February 27 – March 1, 2009

Special Guest Instructor!

 Elsebeth Lavold

Elsebeth is a Swedish knitwear designer, instructor and lecturer with more than 30 years of experience.  Her Viking Knits Project is known worldwide. She has authored numerous books of knitting designs. As our guest instructor for this year, Elsebeth will be teaching Basic Viking Knits, giving a presentation at our banquet and doing a book signing.

Keynote Speaker

Elsebeth will share with us about her Viking Knits Project during our Saturday night banquet. This project is now a traveling museum exhibition of knitwear designs which incorporate the beautiful interlace patterns from Scandinavian Viking artifacts.

 Book Signing

 Saturday, just before the banquet, Elsebeth will be available to sign books. You may preorder Elsebeth’s books through us on the book page. The profit on the books will go toward the cost of the book signing.

2009 Classes

Basic Viking Knits

Instructor: Elsebeth Lavold

Discover the wonderful world of Viking cables, a 1000-year-old treasure of patterns re-discovered in a new technique. Join Elsebeth as she focuses on the technical aspects of knitting Viking Patterns. Learn how to cable without a cable needle. Analyze a simple Viking Interlace ornament. This class aims to give you confidence in reading charts, knitting Viking (and other) cable patterns, and get you started on the road to creating your own variations.

This is an Intermediate level class.

Students must know how to do basic cabling before attending this class.

This class will be limited to 20 students per session. We need to have assigned times for you to attend. Please sign up for the time you prefer on the class form. Let us know if you are attending with a friend and wish to be in the same class. We will do our best to try to make that work.

Cable Basics

Instructor: Arnhild Hillesland

Learn how to do cables or refresh your skills before taking Elsebeth’s Basic Viking Knits class.

Nålbinding

Instructor: Linda Terry

Nålbinding is "woven with a needle", stitched, knotless knitting. It is a technique that produces materials that look somewhat like they've been knitted, but have actually been created with a single threaded needle.

Nålbinding produces a fairly tight fabric, and unlike knitting doesn't ladder when you drop a stitch. Join us to learn this ancient technique.

Beginning Crochet

Instructor: Denise Balvanz

Crochet is often used to finish off or jazz up your knitted projects. It also can be used for beautiful lace or sturdy bags. 

Beginning Knitting

Instructor: Sally Hillesland

If you have never knit before or if you haven’t knit for a long time and need to get back up to speed, this is the class for you! In this class you will learn the knitting basics: Casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch, reading patterns, increasing/decreasing and measuring gauge.  When you go home you will be sporting a lovely sampler scarf of your work to accent the infinite inspiration you receive!

Faroese Shawls

Instructor: Lisa Grulke

Learn about the special shaping of the Faroese Shawl which makes it a unique triangular shawl. You will make a small shawl in the class.

Knitting Clinic

Instructor: Arnhild Hillesland

This will be an informal session for students to tap into Arnhild’s expertise. If you need assistance with a project or idea, bring it with you to class and Arnhild will help make your project a success.

Extra Day:  Want to come early?

We have added an extra day to our schedule which is optional. If you would like to come early and join us for some informal knitting and chatting time, we will be available on Friday from 10am-4pm.

You will be able to learn cables if you need to do that so you can take Elsebeth’s class. You may also bring projects you would like help with and Arnhild or one of our other teachers would be glad to assist you or just bring a project that you want to work on while you visit. The store will be open Friday from 10am-4pm exclusively for those who sign up for this extra day.

There are additional fees for this day to cover the cost of the guest and meeting rooms. Meals will be on your own. 

Extra Day Class Time: Fee $60.

If you need a guest room for Thursday night the cost will be $105 per room.

For anyone else who arrives after 4pm on Friday, the store will be open. You are welcome to visit it before registration starts.

Store

We will have all of your favorite Rauma yarns and patterns and some new ones too. The store will be open during the retreat from 4:00pm Friday through 3:00pm Sunday. Denise Balvanz of Denise’s Needleworks.com will be running our store again this year.

 Instructors

Linda Terry - Linda is a medical technologist at the Vet Medicine Lab at Iowa State University. She has been knitting for years and has taught classes locally and at all the previous knitting retreats

Denise Balvanz - Denise has been knitting for many years and has taught knitting and crochet classes locally for the past several years including groups of homeschoolers and most of her 8 children. She owns the online yarn store www.denisesneedleworks.com. Denise was in charge of the retreat store last year and will be again this year. 

Lisa Grulke – Lisa has often taught at our retreat. She is a native of the historic Amana Colonies, in Iowa, where she learned to love knitting with the other women in her family and community. Lisa teaches at the biology lab at Drake University.

Sally Hillesland – Is a nurse in La Crosse and mother of 3 girls who loves to knit.  She grew up in northern Minnesota and was taught to knit before she started school by her grandmother who was 'known for her many knitting projects and gifts'. Sally was inspired by Arnhild to knit Norwegian sweaters after receiving sweaters she knit as gifts for her young daughters over 20 years ago... and has been completely hooked ever since. She says, “It's my favorite past-time especially when traveling.”

Arnhild Hillesland - Arnhild is a native of Norway and respected expert on Scandinavian knitting techniques.  Her career in the US is a compilation of operating her import/distribution business, teaching classes, designing patterns, translating patterns & books and guiding tours to Norway and other areas of northern Europe.

Facilities

The Hotel at Gateway Center in Ames, Iowa is the home of the knitter’s retreat. The hotel is conveniently located just off of US highway 30 near the Iowa State University campus. The hotel features an indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna, fitness center, lounge and excellent facilities for class sessions. Hotel rooms pamper knitters with luxurious bedding including pillow-top mattresses, down comforters and feather pillows. For guests’ convenience, each room is equipped with an in-room dataport, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board. Knitters will enjoy fabulous meals created by the hotel chef especially for the Knitter’s Retreat.

Fees

The price of the retreat includes all of the workshops of your choice, all meals from Friday evening through Sunday lunch and lodging for Friday and Saturday nights, if applicable. Non-smoking rooms with two queen size beds are reserved unless otherwise requested.

A $100.00 deposit is required with your registration to reserve your place. The balance of your fee for the weekend can be paid at the retreat. If notification of cancellation is received prior to the registration deadline, $75.00 of your deposit will be refunded.  Once the registration deadline has passed, no refund can be issued.