KNITTING WITH COMPANY RETREAT: A PERSONAL POST

I was lucky enough to attend, for the second time, the annual Knitting with Company Retreat, hosted by Churchmouse Yarns & Teas, on Bainbridge Island, WA, during the last weekend of April. The retreat is hosted at IslandWood retreat center, and it's pretty much the most magical thing ever! 

A rough skinned newt, just doin' his thang!

Kit, John, Julie and Catherine, along with all of the other Churchmice (how cute is THAT?) make everyone feel so welcome both at the store and at IslandWood. Sunday, the final day of the retreat, is so bittersweet. There are hugs galore as we say goodbye (or rather s'long... 'til next time) but we also leave knowing that we've made 50 new friends. It's the bestest! 

This year, a gal who I asked to take a group photo was clever enough to ask whether we'd like to do a video. So, we did! 

L to R: Katie (my Mum), Me, Tammy, Becky & Cindy.

Collectively, the Schmisher Schishters

Yeah, I'm not ashamed. They feed us pretty well at this retreat. By the time we leave, not only are we solely focused on knitting, but our bodies are looking for food every 2 to 3 hours... thank goodness we do a lot of walking between knitting and eating! 

Amazingly enough, I didn't take a photo at Churchmouse Yarns this year. Nor did I take a photo of all of the yarn I brought home ('cuz you know I did). I guess I was focused on food and friends. Well, and yarn, of course. I did start a new project while I was there - a cute little linen scarf from the Mason Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 6, Transparency: the Albers Shawl. It's my first time knitting with linen yarn so I'm pretty excited! 

So why am I sharing this?

I suppose it's because my heart is super happy today and I wanted to share some joy about a recent experience I had. Also because some days I feel like I work in a vacuum. I spend much of my day either at my computer or knitting on the sofa, which I know sounds like a dream. I'm not gonna lie, it's a pretty darn good life. But there are days where I feel really isolated. My only company are my dogs and they're not much for conversation, though they're excellent cuddle buddies on the colder days. 

So, on days when I feel a bit lonely, it's nice to have memories like this of the Churchmouse Retreat to keep me excited. And it's fun to share a bit of my personal life with YOU! My readers... you keep me engaged by sending me emails (I do love hearing from you), knitting up my designs, and keeping the world an amazing place, one stitch at a time.

From the bottom of my knit-loving heart, thanks for taking this journey with me. I'm excited to see what's on your needles next! <3