The Craft Sessions 2016 retreat - The Details!

Hello lovely people! 

So it has been a week of quiet on this here blog but I promise there is a good reason. I was working on the final detail. That stuff is tricky. I want it to be fabulous and so every year I get stuck on the final details...as you do!

I still have a few little things to figure out but to make sure you all know what is happening when, I thought I would throw you a few dates.

Our official launch date is April 15th! By then the website will be updated with all you need to know.....but in the meantime….

Key Dates

1. Class list will be posted April 15th - via a blog post and by email to our mailing list. We are totally chuffed with it and know you will love it! 

2. Registration will open April 24th at 5pm. 

3. The retreat will run from Friday September 2nd 2pm to Sunday September 4th 5pm. 

Registration details

Due to the popularity of the event last year (we sold out in 2.5 hours!) then we are trying to make registration a little simpler.

When registration opens you will need to do two things:
1. Secure a spot by paying a $150 deposit via Big Cartel. The link will be posted on the registration page of the website at 5pm on April 24th. You will receive an email confirming your spot that also contains a link to the preference form.
2. Submit the online preference form with all your details and class preferences.

To finalise your spot you will need to:
3. Pay the remainder of your registration fee via direct deposit by July 7th.

Changing this process enables you to be sure you have a place immediately, and allows us to tell you which classes you have got into within a week - in the past this took time as we waited for preference forms to trickle in.

This year will be a very simple process - promise!

Class preferences

Classes are assigned in the fairest way we can think of - on a first come basis, based on when you register. Each class has a limited number of spots as we think it is really important to keep the class sizes small so we don't crowd our classes! 

We release the class list a week early giving you time to think about what you would like to do before we start registration. There are about twenty different workshops over the three days (as well as three bonus workshops on the Saturday afternoon). There is so much choice this year that we know you will find many things that interest you. 

At registration you will be asked for your top three preferences for each timeslot. The sooner you register the more likely you are to get your first preferences.

In the past classes such as knitting, embroidery, some sewing classes and our weaving classes have been very popular and sell out quickly, but we are never sure of what will be popular until we see your forms coming in…..

Cost

The cost of the event this year will be $889. The cost of the retreat is inclusive and covers;

• Welcome drink on our first night.
• Two and a half days of delicious meals - starting with an organic afternoon tea on Friday and ending with an afternoon tea on Sunday. 
• All classes - 2 full days of workshops in small groups. 
• Yoga - each morning and restorative yoga on Sat afternoon
• Two nights simple twin-share accommodation at the Yarra Valley Estate. 
• An afternoon of "optional workshops" and/or time for crafting, relaxing, walking etc. 
• Gift bag filled with goodies from our wonderful sponsors.
• Open fires, good conversation and community. A chance to slow down and feel the joy craft and community can bring.

The small increase on last year's price is simply based on an increase in our costs.

Payment Plans

This year instead of having a payment plan we are offering everyone the opportunity to pay a $150 deposit with the remainder being due via direct deposit on July 7th. We hope this works for your all but please email us if you have any concerns at admin@thecraftsessions.com.

Please note that we will run a scholarship this year for someone in financial need. Details of that will be up next week!

I think that is it for today. The big class list reveal is a few weeks away. I can't wait! 

Felicia x

The joy of dreaming!

My brother reminded me that I was going to make him a sweater for his 40th birthday. Which was just over 6 months ago....whoops. Now I did buy him another (gorgeous) present but I haven't made him anything for years. The last thing I made him was the Jared Flood Noro Striped Scarf all those years ago - remember that old-school ravellers? Back at the beginning, when the world of possibility opening up for us knitters.

So I've spent the morning getting excited about embarking on a new big project. I'd forgotten how fun the dreaming was!

A man jumper feels pretty epic. Which is totally because I've only just finished working away on Hugo for my fella, and it took for-eva. That was one big sweater. All cables and really no more than a couple of stitches in a row of stockinette every few rows. It was a workout for the mind and fingers.

But the thrill of finishing such an epic jumper has me on a high. It's so gorgeous and something I know he will wear for years. And the Shelter makes it so light and lush - it is that classic combination of a great pattern and pretty yarn.

And so now a new project! - a big project! - and one whereby I need to purchase the wool! - feels like a whole new journey! Due to Stash Less I've been knitting from stash (which brings pleasures all of it's own), but the joy of trying to match pattern and yarn from scratch.....so so fun. The dreaming. 

A time when the project is full of possibility. A time when you get to dissect and examine and consider and peruse. A time when you get to imagine just how fabulous it will be.

My brother picked the pattern a year ago - Slade by Brooklyn Tweed - and now I'm wandering round the internet looking for yarn ideas. Obviously there is Shelter, but I'm really tempted by O-Wool Balance, especially after hearing so much about it from Karen over the years. I trust her judgement and her singing the praises of O-Wool makes me want to try it out. The other idea I had was Quince's Owl. The alpaca content will make it drapier though and possibly a little fuzzy which may not be so traditionally "manly"......?? Hmm. 

The dreaming......

So so fun. Do you love this part of a project? And if you have any other ideas for yarn choice I'd love to hear them.

Felicia x

Putting The Passion into 2016!

Happy New Year lovely people! I hope you are all enjoying your summers (and winters :)) and getting in some focused crafting time. It hasn't happened for me with visitors and merry making - but I wish it for you.....and for me in the not too distant future.

So this morning I did what you do on school holidays. I took the kids to their swimming lesson, and then chased down that stuffy chlorinated experience with a delicious flat white and some eggs. Yum. Then, something shocking happened. While at the cafe, the kids were simultaneously reading their books so I picked up the paper for a moment's quiet. On the first page I looked at I saw a catchy headline and chased it down to page 17. 

The article was called "Lessons in courage and passion, from Lady Gaga" by David Brooks and it was perfect for me on this day.  As I was reading it I felt that sense of recognition where you just know that the universe (and David) wrote it just for me; for me today when I am sitting with the shifting energy of the New Year, it was just what I needed to hear. 

So I've mentioned that I haven't been on my game lately, and that I can't figure out what or why. I haven't been able to write and I'm barely making anything. I've been blocked. I've been tired. And that's totally OK - annoying but OK. I was just waiting it out. I've felt it before and I'm sure you probably have too. But I'm ready now for it to move on. 

When I started The Craft Sessions nearly three years ago I spent a lot of time feeling slightly queasy. Queasy about whether it would be successful. Queasy about whether I was going to let my family down and cost us a pile of money. Queasy about it failing and of no-one coming. Or worse, that people came and didn't like it. Anyway, as time has gone on and you guys have embraced this idea, then comfortable has replaced queasy, and I think that possibly that has a lot to do with my funk. I wasn't feeling the excitement or the hum that comes with leaping into the void. I was missing the danger that the article so eloquently speaks of. I was cruising.

This article was a great reminder of what I want in my life. I want passion. I want courage and I want to be putting myself out there. All in.

So in honour of that, and in honour of honouring things that I am passionate about, let me tell you one thing that I want to do this year with The Craft Sessions. Even though I don't have the details nailed down and I don't have a fully formed plan..... I'm going to jump!

I want to create a Scholarship Program to The Craft Sessions! Scholarships for a person/people who wouldn't otherwise be able to come. Scholarships for a person/people that need a break and need the shining light of something good on the horizon. I've been passionate about doing this from the very start of the idea of The Craft Sessions, but I've never quite been able to get around to hitting the go button on the idea. This is my stake in the ground lovely people. This year is the year. 

I'm not fundraising to support it, but I will need to come up with some kind of commerce to make some money to support it. I have ideas but I need to get a wriggle on which is why this stake in the ground will help.

I'll tell you more about why Scholarships are so important to me soon, but in the mean time Happy Holidays! and a bright shiny New Year to you and yours. 

Here's to putting your passion where your mouth is ..... or something like that.

Fel x

PS. I have so many (super) idea's about what we are going to talk about in this space this year, I can't wait to start sharing them with you. 

Unintentional blog break and dates for dates!

Geez! This year the holiday season has really been kicking my butt. Concerts, and fairs, and birthdays, and bring-a-plate, and charity events, and meetings, and summer-sandal purchasing for kids with skinny feet, and then there is this thing called christmas and ..... well whoa. And as Karen discussed in her post from a few days ago, I totally identify with the feeling that life is a little meh at the moment. Too much rushing, to many obligations and not enough time to catch your breath. Life feels distracted with doing rather than being. Nothing feels concrete.

Karen really hit the nail on the head for me when she said that she thinks part of the problem is that she isn't making! Making is an everyday habit for me, even when things are chaotic. In fact normally, making is something that supports me through chaotic times. This year though, I haven't even got the energy to pick up the appropriate knitting on the way out the door, so non-essential making has come to standstill. And not making, and not having enough time for even a line of knitting, gets me all off kilter.

I'm sure many of you are also feeling it?

Anyhoo, school is out for the holidays, birthdays are done, and it is time to take a breath. And part of that breath is letting you know that I'm going to be posting the dates for next year's retreat on Friday.* I have them in my hot little hand at last and can't wait to share.

Hope your week has space in it, along with some time for crafting and general joy.

Felicia xx

*If you are on our mailing list you will hear a little earlier

The Craft Sessions 2015 - Final Photos!

I went out to visit the venue this last Friday to chat about 2016 for our annual retreat. Chatting with them about the last few years and how the event has grown, got me excited all over again! I love what we have created - both the event and in this space - and being in the beautiful Yarra Valley and chatting about our ideas for next year was super fun. Planning in earnest starts this month! 

So I thought now was a good time to post this "last" set of photos from our 2015 retreat. You can see our first lot and our second lot here. They really do show the joy and beauty to be found on this weekend of magic. 

See you next year!

BTW. There aren't many photos of knitting in this post. Believe me - knitting is the most prominent, and well-loved, textile-based handcraft that we engage in at the retreat. I just didn't seem to get back to the knitting classes on the Sunday afternoon to show you their progress.... oops!! 

Hope you enjoyed them. 

Felicia x