[You respond: Hello Tim]

Yes, the fiber arts can be a bit addictive and as bars are to alcoholics, Men’s Knitting Retreats are to fiber folk (at least male fiber folk).  There have been east coast retreats… west coast retreats… and now finally we had our very first midwest men’s knitting retreat.  It started Thursday in Chicago, migrated to SW Michigan on Friday, and lasted until this afternoon.  I wasn’t able to do Thursday or today, but did enjoy the privilege of spending Friday and Saturday with the guys.

We stayed at Circle Pines and enjoyed field trips to Mar Haven, Briar Rose Fibers, and Circle R (Alpaca) Ranch.  Of course, we also spent hours of knitting, enjoyed a (brilliant) class on lace blocking by Mathew Hesson-McInnis (Aka MHM), started a charity project (the group is knitting a “Taste of Aran Afghan Pattern” by Janet Szabo)….  all wonderfully (but, flexibly) organized by Todd (aka ChiKnitterGuy).

All in all it was a great time with great people… Enjoy it a bit vicariously….

[PS: the images are a big reduced for the sake of bandwidth; if you attended the retreat and would like full-sized pics, drop me an e-mail.]

Grace and Peace,

`tim

We’ve been to Ikea (an old favorite), Whole Foods Market (our first time), Trader Joe’s (first time… we’re in love…), a Hawaiian restaurant (in honor of Terika!), Wow Bao (yummmmmm!) – just to name a few.

Today I even got to take my first trip to Loopy Yarns. It wasn’t as big as I expected, but I did pick up some great Merino Top:

Anyhow, thought I’d touch in.

And have I told you how much I LOVE mass transit?!

Grace and peace,
`tim

Last year I went home with very little (two lucets – one for myself and one for a friend). This year I had loftier goals; I wanted fiber.

As you may know, my dear wife got me a spinning wheel and, although I have some fiber, I’ve been waiting for the festival to pick up something a bit new and different. I did!

Upper Left: “Blue Heart” – 4.5 oz Corriedale from Barbara Lambrecht in Wayland, MI. (no website… yet.)

Upper Right: (Black) – 1/2 pound Columbia/Romney Roving from Centennial Farm Wools in Charlotte, MI.

Lower Left: (Dark Grey) – 1/2 pound Jacob Sheep Roving from Sweet Grass Farm in St. Johns, MI.

The most exciting purchase of the day, though, is that lower right-hand corner: 2 oz. of Buffalo! It isn’t Quivet, but it’s beautiful. Mixed with just a hint of wool. It’s soft, unbelievably warm, and Bonnie (from Catalynje Fuffalo Fiber Co. in White Pigeon, MI) is a hoot. I stopped at their booth last year and fell in love with the stuff but really didn’t have anything to do with it; this year, though, I have a wheel — I’m going to make it into a 2-ply with some Corriedale (that I already have)… eventually, anyhow!

On top of that, I had the chance to meet (in person… not just online) with a bunch of Ravelry-ers:

And from the podcast The High Fiber Diet:

(that’s Bethanyg, CoggieT, and yes, me)

I also finally got to put a face to CJ Kopec, who lives just down the road, but I’ve never actually met in person:

(dontcha just love those “hold up the camera yourself” shots?

Of course, alongside all of the people, the barns were full of alpacas, sheep, goats, and bunnies – I was a good boy, though, and didn’t whip out the Discover card and bring one home! (I’d rather stay married!)

All in all, a good day; next year maybe you can came to! It’s great to be around an entire group of people who are pleasant and friendly – that seems so rare.

Grace and peace,
`tim