West Coast Fibre Art Retreat - November 2022

Come meet and mingle with other fibre art enthusiasts during a series of workshops led by local and visiting instructors. Nestled in cozy, ocean-level rooms on the beautiful west coast, you will have the chance to learn to add woven embellishments to your knitting, explore a variety of wools from Canadian and breed specific sheep, try spindle spinning, cedar weaving, and the new fibre art style of macra-weave. Stretch your legs and learn about coastal rainforests while taking in spectacular views from the Wild Pacific Trail, explore products from local vendors, and still have your own time to explore the region further or relax by the ocean.

RETREAT SCHEDULE (example*)

Wednesday, November 2nd

8:30 – 9am: Check-in with morning tea & coffee

9am – 12pm: Workshop

12pm – 1pm: Group lunch at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

1pm – 2pm: Break

2pm – 5pm: Workshop

Evening: Dinner and explore on your own

Thursday, November 3rd

9am – 12pm: Workshop

12pm – 1pm: Lunch break (your choice)

1pm – 2pm: Guided walk on the Wild Pacific Trail

2pm - 7pm: Break and dinner (your choice)

7pm – 9pm: Evening gathering to knit, enjoy wine and dessert, and browse the local vendor marketplace.

Friday, November 4th

9am – 12pm: Workshop

12pm: Departure

*Exact times and workshops will be communicated closer to the event.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

Woven Embellishments for Knitting with Faye Kennington of UkeeKnits

Want to incorporate the look of weaving into your knitting? With Swedish Weave Stitch, Roositud and applied embellishments, there are lots of ways to play with the textures of woven fibre in your knitting. This class enables you to try out these techniques, experiment with a variety of luxury yarn textures from Polka Dot Sheep and create a sampler “mug rug” to take home.

Knitting Skill level: Suitable for adventurous beginners and beyond! Participants should know how to knit, purl, cast on, and bind off. 

Supplies needed for class: You will need to bring 4mm knitting needles, a tapestry needle, and scissors.

Materials supplied by instructor: Yarn is supplied by the instructor.

Beyond Merino: Canadian and Breed Specific Wool Exploration with Catherine Knutsson of The Small Bird Workshop

Did you know there are over 80,000 sheep on Vancouver Island, but none of them are merino? There’s a whole woolly world to explore beyond merino, but it can be a little hard to know where to start – it’s often hard to find non-merino yarns, and when you do, hard to know what you should do with them when you’ve never worked with them before!  This workshop will explore a variety of wools from Canadian and/or breed specific sheep, their properties, and their uses. We’ll also discuss how to source local and specific-breed wool, and why we’d even want to do that, and how not all wools are suited for all jobs. Workshop participants will get to sample a variety of yarns from non-merino sheep (both mill spun and hand spun), as well as have the chance to try spindle spinning some local sheep fleece.

Skill level: beginner and up

Required skills: enthusiasm!

Materials to be supplied by the participants: 4 mm/US 6 knitting needles in preferred style (circular, straight, etc.), and scissors.

Materials supplied by instructor: washed fleece, roving, yarn samples, homemade drop spindles, handouts, WIP tool.

Cedar Weaving with Rose Wilson

Learn the art and skill of cedar weaving with Rose and her son Brian Wilson of Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ. Create a cedar craft while hearing about the many aspects of cedar and grass weaving such as how fibres are prepared.

Skill level: No weaving experience required, only a willingness and enthusiasm to learn.

Materials needed for class: none.

Materials supplied by instructor: Prepared cedar strips.

Macra-weave with Kim Leckey of SeaWoven

Learn from Kim Leckey (Sea Woven) the art of macra-weave: A new fiber art style combining macrame and weaving techniques. Create your own macra-weave wall hanging using driftwood, cotton rope, and roving (unspun wool) using the basic knots including Larks Head knot + Square knot + Alternating Square knot + Diagonal Hitch knot. You will also learn the basic weaving techniques including Tabby, Soumak, and Rya.

Skill level: Suitable for beginners, no experience required.

Materials needed for class: All materials provided (bring medium-size driftwood if you would like).

INSTRUCTOR BIOS

Faye Kennington lives and knits on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Her patterns have been published in Knitscene, Knit Now, and various Knit Picks books. Find more of her self-published designs on Ravelry. She goes by @UkeeKnits on Instagram and Twitter.

Catherine Knutsson is a wool purveyor, knitter, spinner, weaver, hand dyer, and knitting pattern designer. She loves all things fibre, and especially loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with other fibre fans.

Rose Wilson is a Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ cedar weaver living in Hitacu on the inner-shore of Ucluelet Inlet. She is both self taught and has the traditional teachings from elders in processing materials and creating traditional works of art. Rose and her son, Brian Wilson, work with red and yellow cedar bark and several types of specific grasses to create clothing, hats, baskets which incorporate traditional and meaningful designs that have been passed down through her family for many generations.

Kim Leckey (Sea Woven) holds a degree in fashion design from Ryerson University, is a passionate artist and creator who has had the opportunity to work internationally in New Zealand, Central America, and California. Now residing in Ucluelet and Tofino BC, Kim merges her love of the ocean and macrame with sustainability in mind to create her own style of fiber art. She specializes in using recycled, upcycled, and marine debris material to construct unique macra-weave projects that reflect the intricate timelessness of the West Coast shorelines.

RETREAT LOCATION

The 2022 West Coast Fibre Art Retreat will take place between the Wine Cellar and the ballroom at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet, BC. The wine cellar is situated at the end of an active surge channel and has spectacular views of the coast and Pacific Ocean - a perfect location to peacefully craft while viewing the powerful sea.

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort has some great rooms available for retreat participants. Room booking details will be provided once the event registration is complete. 

ALSO INCLUDED

Also included in the cost of the retreat is coffee/tea and pastries at each morning workshop, one group lunch at Black Rock Resort*, a vendor market evening with wine, cheese, and desserts, Eventbrite registration fees, plus a guided walk on the Wild Pacific Trail (non-participating travel companions, partners, spouses, and on-leash pets are welcome to join the guided-walk at no cost.)

*Alcoholic beverages at the group lunch are the responsibility of the participant. There is no reimbursement if you do not attend the scheduled group lunch. 

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

West Coast NEST is committed to hosting a safe, equitable and inclusive event. Discriminatory behaviours will not be tolerated and anyone displaying such behaviour will be asked to leave the event. The event will adhere to any health restrictions in the Province of British Columbia that may exist at the time of the event. Participants will be responsible for ensuring they meet the requirements. No refunds will be issued if a participant does not comply. 

REFUND POLICY

Refunds will be accepted within 7 days of the date of purchase until September 30th, 2022. Refunds will be issued for the ticket cost, less the Eventbrite fees determined by Eventbrite. If we must cancel the event due to unforeseen circumstances all registrants will receive a full refund regardless of the date.