I spent last week in Valyermo, California, at St. Andrew’s Monastery, participating in the “Visionary Retreat: Self-Publishing for Knit Designers” given by Cat Bordhi. Besides Cat, attendees included:

• Lorna Miser, creator and former owner of Lorna’s Laces hand-dyed yarns;
• Myrna Stahman, author of Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shaws from the Neck Down & Seamen’s Scarves (2000);
• Darlene Hayes of Hand Jive Knits;
• Karen Alfke of Second Nature Design and Churchmouse Yarns & Teas near Seattle, WA;
• Emily Krag of Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needles; Kaci Kyler Hays of Blue Moon Fiber Arts;
• Elizabeth Seward, former Waldorf teacher featured in (Bernadette Murphy, 2002), her own site being Zen and the Art of KnittingBy The Work of Our Hands;
• Kevin Ames;
• Erica Kuntz of BE Hosting; and
• Jennifer Lindsay, a knitwear designer with no central website I can point to but she has designs scattered around, such as here and here (Breakfast at Café du Monde Gloves, no direct link), and she’s mentioned here.

The books that will be coming from these people are amazing. I got lots of inspiration, as well as practical information, and (I hope) made some new friends. I think, just maybe, I can do this.