Scenes from a California machine knit-in
We have just enjoyed a fantastic 3 days of machine knitting in California. It was lovely to see "old" friends and meet new ones too. It's always so nice to meet members that we know from the MKC in real life and we can't wait to do it again soon. Here's what happens when 16 Machine Knit Community members got together in California for 3 days!
nikhil
Here's what happens when 16 Machine Knit Community members (plus Chef Steve!) got together in California for 3 days ...
We had two large places booked to accommodate us all near Temecula in Southern California (about half way between San Diego and LA). The plan had been to all gather and knit at the Main Hub each day and use the 2nd place for extra beds. But then we checked in to the 2nd place and decided we needed an on the spot re-think! Somehow we had managed to book the SoCal equivalent of the Palace of Versailles with much more space and natural light for knitting. So the 2nd place became the 1st place and the 1st place dropped to the subs bench!! They were only a short car ride apart so no big deal - and we machine knitters are always good for a quick pivot!
The room with the ping pong table was quickly re-commissioned as a machine knitting zone!
Thanks to the amazing lending library of machines and equipments known as Trish, by Friday night we had 16 machines up and assembled and many members were already busy knitting away when the takeout pizza arrived!
A large contingent were taking part in #voronkathon and knitting the fun Voronka sweater by Rebecca Yaker but there were plenty of other projects underway too from learning Intarsia to beading, cables and lace! We even had a Vesper nightcap from our #12MOHKAL25 on the go!
Barbara 's first attempts at Intarsia with her own naturally dyed yarns!
Reba made great progress on the 12 months of Hats KAL!
Day 2 and things got serious with everybody focussed on their projects and by the time we all met up on the Livestream with Rebecca Yaker - and 50 of the fabulous members taking part in Voronkathon all around the globe! - a lot of rows had been machine knit. Knitting carried on into the night interrupted only by Chef Steve sounding the gong for dinner and his signature Chilli!
The other hub of the house was the kitchen!
By Day 3 everybody was on a mission to complete their work. A few Voronkas were beginning to take shape!
Nancy testing the fit of her Voronka with stripes in her self-dyed yarn!
There was still a bit of time - and space! - for other pursuits from painting to football.
Lois relaxed with her paintbox.
One of the lovely things about the weekend was the opportunity to see what everybody was working on, pick up tips and ask questions. We were lucky to have Adrienne with us sharing her expert knowledge of AYAB and she treated us to a demonstration of the setup and use for knitting Fair Isle.
Adrienne explains the witchcraft of AYAB!
By Sunday teatime things were wrapping up with everybody focusing on getting finished up before we headed out to dinner at the local brewery. And I was laser focussed with one hour left and one final shoulder seam to complete. But I'm happy to report that I made it - with 20 minutes to spare ???? and enjoyed a lovely glass of Pinot Grigio from a local winery.
Oh and here's a quick shot of my completed Voronka - I'll share more details once it is washed and blocked! I'm super pleased to have completed my first full machine knit in January ????.
And that's a wrap!
It was a fantastic 3 days of productive machine knitting, inspiration and fun. It was lovely to see "old" friends and meet new ones too. It's always so nice to meet members that we know from the MKC in real life and we can't wait to do it all again soon. Next stop Sweden!
We have just released details of our full annual Machine Knitting Retreat in Yorkshire which will be held at Lumb Bank, Heptonstall in August 2025. To find out more about that you can click here.
