1244 meters

Erin from Twist of Fate invited us to Sun Peaks for a lace knitting retreat with Sivia Harding. Whew. That sounds so simple, but it was very exciting. I visited with my sister on her ranch (more later) for Thursday and then drove the one hour from Kamloops to the ski resort. There was no snow on the ground when we arrived and it was darned quiet except for several hundred middle school choir students.

Sivia is as gracious and beautiful as her lace designs. She is a very gentle teacher and had her work cut out for her with us 17 gabbing ladies of all knitting levels. There was a big group from Kamloops and some from the Vancouver area, but we also had knitters from Saskatoon and California- Hi Vicki! She was a great room mate and is a test knitter for Sivia, so she really only came to the retreat to meet me. I wore my Fle

Erin brought her silk blend goodies: yak and cashmere. We each chose from her hand dyed sock yarn and 6/0 seed beads. By Saturday we were knitting with beads like pros. There was some buying.

It snowed on Saturday and Sunday and some of us chickens were afraid for the roads. But they were clear and even the Coquihala summit (1244 m) was dry.

My niece was there with her amazing 3 month old son. Eventhough we don't see each other very often, I definitely feel like family with her and she was so generous to share the little tiny with me. Thanks so much.

The special thing about the weekend was the small, intimate class, the warm and giving knitters, and meeting such an accomplished and appealing designer. I bought her Diamond Fantasy Shawl pattern and some charcoal lace weight alpaca. I know! Not your average Chilliwack fare. I am really excited about knitting this. But first I have to finish her Rocking Sock Club Cascadia sock. I did knit yesterday on the ferry when I picked up Scotty.