I mentioned the mugs I meant to say hand-thrown not head thrown! 🙂
Gosh, it look like so much fun! Also, in the slideshow, there is a garment that appears to be a grey poncho with a lace back (although maybe it’s a shawl?). Can you tell us the name of that pattern? thanks!
I believe that is the Stilla poncho by Nellknits. I love that version, and it is already in my queue!
I’d like to know the striped tank pattern. And I’d like to know more about the necklace Kay is wearing.
So fabulous. Thank you for making us feel as if we’d actually been there. Especially loved all the COLOR (although I loved the gray too.) (Just impulse-bought a whack of turquoise – so felt very validated by that turquoise top.). Social media at its best. So thank you.
It looks amazing!! I love the photos. What a beautiful group of people and their gorgeous handmade clothing!! I’m slightly jealous too. Attending one of these weekends is definitely going on my bucket list!! Pattern name for the lovely turquoise lace front vest/shift dress would be great too.
I want the pattern for what Ann Weaver is wearing! She really does rock orange (and so do I, ahem :)).
Ravelry link is here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mediteromanian-hotel although it doesn’t seem to currently be available for purchase.
Me too!
I love that quilt! ALL the knits in the slideshow are wonderful! I am impelled to now work on a Petula and a Bottomline (have already bought the Field Guide). I’m also curious to know the name of the pattern for the light turquoise raglan with lace at the bottom and on the sleeves. Looks like such a fun time. And dyeing the blanks – oh, I want to do that. Great inspiration.
Ditto the bucket list!!!
WOW to everything. Any instructions on how to knit one of those braided bracelets. They are very cool!
Is there a way to purchase the Mediteromanian Hotel pattern that Ann Weaver is wearing? That pattern has lingered in my queue so long that it’s no longer available from holla knits — but seeing how amazing it looks has shot it up to the top of my queue!
WHAT a weekend! Rain, welcome rain, that I may sit and knit with my sister knitters – when I wasn’t dyeing sock blanks, stitching swatches voraciously, admiring woven bracelets, and braiding the llama. (You know what I mean.) Throw in feeding my face from the best buffet line on earth, baring my soul to Max, ogling Claire’s T-shirt of the day, grazing the Shakerag store and Fringe pop-up with less and less control of my purse, and finally, swooning to the art and industry of the fashion show? At least there was knitting on the plane . Most sincere thanks to Ann, Kay, Christina, Claire, our instructors, and the indomitable Shakerag staff – all alchemists of magic!
Great fun to browse through the Fashion Show photos and recognize fellow getawayers from last year, in newly created knits. Looks like it was just as wonderful this year as last!
Looks like such a fun long weekend….great photos. Wish I lived a little closer.
Looks like a fantastic event! How do I get in the cue for next year’s event?