Hello!
This post is going up about 1.5 weeks later than I planned on, but sometimes you need to let intense feelings settle & marinate in your mind and heart for a bit before you can share them with others. At least that's how it works for me.
You may have noticed the trend in my posts lately... I attended a virtual knitting retreat (Zombie Knitpocalypse) at the end of June and absolutely loved it. To be honest, I had some reservations going in. While I knew from past experiences with ZK that it would be well organized and the attendees would be wonderful people I was concerned about the fact that I would be at home with my family while attempting to "retreat".
One of my favorite parts of attending events is that I don't have to be a mom or a wife while I'm away, I can just be myself & enjoy time with other crafters who speak my language. (My husband tries valiently, but I have yet to be able to teach him to speak fluent Yarnian.)
I do think that Dan realized how much I was needing this time with my crafting friends because he really stepped up & just let me do my thing while he took care of Cairo from Wednesday through Sunday. There was a lot of Fortnight that happened & the boys mainly lived off of taquitos while I was Zooming into the wee hours with my retreat friends, but it ended up being a really nice, much needed vacation for all of us.
If you look back through the past few posts, you'll see that I taught a few classes, participated in the Designer Showcase, shopped around at the Marketplace, and listened to an amazing Keynote from Adella Colvin of LolaBean Yarn Co. There were also breakout discussions held in smaller Zoom groups throughout the weekend. These were focused on growth, change and learning from each other. They spanned the gamut of themes from KaL team meet-ups to BIPOC/allies & LGBTQIA+ to stash organization & homemade cocktails.
Even though we were all at our homes & were spread through 37 US states & Canada, the feeling of camaraderie and a shared passion was palpable through the entire event. I know that I'm not the only one who felt like I was surrounded by friends all weekend & that Sunday came way to quickly. I can't even tell you how much of a boost this experience has been for me and I hope that I was able to uplift & encourage others at ZK just as much.
Thank you so much Megan, @justrunknit, & Amy, @jknitma, for hosting/organizing this awesome event! And thank you to all my ZK friends both new and old for making this such an amazing weekend, I love you all & can't wait to see you in Rochester next year!
Happy knitting!
Shaina ^_^
PS: Follow @stockinettezombies on IG or visit Zombieknitpocalypse.com to find out more about joining us in Rochester next June.
Whats inside the goodie bag?
Yarn is a custom colorway, Knitpocalyptic Gryphon, from Northern Bee Studio.
The bag is custom-designed, waxed canvas from The Silver Shed USA.
The mug is custom-made & hand thrown by Deneen Pottery.
The pin & postcard were specially designed and created by Megan & Amy.
Crafting Inspiration
Are you as ready to knit all the things as I am?! Here are a few of my patterns that were popular with the ZK crowd:
(PS: None of these are linked to Ravelry.)
$5.99 USD
Free!
$5.99 USD
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