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With the success of our inaugural retreat in Portland, OR, we are ready to take our retreat to the East Coast! Welcome to
TKGA Retreat 2023: Charlotte, North Carolina
November 2-5, 2023
Hilton Charlotte University Place Hotel, North Carolina
Come and join us for a retreat full of camaraderie, education, and knitting in lovely Charlotte NC. Meet other retreaters that share your passion for knitting, enhance your skills with classes taught by internationally known teachers Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans, and recharge your excitement for the craft, all in a city that loves its yarn almost as much as you
Register Now!
Friday Offerings (3 hours of instruction). Choice of either:
- Boob Camp: Bust Darts for Every Body with Kim McBrien Evans
- Brioche Building Blocks with Patty Lyons (full)
Saturday Offerings (6 hours of instruction). Choice of either:
- Circular Yoke Fit with Kim McBrien Evans
- Knitters Bag of Tricks/Advanced Knit Fixes with Patty Lyons (full)
Sunday Offerings (3 hours of instruction). Choice of either:
- Bums and Bellies: Body Modifications for Sweaters with Kim McBrien Evans
- Professional Polish with Patty Lyons (full)
Each class is limited to 25 students each, so make your selections early to reserve your spot!
If the class you are interested in is full, still choose it on your registration form to be added to the class waitlist.
Friday Class Details
Boob Camp: Bust Darts for Every Body with Kim McBrien Evans
Learn life changing techniques for those of us with larger chests. Sweaters look best when they fit us in our shoulders and properly accommodate our chest. Bring your yarn, your needles and learn how to choose a size and to construct 2 types of bust darts for your chest, giving you endless choice for modifying any sweater pattern.
Brioche Building Blocks with Patty Lyons
Have you long admired Brioche but haven’t taken the leap? Or have you worked Brioche for years, but have trouble reading your knitting, or fixing mistakes? Let Patty break it down in a way that makes it simple!
We will start from the foundations of Brioche so we recognize what makes it different and how to read it. We’ll start by working through a one-color sampler to get comfortable with the motions. Next, we’ll learn increases and decreases, and then kick it up to two colors. As always, Patty will teach Brioche for both Continental (picking), English (throwing) as well as what you need to do for Combination knitting. She’ll even demo it backwards just to get your mind swimming. By the time you finish class you’ll be ready to take on your first project. Want to learn more? Everyone in class will get a discount code to Patty’s video class that works through 4 Brioche patterns.
Saturday Class Details
Circular Yoke Fit with Kim McBrien Evans
Circular Yoke Sweaters are extremely popular right now, but fitting them to your body can often be a challenge. From necklines to shoulder and bust fit, we’ll look at circular yokes and how to shape them to YOU! Take measurements of your own body specific to circular yokes, learn about different ways of shaping yokes, how to determine which method is best for you, and how to convert patterns to your desired method. You will make a map that acts as a guide for making all your future Yoke sweaters, and tricks for getting your best fit yet!
Knitters Bag of Tricks/Advanced Knit Fixes with Patty Lyons
Knitters Bag of Tricks (Saturday AM)
There are so many wonderful knitting tricks that make our lives better. Over the years of knitting and teaching I’ve accumulated quite a few fantastic tricks. I love it when I’m teaching a class and a student declares “I love that tip!”. So, I’ve decided to dig into my knitting bag of tricks and put them all in one class. From how to do a better SSK, make matching size YOs, to how to avoid the gap at the end of a bind off, how to tighten your first stitch, how to make better neck divides, and more. Get ready to find your new favorite knitting tricks!
Advanced Knit Fixes (Saturday PM)
Delve beyond picking up a dropped stitch into more major fixes. Do you feel like you make a bigger mess when trying to fix lace or shaping? Learn how to “tink” or un-knit increases and decreases without losing a stitch. Reverse a cable or add a missing cable many rows down. Fix common mistakes in lace such as a missing YO or a K2tog 3 rows down. Even learn how to shorten or lengthen your knitted piece. You have the power to fix without frogging!
Sunday Class Details
Bums and Bellies: Body Modifications for Sweaters with Kim McBrien Evans
Using your measurements and worksheets, we’ll look at how to master the fit of sweater patterns to YOUR body, and what those modifications look like in a simplified form.
Learn:
- How to choose a size to start with.
- How to compare your measurements to sweater schematics to learn how a “hybrid size” can be a solution when your measurements span more than one size.
- What to do when your weight is carried more in front or back
- What to do when your gauge and the pattern gauge don’t agree.
Professional Polish with Patty Lyons
Learn the professional tricks of the trade that can make your projects look more polished and your knitting life more enjoyable. Patty digs deeper into her bag of tricks to present a whole new batch of sanity saving knitting tips. From cast on to bind off and everything in between, learn simple tricks to make your knitting better, like how to avoid the dip you get at the start of a bind off, or the hole under a make one.
Learn how to make the knitting decisions that can add polish to your work, like choosing the right way to join a new ball or weave in those ends. Even learn simple fixes to avoid tragedy like how to fix a dropped stitch in your cast on, or what to do when you find a bad bit of yarn in your work, or a mistake in your stitch pattern after you’ve bound off! Be prepared to add a few more of favorites from Patty’s new bag of tricks.
Hotel Lobby
Classroom
Patty Lyons
PATTY LYONS is a nationally recognized knitting teacher and technique expert who is known for teaching the “why” not just the “how” in her pursuit of training the “mindful knitter”. She specializes in sweater design and sharing her love of the much-maligned subjects of gauge and blocking.
Patty teaches nationally at guilds, shops, and knitting shows around the country as well as hosting her own retreats. Her popular classes can also be found on DVD and online on her education site.
Patty designs and knitting skill articles have been published in Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Knit Purl, Knitter’s Magazine, Cast On, Knit Style, Creative Knitting, and Twist Collective. Patty also is a regular contributor to Modern Daily Knitting where she writes a knitter’s advice column: “Ask Patty.” Patty’s designs have also been included in pattern collections from Classic Elite, Noro, Cascade, Tahki Stacy Charles, Sugar Bush and Willow Yarns.
Patty has been a repeat guest on PBS’s Knitting Daily TV and featured as subject-matter expert in publications including the Wall Street Journal. She’s even made a nemesis (all in good fun) out of popular late night host, Seth Meyers—of Late Night with Seth Meyers—on whose popular “Corrections” web series she’s appeared.
Patty loves to knit, crochet, spin and has even dabbled on the knitting machine. She is currently attempting not to get sucked into another yarncraft, but weaving is looking pretty interesting. Patty lives in Brooklyn with her husband, a room full of yarn, and her garden.
Patty’s new book: Patty Lyons’ Knitting Bag of Tricks was published in fall of 2022.
Kim McBrien Evans
Curiosity and exploration is the focus of Canadian knitwear designer and indie hand dyer, Kim McBrien Evans. A lifelong love of colour, texture, pattern, and shape prompted Kim to transition from working artist to textile maven. Her knitwear designs are known for their ability to turn an abstract idea into a wearable reality while simultaneously fitting and complimenting a wide range of bodies. She lives and works in the woods of Central Ontario, Canada.
Her yarn company, Indigodragonfly, is renowned for its vibrant colours, offbeat names, and ever expanding plan for world domination. She is co-author of Custom Shawls for the Curious and Creative Knitter (with Kate Atherley). Her work has appeared in Vogue Knitting, Knitscene, Knit.Wear, Knitting Magazine (UK), A Stash of One’s Own (ed. Clara Parkes), The Sewcialists, Digits & Threads, and Uppercase.
- Opening Reception in the beautiful Gallery
- 12 hours of classes over three days
- All meals (except Saturday dinner) held in the aptly named Lakeside Room
- Tour of Universal Yarns facilities (transportation included)
- Explore downtown Charlotte on your own on Saturday night
- Late night knitting and socializing
- And more!
Double Occupancy (2 Queen Beds): $1550 per attendee
Single Occupancy (1 King Bed): $1775
Additional Nights: $150 per night
This is an all-inclusive retreat. Price includes lodging, all meals and refreshments except Saturday dinner, all classes, and all events. Prices also include all taxes, gratuities, and resort fees.
Cost is payable in full, or with a $300 deposit and two additional payments of $625 (dbl) or $737.50 (single) due on July 15 and September 15.
You can cancel without penalty by August 1. If you cancel after August 1, you will be charged a $300 fee. Any cancellations after September 15 will not receive a refund.
You can specify a roommate on your registration form (be sure to send your forms at around the same time) or we can match you up with one.
ABOUT THE HOTEL
The Hilton Charlotte University Place lakeside hotel is off I-85, a half-mile from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and steps from The Shoppes at University Place. PNC Music Pavilion and the Charlotte Motor Speedway are 10 minutes away. Hotel amenities include a seasonal outdoor pool, patio seating with fire pits, fitness center, a café serving Starbucks coffee, and walking trails.
(subject to change)
Thursday, November 2
| 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Check in at TKGA Reception desk located in the Gallery |
| 5:30pm | Welcome Reception and Dinner in the Lakeview Room, with greetings from TKGA President Arenda Holladay. Giveaways, too! |
| 8:00pm | Late-night knitting and socializing in the Lakeview Room |
Friday, November 3
| All Day | Yarn tasting, drop in knitting and socializing in the Lakeview Room |
| 8:00am | Breakfast in the Lakeview Room |
| 9:00am–Noon | Morning classes with Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans in the Burnham and Walden Rooms |
| 12:15–1:15pm | Buffet lunch in the Lakeview Room |
| 1:15 pm – 5:00pm | Tour of Universal headquarters with chartered bus leaving from hotel lobby at 1:30 pm |
| 6:00pm | Buffet dinner, with guest speaker in the Lakeview Room |
| 8:00pm | Late-night knitting and socializing in the Lakeview Room |
Saturday, November 4
| All Day | Yarn tasting, drop in knitting and socializing in the Lakeview Room |
| 8:00am | Breakfast in the Lakeview Room |
| 9:00am–Noon | Morning classes with Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans in the Burnham and Walden Rooms |
| 12:15–1:15pm | Buffet lunch in the Lakeview Room |
| 1:30 pm – 4:30pm | Afternoon classes with Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans in the Burnham and Walden Rooms |
| 4:30pm on | On your own! Options include:
|
Sunday, November 5
| 8:00am | Breakfast in the Lakeview Room |
| 9:00am–Noon | Morning classes with Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans in the Burnham and Walden Rooms |
| 12:15–1:15pm | Buffet lunch in the Lakeview Room |
Details on checkout, including timing/luggage storage will be forthcoming but we’ll take care of you!
Stay tuned as we work on giveaway prizes, additional speakers during meals, and other fun features!
How about if I want to bring my non-knitting spouse/friend?
Sign up for a single attendee room and a non-knitting spouse or friend can stay with you at no extra charge. Guests can join the retreaters at the Opening Reception and Dinner with prior arrangement at an additional charge of $145 – contact Celia Cahill at ccahill@tkga.org to make arrangements.
All other meals, as well as classes and activities, are for retreat attendees only. Guests may be welcome to join in the late night knitting and socializing if there is room available.
Explain how the classes work.
Classes taught by Patty Lyons and Kim McBrien Evans will be taught concurrently in the Walden and Burnham rooms, with one set on Friday morning, another Saturday morning/afternoon, and a final set on Sunday morning.
The most either classroom will hold is 25 students, so once a class reaches that registration level, it’s considered closed. New registrants will be automatically put into the other class held at the same time and added to a waiting list for the preferred class.
What's the meal setup?
The retreat is set up to be virtually all inclusive, with all meals except for Saturday dinner included. This means a full breakfast each day, along with buffet lunches and theme dinners held in the Lakeside Room. Dietary restrictions, such as vegan/vegetarian, gluten free, etc., should be noted on the registration form.
There will also be beverage service (coffee/tea/water) provided in the hallway outside the classrooms each day. For late night knitting and socializing, there is a cash bar in the hotel lobby.
A highlight of the retreat is the Opening Reception held in the Gallery and Dinner in the Lakeview Room. The reception includes a voucher for two drinks, then a luxe plated dinner.
We know many people will want to explore Charlotte, so we left time for optional activities after class on Saturday. This also gives retreaters the chance to sample Charlotte’s wonderful local cuisine at your leisure on Saturday evening.
Will there be any other activities?
Yes! We have a chartered bus that will be taking us on a tour of Universal Yarns on Friday afternoon. We will also have a yarn tasting and guest speaker at dinner on Friday.
What if I want to come to Charlotte early or stay later?
Rooms are available at the Hilton Charlotte University Place at our preferred rate (including taxes) of $149 per night for up to 3 nights before and after the retreat. Just make note on the registration form!
I live in the Charlotte area. Can I just come for the day?
The retreat is set up to be an intensive, all-inclusive, on-site educational experience – an immersion into knitting, if you will. That assumes everyone would be staying on site for the duration of the retreat.
This was the approach in our contract with the host hotel, which means we are contractually obligated for the rooms and meals, and why only an all inclusive rate is offered. There is no day rate. But even if you live in the Charlotte area, consider that you may enjoy the getaway feel of the retreat,
even in your local area.
FLYING IN – CHARLOTTE/DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (CLT)
Distance from Hotel: 15 mi.
Driving Directions from CLT: Josh Birmingham Pkwy to I-85 N. Go 12 miles to NC-24E/W W.T. Harris Blvd (exit 45A). Go .5 miles to JM Keynes Blvd and turn left. Hotel is at 8629 JM Keynes Blvd.
Rental cars, taxis, and ridesharing are all available at the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. See the airport website for more information. https://www.cltairport.com/to-and-from/
Transit is available between the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport and the retreat site. It does, however, require a transfer in downtown Charlotte and walking approximately .5 miles. Check the Charlotte Area Transit System website for details. https://charlottenc.gov/cats/bus/routes/Pages/sprinter.aspx
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/clthuhf-hilton-charlotte-university-place/hotel-location/
PARKING
Self-parking is available at the hotel at no cost.