Fun
MDK Knitting Getaway 2020: Registration Opens Today!
We are thinking about June.
Next June, specifically, from the 11th to the 14th, when the third annual MDK Knitting Getaway will take place.
We are basically living on a moment-to-moment basis until we can get ourselves back up to Sewanee, Tennessee, and the campus of St. Andrews-Sewanee School.
For the third time, Shakerag Workshops will kick off its traditional two weeks of arts workshops with a long-weekend getaway just for knitters, hosted by us!
A few years ago, Claire Reishman (the powerhouse behind Shakerag Workshops since its inception in 2004) approached us about teaching a workshop at Shakerag. We told her about our dream for a different kind of knitting event. That’s how this getaway got started. The first two years have been great fun, the best kind of knitting party, and we are excited to do it all again in 2020.
What Is the MDK Knitting Getaway?
The MDK Knitting Getaway will happen June 11-14, 2020.
It will be a true escape: a few beautiful days for knitters to gather at the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee campus to enjoy: good food, nature, knitting, and each other.
There will not be formal classes, or at least not the kind of classes you may be used to. Instead, we will knit and hang out; eat and drink; hike Shakerag Hollow; swim in pristine water; do yoga; dye stuff; learn from wonderful teachers.
Each participant will do all these things, any of these things, or, perhaps, none of these things—exactly as we wish.
The constant will be: relaxation and knitting in the company of knitters. We’re planning on laughing a lot.
The Schedule
Still in formation, the schedule is going to go something like this.
Arrive on Thursday afternoon in time for Happy Hour and a delicious supper in the dining hall.
On Friday and Saturday, all participants will have four “class-like” activity options, with time to do them all if desired. You’ll spend a couple of hours learning from four beloved teachers. (Keep reading to see who they are!)
Morning options will include yoga and hikes in the beautiful woods of the Cumberland Plateau. And a bike tour of beautiful Sewanee, the town and the college campus of the University of the South.
Afternoon options include a restorative swim in the pristine lake that Shakeraggers call The Res. Float out to the dock, or knit on a rock; it’s up to you, and it’s heavenly. Also available: a trip to Kacie Lynn’s beautiful Fiber Farm, for therapeutic bonding with fuzzy animals.
It wouldn’t be a knitting getaway without a little shopping, right? We got this! We will bring back the MDK Pop-Up Shop, and are planning some special treats for your needles.
On Sunday morning, we’ll have one last delicious breakfast and say our goodbyes. Some of us will stay on for a full week of another Shakerag Workshop. (See all the workshops here.) The rest of us will start crossing our fingers that we can go to the next MDK Knitting Getaway.
THIS IS THE RES. THOSE TWO TINY PEOPLE ARE SHAKERAGGERS, HAVING THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES.
Each evening will begin with a Happy Hour, followed by one of the locally sourced dinners for which Shakerag Workshops is beloved.
THE SHAKERAG DINING HALL IS LIKE HOGWARTS BUT WITH HOMEGROWN TOMATOES and a legendary bread pudding.
Evening entertainment will be something where knitting is encouraged. We have found that knitters really like to strut the stage wearing their FOs, so that’s a given, and we also look forward to movie night.
The 2020 Knitting Getaway Teachers
We are thrilled to announce the four wonderful people who will guide and inspire us in morning and afternoon classroom sessions. While the specifics of their workshops are still in formation, we can guarantee fun and learning. Each teacher will share unique skills and experience with knitters, in a setting that encourages us to really get to know each other.
Vilasinee Bunnag
Vilasinee Bunnag left a career in wealth management to take a design idea from concept to reality. She is the inventor and designer of the Loome tool, a five-in-one tool for making pom-poms, tassels, friendship bracelets, weavings and cords. She travels the country sharing tips and tricks for making a round, dense pom-pom that makes everyone happy. Her Instagram is an instant mood elevator.
Vilasinee is the author of Loome Party: 20+ Tiny Yarn Projects to Make from Your Stash (Abrams 2018).
Cecelia Campochiaro
Cecelia Campochiaro grew up in a family of artists and has been knitting since she was 12. Her professional work has been to develop finely calibrated machines that inspect computer chips, which requires precision on par with counting a gauge swatch.
While seeking simple knitting projects to take with her on business trips, Cecelia “unvented” a simple way of knitting in which complex-looking fabrics “just happen.” This discovery led to mountains of swatches, months of work, and the publication, in 2015, of her groundbreaking book, Sequence Knitting: Simple Methods for Creating Complex Reversible Fabrics. She is the featured designer in MDK Field Guide No. 5: Sequences, which is a simple introduction to Cecelia’s fascinating ideas. What is Cecelia working on now? We’re going to find out!
Karida Collins
Hand-dyer Karida Collins is the founder of Baltimore’s Neighborhood Fiber Company. She is a bright light in both the knitting and dyeing worlds, and an inspiring community leader. Karida’s yarns are a highlight of the MDK Shop and a favorite with MDK readers. To learn more about her, good places to start are this piece in the Baltimore Sun, and her interview with Miriam Felton on the Yarn Stories podcast.
Sonya Philip
Sonya Philip is an artist, designer, and teacher. Her column on MDK, “Wear What You Make,” is a source of inspiration and joy for MDK readers.
In 2012, Sonya started 100 Acts of Sewing, which involved making dresses while documenting the process on the project’s website. Since then, she has made it her mission to convince people to make their own clothes, by teaching classes and selling patterns. When not covered in bits of thread, she can be found knitting another shawl or cardigan.
How to Register
DORM SWEET DORM.
Registration is open today, and will close on Thursday, August 22 at 7:59 PM CDT.
Tuition and fees information is here.
Register here.
No payment is required with registration.
Participation is limited to 100 people.
If we have more than 100 registrants at the close of the registration period, we will select 100 participants by lottery.
There will be two lottery groups.
Group 1: 2018 and 2019 attendees who wish to return in 2020; 40% of the total number will be pulled from that group.
Group 2: All new registrants and returning 2018 and 2019 attendees who were not chosen in the first group.
Registrants chosen from the lottery will be notified by email during the week of September 2. Payment of 50 percent of tuition and fees will be due within two weeks of notification. (Watch your email inbox, including your spam folder.)
The availability of single rooms is very limited. Once we’ve drawn the single rooms for each of the two lotteries, we will be admitting only people who requested double rooms.
In other words: requesting a double room will increase your odds of being selected in the lottery.
If you are registering for a double room with a specific person, your roommate will automatically be included if your name is selected in the lottery.
Remaining registrants will be notified by email and will be given the option to be placed on a waiting list and notified if a place becomes available.
About the Waiting List
While we can’t predict what will happen this time, in 2018 and 2019, everyone who chose to remain on the waiting list eventually did get offered a place, even if it was at the last minute. Things happen, and people’s plans do change unexpectedly. So if you don’t make it in via the lottery, and can keep the dates clear on your calendar, there is a good chance that if you remain on the waiting list, you will get to attend.
What’s It Like at Shakerag?
For more photos and a taste of the Shakerag experience, here’s our blissed-out report on the 2019 MDK Knitting Getaway. (We also had a blast in 2018.)
We Can’t Wait
We hope to see you there, and make our virtual happy place a real place, if only for one special weekend.
Love,
Ann and Kay
Entered! I’m so excited about this – fingers crossed for a lottery win!!!
I’m too Far Left on this continent to take part, put sounds like heaven.
Would you be able to accommodate a participant with non- participating spouse? If yes what would be the lodging and food price for non-participant?
Yes! We’ve had a few devoted non-participants joining us for meals in the past. I just sent you an email re: this.
It sounds terrific. But I fear we are destined to never meet. June 15 is our anniversary and we are always (so far) on the island of St John. Maybe someday I will see you at Maryland Sheep and Wool.
What a great list of instructors!
Who knew a knitting weekend/week. Sounds like fun.
How do people get out there? Airport, then?
Someone from Shakerag picks us up at the Nashville airport on Thursday afternoon in the school van and brings us back on Sunday morning. If you get in early, you can find other knitters at the airport. It makes the retreat last longer, which is a good thing!
There’s a charge, of course.
It is between Nashville and Chattanooga… If I get in I could give a few folks a ride from Nashville…
Can I get on wait list now even though I missed registration
I’m in!! SQUEEEEEE!!!!