Shop Hop 2009

Shop Hoppers Catherine & Pat say...

"Shop 'till ya drop!"

Shop Hop 2009 was a big hit for the Stockinette Shop Hoppers and Yarn Store Owners alike. According to Shop Hop organizer Kathy Morrow, there were 43 entrees in this year's Shop Hop drawing.

The Shop Hop end date coincided with the Retreat dates so many Retreat attendees hit the Truckee and Lake Tahoe Shops during the Retreat.

Here is a recap of Shop Hop 2009:

Doris, Mary, Lauren (shop owner) Susan & Jude

Shopping at The Knitting Nest

Many Stockinettes made the scenic drive and visited Lauren Wayne's darling boutique shop The Knitting Nest at the top of the mountain in Stateline NV during the Retreat. Everyone was "wowed" by Lauren's creative displays and her shop's unique yarn selections.

Cozy Winter Hat

Designed & Modeled by

Lauren Wayne, owner of The Knitting Nest

Free hat patterns were given out to the Stockinettes at every shop during Shop Hop 2009. What a great idea! Many Shop Owners offered specials to the Stockinette shoppers, too. A big thank you to all the wonderful Shop Owners for making the Shop Hop such a fun shopping event!

Shopping is always more fun with your family & friends!

(Sisters Karen & Linda, Daniella & Mom and Lea)

Many Stockinette shoppers found some fabulous yarn selections at The Wool Tree in South Lake Tahoe during the Retreat.

Shopper Karen E. said fellow shopper Lea did a "happy dance" at The Wool Treee when she spotted some Trendsetter yarn she had been searching for! Yes, the Stockinette Shoppers know how to shop and have a good time!

And the Winners Are....

Close Knit Friends Jude & Doris

Drum roll please...the Grand Prize Shop Hop Award goes to Doris!

Doris K.'s name was drawn as the Grand Prize winner for Shop Hop 2009. Doris and her best knitting buddy Jude made a deal that if either of them won in the Shop Hop, they would share their winnings. Well, their shopping efforts paid off for visiting all of the 13 shops in the Shop Hop. Congratulations Doris, and of course, Jude, too!

Other Shop Hop Winners Are:

Wilma K.

Phyllis A.


Linda G. & Jo M.


Diana C.

Congratulations to all the winners and to all the Stockinettes for getting out and supporting our wonderful supporters and advertisers, our Local Yarn Shops.

Please continue to visit and always shop first at your LYS.

Kathy Morrow
Shop Hop 2009 Organizer

Thank you to Kathy Morrow for a great Shop Hop 2009!

And remember...it's okay to shop 'till ya drop!

Thank You to our Retreat Sponsors!

Retreat Goodie Bag

Our first Knitting Retreat was a smashing success!

As far as the Retreat Goodie Bags go...the attendees said it best!

"We were up past midnight looking at everything in the goodie bag"! Diane P.

"The goodie bags were phenomenal! Wonderful patterns in the Debbie Bliss magazine. What a treasure trove"! Jo M.

The Stockinettes would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the sponsors for their generous donations for our Retreat. Donations came in from both big and small companies in the yarn and knitting industry. Thanks to their generous donations the Retreat attendees received a Retreat Goodie Bag filled to the brim and fabulous prizes were given out all Retreat long.

These companies really do care about knitters and we thank them for their support. We hope that you will patronize these fine companies whenever you have the opportunity.

Retreat Sponsors

Spud & Chloe
Lion Brand Yarn
Coats & Clark Yarn
Brown Sheep Yarn
Universal Yarn
Berroco
SoHo Publishing/Vogue Knitting on The Go
Lantern Moon
Knitting Fever/Debbie Bliss Magazine
Eliabeth Risch & Munchies
Clover
Ozark Handspun
Lorna Miser
Crystal Palace
Knitterella
Schaefer Yarn Co.
Mission Falls
Namaste
Knitting Pure & Simple
Lily, Bernat & Patons
Lucy Neatby & Tradewind Knitwear Designs
Cutured Purl
Louet/SOAK
Eucalan
Knit N Style Magazine
Creative Knitting Magazine
Be Sweet
Daisy Muir
Plymouth Yarn
Deborah Felmly
Shibui
Knit Happy
Brittany Needles
Joan McGowan-Michael & White Lies Designs
Skacel
Mountain Colors
Trendsetter
Lorna's Laces
Della Q
Farmhouse Yarns

Retreat Hat Contest

Retreat Hat Contest Winners

Along with fun and games at the Retreat...there was also a hat contest. Instructions went out prior to the Retreat for four hat-egory choices for participants to enter: Retreat/Tahoe theme, Knit-In Design, Embellished, and the coveted Top Hat category selected by the voters for the Top Hat of all the combined hat-egories.

All the hat entrees were displayed in their appropriate hat-egory for all the Retreat attendees to vote on their favorites.

Here are the results:

Beth & Cindi announcing the winners!

Doris is a winner!

Doris took home the best Embellished Hat-egory
with her quirky i-cord hat!


Pat P is a winner!

Pat took home the best Knit-In Design
with her adorable Red Cable Tam!


Daniella Z is a winner!

Daniella took home the best Retreat/Tahoe Theme Hat-egory
for her snazzy hat.


Mary J. is a winner!

Mary took home the coveted Top Hat hat-egory.
The voters selected her hat as their top choice of the Hat Contest.

Mary J

Mary's Top Hat winner was a sure hit with all the Stockinette voters. It is knit in Kauni yarn in a beautiful intarsia design. A clear winner for fall, too!

Congratulations to all the entrees and winners!

Retreat Fun & Games

Retreat Goodie Bag

Thanks to the Retreat's very generous sponsors...each Retreat attendee received a fabulous Retreat Goodie Bag filled with KAL (Knit Along) projects, yarn, patterns, needles, magazines and more.

During the Retreat attendees had the option to participate in fun KAL's. KAL kits were given out at various times during the Retreat weekend. The KAL kits were a wonderful way to try out new yarns or learn a new technique.

Here is a recap of a few of the KAL's.

Silly Apple Cozy
Sponsored by Lion Brand Yarns

Apple Cozy KAL

Thank you Lion Brand Yarn for supplying the yarn for this fun KAL. The Silly Apple Cozy is a free pattern on Ravelry designed by Casey Newman. It is knit in Lion Brand's Wool Ease worsted.

Betsy Coyne finished her apple cozy first and won a prize. Prizes were passed out all weekend long...again thanks to the generous yarn industry sponsors!

Spud & Chloe KAL

The Stockinettes love Spud & Chloe!

Cupcake Pincushion

Designed by Susan B. Anderson

Spud & Chloe sponsored the Cupcake Pincushion KAL. The adorable pattern is by designer Susan B. Anderson and is a free pattern on the Spud and Chloe blog.

This KAL was a wonderful opportunity for the Stockinettes to knit with Spud & Chloe's new Sweater (superwash/worsted) yarn. Everyone raved about this yarn! Thank you Spud & Chloe!

Lisa, Kendall & Jude

Clever crocheter Kendall whipped up her Cupcake Pincushion in crochet!

KAL winner Elizabeth!

Expert knitter Elizabeth was the first Stockinette to complete her Cupcake Pincushion in the KAL. For her prize she selected the gorgeous white satchel bag (in the photo)

generously donated by Trendsetter Yarns.

We Take our Knitting Seriously!

Yes, the Retreat was filled with lots of fun and games. On a more serious note though ...the Stockinettes are very serious and dedicated charity knitters as well.

Stockinette Susan H. spear heads the Stockinettes Veterans Lap Blanket cause. She set up a charity knitting table at the Retreat for our community knitting service cause. Susan is in need for more Log Cabin Squares. She provided the pattern and free yarn to those knitters who were able to take the challenge and knit some squares to complete another charity lap blanket.

Susan H.

Says "thank you" to all the Stockinette charity knitters!

Log Cabin Squares

Have you contributed to our charity knitting cause lately?

Retreat Recap

Camellia City Stockinettes Knitting Retreat

October 15-18, 2009

Historic Camp Richardson, South Lake Tahoe, CA

The first ever CCS Knitting Retreat was well over a month ago and we are still talking about all the fun we had!

Here's your chance to read about the Retreat and catch up on all the fun and activities. And, yes, the attending Stockinettes did get squeeze in some knitting time with all that fun up in South Lake Tahoe!

Here's the Retreat Recap:

Historic Camp Richardson Lodge

There was no vacancy at the Lodge after the Stockinettes occupied the entire lodge for the Retreat!

Welcome Knitters!


Wine & Cheese Welcome Reception Night


Let the Knitting begin!

Diane, Jo & Lucinda

There was a lot of knitting and chatting at the Welcome Night Reception!


Elizabeth & Betsy

Knitters of all skill levels attended the Retreat. A special Stockinette "Thank You" to our expert knitters Elizabeth & Betsy. Throughout the entire Retreat, they so willingly lended a helping hand to any knitter that needed help.

Deborah found a comfy rocker!

We all had so much fun at the Retreat. This was not your Grandma's knitting Retreat!


Knitting Sessions

Free From Knitting Session

The Retreat was filled with fun optional events and knitting sessions led by our very own Stockinettes. Doris led a fascinating session about Free From Knitting. Everyone loved it!

Miniature Knitting Session

Jude is an expert miniature knitter and led a Miniature Knitting session that was a big hit!


Miniature Knitting

Can you believed they were actually knitting with sewing needles?!


Knitting R & R

Nina & Beth...relaxing and taking advantage
of the beautiful fall weather!

What's a Retreat without a little R & R (rest & relaxation)? Many Stockinettes took advantage of the beautiful fall weather to knit and enjoy the great outdoors at the same time!

Bonnie & Paige
Close Knit Friends

The Retreat was a time for close knit friends to enjoy this special event together. It was also a great time for Stockinette members to get better acquainted with other members, too. Many new knitting friendships were made during the Retreat.

South Lake Tahoe

Beautiful Lake Tahoe! What an idyllic setting for a knitting Retreat!

The Retreat was such a smashing success that we have already booked the

Camp Richardson Lodge for another Retreat in fall 2010.

Will you be attending this time?