October 5-12, The Inn at Pocono Manor - Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania

Guide to Retreat

The SOAR retreat sessions are simply organized. There are twelve sessions on Friday and Saturday, each three hours long, each repeating four times. You can attend four different sessions over the two days. Because the sessions are short and intense, it isn’t possible to cover a subject in depth. Expect instead to be inspired by new ideas, learn the basics of a new skill, or receive advice on refining a familiar technique. The sign-up for four sessions takes place on site.

	Spinning Wrap-and-Roll Novelty Yarns Sarah Anderson In this workshop you will learn the new wrap-and-roll technique of spinning core yarns. It involves using a spinning wheel and a spindle to create a rolling core instead of a twisting core. With this you can create soft, balanced core spun yarn with only one plying step. We will explore variations and uses of this yarn construction. Skill level: Comfortable spinning a continuous yarn, plying, and ready to explore more advanced techniques
	Spindle Spinning Rudy Amann Try spinning wool on a high-whorl hand spindle, or try again if earlier attempts were unsuccessful. While learning to spin singles and different ways to ply singles into a balanced yarn, learn how to control the size of singles, how much twist to put in your yarn, and how to finish your hand spun yarn. Skill level: Beginner
	Knitting Estonian Lace Nancy Bush Estonia has a lace tradition spanning nearly 200 years. Learn about the stitch patterns and some of the history of these lovely garments. In this retreat, you will learn several of their unique ways of creating texture in lace. Skill level: Comfortable spinning a continuous yarn, plying, and ready to explore more advanced techniques
	Spinning Big and Lofty Yarns Maggie Casey Soft yarns full of air are a joy to knit and wear, but not so easy to spin. By tweaking your wheels and choosing the right fiber, you can create those light and lofty yarns. Skill level: Beginner
	Go-felt-a-fish Sharon Costello Go-felt-a-fish is a fun, "everything goes" approach to learning a full range of useful wet felting techniques. Learn all about surface design (such as texture, relief, luster, and decorative motifs) in the felting process while creating a one-of-a-kind, three-dimensional fiber fish that can be used as a small bag or hanging art piece. Combine wool, sheer fabrics, silks, synthetic fibers, designer yarns, wool locks, and beads to create fantasy fish full of texture and shine. Learn how to use resist patterns to create seamless three-dimensional felt with fins, eye sockets, and more. Skill level: All levels are welcome
	Maximizing Spindle Productivity Abby Franquemont You’ve heard they’re slower by the hour and faster by the week, but is it true? Could it be true for you? Learn some straightforward spindle-spinning techniques for low-whorl and high-whorl spindles that will allow you to really use your spindles for production work, and rival what many spinners are able to do using wheels. You may never travel with a wheel again. Skill level: No spinning experience required, but there’s probably something for you in this session no matter how long you’ve been spinning
	Domino Knitting for Lazy Knitters Vivian Høxbro Learn lazy domino knitting techniques, including cast on, knitting different squares and figures, and knitting them together while beginning a decoration for a pillow. Inspiring projects will be on display to further demonstrate this whimsical style of knitting. Skill level: Basic Knitting
	Painting with Dyes Sara Lamb You will create samples, then select and mix colors to paint either a skein, warp, or knitted blank with fiber-reactive dyes. We will discuss gauge and setts for later use of yarns in a project of the student’s choice. Come away from the retreat session with a personal set of samples, dyed yarn, and enough information to reproduce these colors and techniques at home. Skill level: Beginner
	Creating Silk Blends Judith MacKenzie McCuin Silk is definitely the queen of all fibers. Luxurious to touch, brilliant as a jewel when dyed, and with more strength than stainless steel, it is one of nature’s perfect products. What does it do when blended with other fibers? What is the best way to blend silk? We’ll answer those questions and look at different ways to blend silk fiber—cards, combs, hackles. See how a variety of fibers and percentages of fiber blend with silk—cotton, cashmere, angora, kid mohair, and several others. Learn different methods of blending during the spinning process by using plying or cabling and see how different blends affect the colors you get when you dye. You’ll use a variety of different silks, including tussah and Bombyx mori. Skill level: Able to make a continuous thread
	Color and Plying Deb Menz Plying is not a necessary part of spinning yarn, but it is usually taken for granted. This retreat session will bring forethought and fun to plying instead of an automatic afterthought. Color is the key here! You will be working only with multicolored singles, not plying them on themselves, but choosing other multicolored yarns to ply with. Of course, the color wheel is involved. Skill level: All levels are welcome
	Mohair and More Robin Russo Goat fibers are lustrous and soft and can be used to create wonderful, exotic garments. This workshop will concentrate on mohair and cashmere. You will learn the different grades of fiber available to handspinners and examine their specific properties to better understand the difference in their look and feel. You will card, comb, blend, and spin samples of each. Skill level: Beginner or advanced; able to make a continuous thread
	New Age Fibers for Spinners Patsy Sue Zawistoski Our spinning baskets have fibers grandmother never heard of: Black Diamond (charcoal bamboo), Tencel, Ingeo, Soysilk, Eco-spun, metallic, holographic mylar/lurex fibers, and Optim stretched wool, Silk Latte. Today fibers are created from various base materials like oil, wood, soy, bamboo, corn, and milk. Understanding the history of these man-made fibers helps you know when to choose them. Each student will get a grab bag of three new fibers to spindle spin if desired. We will also be passing around multiple fibers and handspun yarns to feel and examine for possible spinning and project ideas. This hands-on lecture reviews the history, forms, and samples of manufactured fibers currently on the market. Bring a spindle for sampling during the talk. Skill level: All levels