November 08, 2004
Growth Through Pleasure!
(Many photos! May be slow to load...)
I was right—the purpose of this weekend was to knit. Period. Twenty-four hours after the fact, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the dilettante-ish-ness of it all.
Apparently The Retreat is a large gathering at Fort Worden State Park of knitters, primarily from Guild but also from other parts of Washington state, who have been meeting for many years, I heard 17 years from some people, 20 from others. Most of the knitters stay in an old barracks building but a few rebels have rented one of the officer’s houses—which is where I came in. Apparently one of the regulars was not able to come, a coveted spot was open, and it was offered to me.
Such a wacky, friendly, and communal weekend! I went from barely knowing most of the 20 women in our house to seeing them wander around in their flannel nighties and bare feet, bowl of oatmeal in one hand, mug of coffee in the other, a half-knit something or other in the crook of an elbow, ball of yarn trailing behind. But that’s the sort of thing that set the tone for the whole event. We knit, we talked, people came and went as the mood took them, we went into town for lunch, shopped at the local yarn stores, went for walks in the fog, had communal dinners—chili, corn muffins, salad and ice cream Friday night; minestrone soup, ham hock and greens, and apple crumble Saturday night—we shared knitting ideas, patterns, successes and failures, and Dear Reader LindaK kept the fires going to make the living room and dining room extra cozy. My favorite conversation of the weekend was the one in which, in bold defiance of the old adage “growth through adversity,” we were going to start a new movement called “growth through pleasure.” Who wants to join?
By Saturday night, we had all gotten so rummy that we would laugh at anything. One poor dear tinked three inches of a project before she realized she hadn’t made a mistake at all—and that non-event set of a good fifteen minutes of howling, gasping for air, and wiping tears away from our eyes. I don't think my stomach will ever be the same.
The house we stayed in:
And to prove that the house is Old and Significant, the sign on the house showing who lived there originally:
A horribly fuzzy picture of the Table of Clutter where we sat and knit and ate most of the weekend:
What I worked on—a child's gansey knit in pumpkin-spice-colored Falk, and which was completely frogged five minutes after this picture was taken.
Downtown Port Townsend:
One of the many beautiful Victorian buildings and houses this town is known for.
Point Wilson lighthouse which is part of the park:
One of the other old buildings at the park, Alexander’s Castle. If you are as intrigued by this building as I was, here is the lowdown.
And my favorite picture:
The questions I am left with after this trip:
1. Before it mists the produce, why would a supermarket choose to warn you with hugely loud claps of thunder that scare the crap out of you when, in fact, a simple light, chime would do? Good thing I had brought extra pants...
2. Why, in frosty, 31 degree weather, are buffalo smart enough to lie down to preserve body heat but cows aren’t?
And lastly:
3. “Egg and I Road?”
What a fine time you've had! Yay :) Lisa
Posted by: Lisa in Oregon on November 8, 2004 11:13 AMHmmm. I guess women have quite a different perspective. Before I became a monk, "growth through pleasure" was pretty much life's main theme. I think most men would concur.
Now. Could I please get a cereal box top lesson on knitting verbs? What does it mean "to frog" and "to tink". Oh wait. I think I've got part of it. I just had a large Diet Pepsi with lunch and now I gotta tink.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on November 8, 2004 12:04 PMMy ambition in life is to get to go to something like that once my daughter is old enough not to care if mommy goes away for the weekend...
Cuzzin, since you are such a lover of knitting verbiage, it would be my pleasure, especially because I think these will make you laugh:
1. Frog: When you frog something, you just completely rip it out, inside of undoing the stitches one by one. Now, follow along: Rip it, ripit, ribbit, frog. See?
2. When you tink, you undo your stitches one at a time or, essentially, knit backwards. T-I-N-K, K-N-I-T. Again, see?
Posted by: Ryan on November 8, 2004 12:42 PM*sigh. it sounds like a lovely weekend. I had a lovely one too.. knitting retreats are going to have to be on my list of things i MUST do to pamper myself. I had so much fun that actually I am at a loss to describe it. If you want to see pictures.. go to this blog: http://rosebyany.blogspot.com/
She was my roomie and she was a real hoot. Good food, good friends, lots of fiber. Heck! I learned to do the following this weekend: crochet an edging, seam in matress stitch (my seaming has always been 3 needle), sew in a zipper, cable w/o a cable needle, needle felt AND drop spindle. I had a fabu time and I am glad you did too.
Posted by: anj on November 8, 2004 12:55 PMWell, that just sounds like a little bit o' Heaven, Ryan Dear!
I heard a joke this weekend for Cuzzin Tom. Stop me if you've heard this one, Tom, but when my dear hubby told me, I said, "Hey, I gotta tell that to Cuzzin Tom," which gave me back the most quizzical look ever from my dearest. It was worth the price of admission.
So ......
For years, as you know, Cuzzin Tom, monks have been copying scripture laboriously by hand. I hear tell that one of your younger members recently asked you, "But Cuzzin Tom, why do we always do it by hand? Don't you think it could cause mistakes, all this copying by hand? What if someone accidentally made an error, and it's been perpetuated all these years?"
Cuzzin Tom calmly replied, "Because, youngster, it's just always been done that way."
The younger monk retired to the basement. Many days later, he ran up the stairs shouting excitedly, "We forgot the r, we forgot the r! It's celebRATE!!!"
Posted by: Norma on November 8, 2004 01:08 PMThe Egg & I Road is named in honor of Betty MacDonald, the local author of the "Egg and I" and other very funny (although somewhat dated)books about her life on the Olympic Peninsula.
Posted by: Barbara on November 8, 2004 01:09 PMMy knitting group has retreated to Fort Worden twice, we had a fine time. When my husband saw a picture of our table, he paused and said, cautiously, "there sure are a lot of bottles". Like I said, a fine time.
Posted by: Kim on November 8, 2004 01:21 PMMy jealousy knows no end. Can I go next year? I could, you know, tend the hearth or something equally important. I wouldn't even expect to be allowed to sit at the communal table. I could just sit by the fireplace, tending the fire and crochet. I wouldn't even be bothered by the sneers of the knitting elite sitting at said communal table. I promise.
You could put a leash on me and claim me as a pet! I'm housebroken and you don't even have to take me for walkies! It just all sounds sooooo very lovely.
I have no answers for questions 2 and 3, but as for question one, you must keep in mind that the same place has a cow mooing when you get milk and chickens clucking when you reach for eggs. Just in case you forget what animal you are actually going to consume. Morbid.
Hope everyone has a great day!!!
Posted by: Stalker Angie on November 8, 2004 01:23 PMWell at least the supermarket warned you. For years I have been certain that there is some sadistic 17 year old behind the vegetables just waiting for me to get close enough to turn on the mister and give me a bath.
Posted by: Lorette on November 8, 2004 06:28 PMo. and I drove past TRYME road. which of course I read as try me. i wondered why.
Posted by: anj on November 8, 2004 07:56 PMsounds like such a good time- and it came at just the right time to help remove all that nasty election aftertaste too-
i've actually read the book 'the egg and i' and her account of having tb which she chronicled in 'the plague and i'- she also wrote a series of children's books-
sorry to hear about the gansy incident but having to tink things while with a happy group has to be easier than facing the horror alone- it's a lovely bright color- your knitting is always colorful and 'happy'-
my 'umm' for today is this: lately when you post i never can access until the next day- i know my computer is getting a bit elderly and slow, but this is really taking that to new heights (or depths)- it's a bit like getting to the party after the guests have had a great time chatting etc and then being told about the good times and the conversations-
stay happy-
Posted by: barb in texas on November 9, 2004 07:44 AMThere is a store near here, Stew Leonards with a cow that moos. Loudly. OY Vey!
Your weekend sounds wonderful.
I'm glad to see evidence that you were actually at a knitting retreat and didn't decide to make good on your threat to move back to Alpacaland!
Glad to hear you had a good time--we certainly need mirth these days.
(And thanks for explaining "tink"! All this time I thought it was from "tinker"! Duh!)
Posted by: Kristen on November 9, 2004 11:03 AM4. Why would a yarn shop have an electronic device that said " FRONT DOOR!" or " BACK DOOR!" every bloody time someone comes in or out of the shop? Thus driving shoppers mad and out the FRONT DOOR as quickly as possible?
This was a true event observed in a location somewhere near Port Townsend last weekend.
It was great to see you there Ryan and I hope you come back again next year!!!
Posted by: Katie on November 9, 2004 12:12 PMsigh. i seem to always be a day late and a dollar short. maybe next year my family can send me on a fiber retreat instead of the looney bin.
Posted by: marti on November 9, 2004 12:47 PMThe food also sounds wonderful. I love collard greens and make them with smoked turkey wings and Bajan Yellow Hot Sauce, pigeon peas and rice, homemade corn bread and sweet potato pie. My husband's folks are from Barbados and Jamaica. Your food descriptions are not helping me stay on my poundage reduction plan.;-)))
Posted by: Debra on November 10, 2004 06:31 AM