Our second Lancaster Knitter's Retreat will be held at the beautiful Amish View Inn in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania May 20 -22, 2016. There are so many opportunities for knitters to find and build community, it led me to think about the meaning of a retreat, and a BIG question: WHY DO WE KNIT?
Who are knitters today? Our demographic fascinates me! Our shop location in the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania's tourist area gives us a bird's eye view of knitters. We really are diverse and as a group, we transcend nationality, gender, and age. We are young women and old men. We are French Canadian, Peruvian, South African, Japanese, and Dutch. We live in cities, suburbs, and on farms.
We taught ourselves to knit, or we learned on youtube, from our mom, our dad, or our grandmother. Some of us are still future knitters, you know, knitters who have yet to pick up needles and cast on.
What motivates knitters? Style, technique, our heritage, and history. We are inspired by our imagination, our neighbors and communities, art, music, color, or maybe that interesting novel or film that features characters who knit or wear knitwear with panache!
So, why do we knit? The resounding chorus: We knit for fun! We find it satisfying, relaxing, or challenging or easy. We knit to unwind, to focus, to learn, to comfort someone we care about, sometimes we knit simply to make stuff. We knit for ourselves.
Usually we are knitting some thing. Scarves, shawls, socks, layettes for precious babies and sweaters for children--whatever the project, most of us find we become increasingly interested in both the process of knitting and the company of knitters!
Retreats give us a chance to check out of our usual routine, to step into a time dedicated to our craft, to new community, and to fun. Spending time with other knitters connects us to the larger knitting community. It's a great way to meet other knitters, push yourself a little, or a lot, and to 'get away from it all.'
We had a wonderful time at the 2015 inaugural Lancaster Knitter's Retreat. Won't you join us this May for a weekend in Lancaster County? Let's be knit together!
Check out some of the feedback from our first retreat!
"Although I had never been to a retreat before, I am looking forward to experiencing one again. I hope that you will consider hosting again in the future, although your own perfection will be tough to follow. It was so stimulating, exciting, and fun to have been there."
--Karen
"I would like you to know that I had a wonderful time at the LKR2015 and am really looking forward to next year. I will definitely be there."
--Wanda
"I really had a great time. I am usually knitting by myself so being surrounded by so many wonderful knitters was really a treat."
--Noreen
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