Vancouver Island or Bust!

After 15 months of planning the final hour has arrived and I'm on the train to Toronto for the shortest leg of my ultimate trip to the West Coast.

From what I can tell from the Via Rail website, this jaunt from Kingston to Toronto is likely to be the least comfortable of the trek as we (the other travelers who are heading west and I) will be boarding the "Continental" just a bit before midnight tonight, which should arrive sometime on Saturday morning in Vancouver. From there, I'll make my way by bus and ferry to Victoria where I'll be meeting my brothers for a week of visits, yarn shop searching and a day at the Cowichan centre to try and connect with some of the Native knitters there.

At left is a picture of Victoria in full bloom a few weeks ago. Not all that different from what I'm leaving here.

This is what we have to travel through on the way across Canada: what Albertans are hoping to be the last of the spring storms. Very pretty but I had been hoping to see SPRING on the prairies. A lot can happen before I get there.

I have packed a whole suitcase of knitting, rug hooking, books, note books, this laptop, my MP3 player and a whole lot of snacks. I was assuming that I'd have a chance to blog a fair bit while on the train but have discovered that it's only on this leg of the journey that internet access is available on the train. It appears that I'll have to wait until I can get off in train stations for a bit of a break, once or twice a day in order to connect to the station's access. All that to say, I'll be keeping some notes and pictures along the way but it might only get posted every second day.

Be back with you soon.

Anne

The Ultimate Knit and Chat Weekend on Amherst Island

is incredibly excited to offer

THE ULTIMATE KNIT AND CHAT WEEKEND on Amherst Island.

Isn't this the lodge where you would love to spend 2 nights, enjoying 6 gourmet meals,and a series of knitting workshops, a yoga class for knitters and all the Knitting and Chatting that you can handle.

Save the dates on your calendar now:

Friday. Sept 24th (for supper) to Sunday Sept. 26th (after lunch) all for just $350*.

Or if you can only spare a day, take the ferry and join us on the Saturday from 10:00am to 4pm for workshops, a delicious lunch, lots of fun for $50.

The goal of this weekend retreat is to relax and get away to this lovely island setting and enjoying the company of new and old friends, while picking up some great knitting tips.

The knitting theme of the weekend will be "Going Around In Circles".

-Friday evening we will have a pot luck snack fest while having the opportunity to try out a wide range of circular knitting needles. Bamboo, nickel plated, lace tips, 9" sock needles, "Clicks" (interchangeable ends).

You name it, we'll have it there for you to try and compare.

-Saturday after breakfast we'll welcome our daytime participants and have the first of 2 workshop sessions that you can choose to attend. Likely themes for these sessions will be:

-Converting a regular pattern so it can be knit in the round: the pros/cons, and how tos.

-How to use circular needles on smaller projects: magic loop, 2 circulars, small circulars.

-Moebius knitting a la Cat Bordhi: lots of ways to use this interesting technique.

Needless to say the exact schedule and content isn't firmed up just yet, but we'll keep it posted here as things solidify.

-Saturday afternoon will have another workshop and/or free time to walk the shoreline or sit on the beach.

-Saturday evening will be movie night/ chat night/ "P.J. party with knitting" night...whatever.

-Sunday morning we'll have Jackie from Yoga to Go come and visit us to share some gentle yoga techniques, specifically helpful for knitters. Then you can catch up on the knitting class that you didn't get to participate in by chatting with the teacher.

We'll finish off with a great Sunday luncheon and a last walk on the beach and head to the ferry in time to be home for the lovely dinner that your family will have prepared for you...

Some of the nitty gritty details:

Registration: To save your spot for this exquisite fall getaway just call WOOL-TYME Kingston at 613-384-3951 and we will be glad to save your spot (for the full weekend of the day.)

A $150 deposit is required at registration ($100 refundable until Aug 31st.) for the weekend and a $25 deposit is required for the day registration.

The rest of the payment is due by Aug. 31st. Cancellations after this date can only be made if we are able to find someone to take your place.

Where: The Lodge on Amherst Island is just a 2 minute drive/5 minute walk from the ferry terminal. As parking is at a premium, (and who wants to pay for the ferry anyway?) we can meet in Millhaven and car pool from the ferry dock.

*Note The price quoted above is based on double occupancy (2 beds per room), consequently if you prefer not to share your accommodation, the fee for the weekend is $450.

Other details will appear here and in email posts to you as specific plans gel together.

Don't delay. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.

Anne