Behind the scenes at the 1st MKC Retreat
And that's a wrap!! Our first ever MKC Retreat finished on Saturday and Steve, Szilvia & I have survived to tell the tale (just!) It was an absolute blast and so much fun! Although it was very hard work behind the scenes (especially in the weeks running up) it was more than worth it in so many ways. I wanted to share a flavour of the experience from my point of view so you can see what went on “On Retreat”!
nikhil
August 2023
And that's a wrap!! Our first ever MKC Retreat finished on Saturday and Steve, Szilvia & I have survived to tell the tale (just!) It was an absolute blast and so much fun! Although it was very hard work behind the scenes (especially in the weeks running up) it was more than worth it in so many ways.
I wanted to share a flavour of the experience from my point of view so you can see what went on “On Retreat”!
The venue
We were lucky to hold the entire event in the beautiful surroundings of Lumb Bank, an old 18th century mill-owner's residence with accommodation for all the knitters and a dedicated machine knitting room as well as some beautiful grounds to wander buried deep in a wooded valley. The track to get there was a hair raising experience for many - and also interesting when transporting knitting machines, tables & chairs! But once safely there, it meant it was a true step away from the hurly burly of everyday life and the focus could be entirely on the event!
The main event
Obviously the main focus was on machine knitting for the week and we wanted to make sure that everybody had the opportunity to knit as much as they liked. In fact, sometimes it was hard work to drag people from their machines - even when there was cake on offer!
The Lumb Bank pattern
I spent the run up to the event designing a new pattern inspired by the venue. It resulted in the Lumb Bank Slipover which is a v-neck cardigan with optional sleeves and Fair Isle patterning and Tuesday was spent swatching and planning the knitting for the week. The yarn provided was a supersoft Shetland wool from Gardiner Yarns which was a new collaboration for me and a great yarn to knit with.
I am planning to release the pattern later this year and will share the full details of the designs and yarns to everybody on my mailing list once it is ready.
Guest Tutors
As well as designing a new pattern (more below) exclusively for them to knit over the week, we also invited tutors to offer some tutorials, demonstrations and help! On Wednesday, Victoria Salmon from Another Knitted Thing was with us to teach options for knitting the pockets.
Followed by Bill King on the following day for a deep dive into rib options for the sleeves and trims.
Room for creativity & experimentation
The interaction with Victoria & Bill allowed everybody the opportunity to adapt and personalise my pattern further. I had already designed it with the option for choice of sleeves, Fair Isle patterns and pattern placement. So there was a lot to think about!
Some of our members really went to town with revisions like Catherine's sleeves and Rebecca's pattern adpatations (same punchcards, completely different end result!!)
The MKC Super Models
Move over Linda, Naomi & Cindy!! Who needs them when you are blessed with a bunch of enthusiastic knitters to model your samples? Thanks to Ellen, Maryann & Andy for stepping up and showing off my samples in the fabulous surroundings.
When not knitting ...
... there was also opportunity for eating, socialising, picking others' brains and forging friendships! We enjoyed communal meals each evening courtesy of Chef Steve (!!) as well as trips to the village museum and local pubs.
These were topped off with a final day trip to Fairfield Yarns for yarn stash building and a final celebration meal at one of our oldest pubs out at Widdop.
And that was a whirlwind review of what a week on Retreat was all about!!! It is hard to capture the spirit of the event but hopefully this gives you a flavour.
We have never organised or run anything like this before and I was extremely nervous but in the end it ran quite smoothly and all the hours of prep and planning paid off. This was helped in no small part by the amazing attitude of all the members and their willingness to help out and join in. The sense of community made it a really special time and place that Steve & I will remember for a long time to come! And I think Szilvia will remember punching all those punchcards for a very long time indeed. ????
Photo taken at the celebration meal on the final evening - can you see the relief in those faces!!
So that's it for this year. 6 days, 16 machine knitters, 22 kg of yarn, 3 tutors, 1 brand new pattern - and a whole lot of fun!! Believe it or not we are already thinking about next year ...
This short video captures the spirit of Retreat perfectly.
Sadly the venue is closed for renovations next year but we have some ideas up our sleeves for alternatives nearby! So watch this space if you think this is your kind of thing - it's a Members Only event and we will be releasing details towards the end of the year so if you join the MKC before then you'll get all the details.
Last year, the Retreat sold out to members so to ensure you don’t miss out join the MKC waitlist below and make sure you join in January Join the waitlist
