There were 44 men in attendance this year - about half of the attendees were returning members... and the only thing I might regret out of the entire trip was the inability to get to see and spend enough time with each person. I think of these retreats a lot like I do of going on vacation - I often pick one spot, and sit down and really REALLY try to get to know it - that way, when I am back in the real world, I am left with a strong understanding of at least one aspect... this makes for good memories, but there's always the tiny corner of the mind that wonders what other things were around that were missed!
I put my photos on flickr as a slideshow - to save space in the post and to be sure to offer a "view" of the retreat to those who want to re-visit as well as those who might want to attend in the future.
I am lucky to be strongly connected to 3 of the retreat attendees - Chuck, John and Kenny are my wonderful friends - my "fiber pals" - we are constantly in touch, emailing, texting and visiting each other... we are true friends and it's AMAZING to me that we get to share this passion of fiber (which is, admittedly, what brought us together!) - During the retreat, we spent a lot of time together - and as usual, this time means so much.
We all flew to Albany, NY the day before the retreat so that we could take a day trip to WEBS - in Northhampton, MA -
After lunch, we headed to Norhhampton Wools - owned by Linda Daniels - she was a treat to meet, and was really interested in the Men's Knitting Retreats. I spoke to her about a box I saw in her shop (there's actually 2 stores side by side!) and after a bit of coaxing, she allowed me to adopt it! - it's beautiful, amazing and HAND CARVED from South Africa! - I asked her if she had the possibility of getting more - if you would like to email her to express interest, do so HERE - and be sure to mention that I sent you!!
I will post later about what I was knitting at the retreat, and other patterns I plan to start... I could write all weekend and not have expressed all the fun and joy that results from these retreats!!
As far as the actual retreat, it was an incredible experience, and I look forward to the next time that I get to see all my fiber brothers - we are VERY lucky that Joe and Ted took the initiative to create such a nurturing and loving space - and through our repeated visits, the family is growing closer and closer; sharing knowledge, stories and love with their creative bretheren.
To those of you who just "wish" you could have attended - make the point to attend next year's retreat NOW - or go to the MFKR on the west coast - they are important to our creative development - and you'll be very glad you did.
For those of you who want to my photos - here you go - (not in any particular order!) -