Knitting Retreat

Q:  What do you get when you combine knitting, wine, great food, yarn, smart women, a little more wine, and hysterical laughter?

A:  A knitting retreat.

This past weekend I drove to Kansas City for The Studio's annual knitting retreat.  It was held at Unity Village just outside of Kansas City.  We stayed in a new hotel and conference center built on the property just a few years ago.  Most of the participants were from the greater KC area, but I know there was someone there from Chicago and a group from Omaha and of course one lone Tulsa girl.

I found out about it from my friend Jessica.  She and I went to high school together and have always remained close.  She works at The Studio and has invited me in the past to this retreat.  This was the first time I have been able to make it, but it will NOT be the last.

We were given the coolest goodie bags with a water bottle and snacks.  The Studio also set up a yarn market right there at the hotel.  There were classes but I did not enroll in any of them.  I actually learned a lot from sitting with my friend Jessica for two days.  I met the nicest, wittiest, most talented women.  Everyone there is someone I would want in my kitchen with me and a glass of wine.  They were amazing.

The grounds of the Unity Village were beautiful.  I went for a walk on the first day I arrived and found myself on a golf course with about 2 dozen deer and this wooden statue of a woman golfing. It was about 23 degrees though so I didn't stop to talk to her about her wardrobe choice or her orthopedic shoes, or her dry skin.

Two things I failed to take pictures of, my friend Jessica and the amazing food!  We were fed three times a day and had great meals.  The coffee was also quite good.  It was Parisi coffee which is owned by two brothers from KC, Paris Brothers Inc.  If you ever get the chance to drink Parisi Artisan Coffee, do so!

My sweet friend Jessica and I shared a room together and I felt like we were having a sleepover.  We stayed up late talking and giggling and drinking wine.  It was a much needed respite from our normal roles as mom, chauffeur, cook, laundress, homework tutor and scheduler.  It was heaven.  Thank you to Wade and Mike for making this possible.  Thank you.

My biggest lesson learned was a really simple one that I never knew because I am a lone knitter, not a group knitter.  I did not know you pull the yarn from the center of the skein.  I just assumed that it would get tangled up that way.  It does not.  You pull from the center and the ball does not roll all over the place when you knit.  Clever.  Simple.  Perfect.