Knit One, Travel Too!
Always Knitting! (photo by Karen Clerke)
Hello Sugar River Yarnies!
Our most recent newsletter theme is travel. For me, travel and knitting go hand in hand. Since I began knitting, I’ve always had at least one large knitting related trip or event to look forward to each year. For many of those years, attending Schoolhouse Press Knitting Camp was the placeholder of my summer. Each July I would travel to Marshfield, WI to see my friends and learn new skills from Meg Swansen. I am very fortunate to have attended Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp in 2023, its 50th and final year.
Without Camp, I needed something really special to become the event for my year. My Camp friend Karen and I pledged to travel together and sought out the perfect retreat. Because we both love colorwork knitting, we jumped at the chance to attend Susan Crawford’s inaugural Springtime in the Lake District Knitting Retreat in 2024. We had a marvelous time in the most beautiful spot in the UK. The project for the retreat was the Grasmere beanie - a gorgeous colorwork hat reflective of the spring landscape of the Lake District. Grasmere is known for its daffodils - the iconic flower about which William Wordsworth famously wrote. My Grasmere beanie is on display in the shop, and you can pick up a kit to knit your own out of Susan’s lovely wool.
Susan Crawford, 2024
Grasmere Beanie in Progress, 2024
Karen and I in our Grasmere beanies at Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)
The moment I got back home from my trip, I decided to return to Grasmere for Susan’s 2025 Springtime in the Lake District Retreat. I had no idea I would be opening a yarn shop at the same time!
When I decided to open Sugar River Yarns in February, I seriously contemplated canceling my trip to the UK. Afterall, the Susan Crawford retreat was scheduled only two weeks before I was meant to open! My family strongly encouraged me to keep my travel plans since, they argued, I would likely be too busy with the shop to travel again in the near future. How could I deny that logic? I also was able to pivot my thinking to that of a shop owner - what amazing yarns could I source from the UK to bring home to Sugar River Yarns?
Marie, Lizzi and Karen, 2025
Karen and I traveled to the UK ahead of the retreat to spend time with our new friends we met at the first retreat, Lizzi and Marie. We spent a few wonderful days together, touring the Lake District by day and knitting by night. It was great fun to experience the UK with British friends!
Karen, Lizzi and Marie in Grasmere, UK
Susan’s retreat was fabulous, of course. This year our project was a mini colorwork jumper which was designed such that we could learn many colorwork techniques such as tensioning and steeks! We got to visit Susan’s Assa Marra Wool Studio where we dyed our own souvenir skein with Charlie. I knew I wanted to carry Susan Crawford Vintage yarns and kits at SRY, so it was great to see the production and full range of offerings in person. Susan and I discussed the possibilities, and landed on the Lock Sock as well as a variety of kits and books. We laid out future expansion plans, too - including her Bluem line (so soft!) and perhaps virtual classes!
Charlie, dyeing wool at Assa Marra
I extended the end of my UK trip a bit, too. After the retreat I bid farewell to Karen, Marie and all of my new friends I met at this year’s retreat - though we did make plans to potentially meet up again at h&h Cologne in March, 2026 - and headed to London for a few days. On my last day , Lizzi and I met up in Bath as we had both been before so we could skip some of the touristy sites and head right for the yarn shops. We ended our day at A Yarn Story, a cozy, colorful shop owned by Carmen Schmidt. The shop has a wall full of their in-house yarn! I was drawn in by all of the gorgeous swatches with seemingly endless possibilities made by combining different colors and bases! Once I learned these yarns were available for wholesale, I eagerly sought out Carmen at our industry tradeshow in Chicago in early May. She helped me select a palette of Opus and Fluff to get started with - though I hope to one day bring in the full range of colors of both bases, in addition to the worsted weight base, Origin.
A Yarn Story: Lizzi in front of the wall of color!
Like Susan, Carmen also holds retreats in the UK. I’m hopeful to attend one in the near future - and perhaps develop a Sugar River Yarnie retreat? If this sounds interesting to you, please let me know.
Until next time - happy making!
Stephanie