Canada & New England Knitting Cruise

September 29, 2011 ( 9 days)

Maritime Canada & New England is one of our most popular cruising regions for knitters and non-knitters alike. Not only are the coastlines rugged but there is a very distinct maritime culture and plenty of yarn shopping opportunities. This 9 day cruise offers great value for dollar onboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. Join Joan Schrouder and Donna Druchunas on September 29 for a 9 night adventure sailing round trip from Port Liberty, NJ. This cruise includes the ports of Portland, Bar Harbor, St. Johns, Halifax, Boston and has three luxurious days at sea.

Canada & New England are known for distinct beauty, rich history, diverse culture, and natural coastal seascapes. With the change of seasons, you can expect to see spectacular fall foliage colors. You will be able to dine along the waterfront on succulent lobster or clam chowder, go beach combing for treasures, bicycling along shady country lanes or shopping for beautiful locally produced yarns.

On this cruise, there will be private fiber shore events including the Maine Fiber Arts Center, Halcyon Yarns, The Fleece Artist, Tradewind Knits where you'll be inspired by Lucy Neatby and Cat Bordhi. You will also have plenty of other opportunities to meet other knitters, fiber producers and designers in every port visited while learning new skills and making new friends.

Prices starting from $1,067 per person

Includes cruise, inside stateroom based on double occupancy, non-participants deduct $150, welcome party, all social gatherings, classes (optional $15 per class hour) and fiber & shopping info for each port.

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Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas

This cruise will offer something for everyone! The Explorer of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's voyager class ships. It is an exciting city at sea with indoor promenades, an ice skating rink, multiple specialty restaurants a gorgeous theater and a spectacular three level dining room. Best of all, Royal Caribbean is affordable making this cruise our best value this year!

Royal Caribbean offers passengers an exceptional level of service, delicious cuisine, great amenities and some of the most exciting ships at sea. Royal Caribbean is known for consistent service and the highest quality cruise experience amongst all of the mainstream cruise lines.

Portland & Halifax

Portland Maine

In Portland Maine we've chartered a private coach to visit Halcyon Yarns in Bath for a tour, shopping and demonstration, the Tripping Gnome Alpaca Farm in Freeport Maine (weather permitting) and the Maine Fiber Arts Gallery for an exhibit and demonstration with local designer Mary Jane Mucklestone. On the way back to the ship those wanting to shop for more yarn will be given the option of visiting Portland's most popular yarn stores - Fiber Arts Gallery and Knit Wits.

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Halifax Nova Scotia

Craft Cruises has also organized a visit with Lucy Neatby & Cat Bordhi in the lovely port of Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as private dyeing demonstrations at the Fleece Artist. Lucy & Cat are both internationally recognized teachers, designers and writers who have thrilled knitters around the world with their inimitable charm, knowledge and uniquely colourful designs. Both Lucy and Cat are known for nurturing and empowering knitters and putting them in control of their art.

Lucy Neatby &Tradewind Knits

Tradewind Knits was founded by Lucy Neatby. Lucy is an internationally recognized teacher, designer and writer who has thrilled knitters around the world with her charm, knowledge and uniquely colorful designs that entertain the mind as well as the fingers. Her passion for nurturing and empowering knitters and putting them in control of their art is becoming legendary! Lucy’s book Cool Socks Warm Feet, Knitter’s Companion DVD series and line of detailed, technique-rich patterns has successfully encouraged knitters to try new and daring knitting feats, which has gained her a devoted following.

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Cat Bordhi

You will thoroughly enjoy meeting Cat Bordhi. Cat has been a full-time writer since 2002, teaches knitting workshops, gives talks at knitting retreats and guilds, and also teaches writing workshops. Cat is extremely creative with great imagination, compassion and a magical sense of humor. She is one of the most sought after instructors in the United States with a waiting list of 3-5 years. Having the opportunity to meet both Cat and Lucy at Tradewind Knits will be truly inspirational for all.

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The Fleece Artist

Fleece Artist was established to supply fellow textile artists with natural luxury fibers in every color imaginable. Fiber Artists around the world seek better colors in natural fibers so the Fleece Artist offers any color you can imagine in any natural fiber. The Fleece Artist hand dyes many colorways in silks, wools, kid mohairs, alpacas and angoras in yarns and slivers. During our visit we will learn all about how the Fleece Artist started back in 1979, what inspired their product line and will be given the opportunity to buy yarn at a very good value.

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Donna Druchunas

Donna Druchunas is the author of numerous books, including Successful Lace Knitting: Celebrating the Work of Dorothy Reade , Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland, and Arctic Lace: Knitted Projects and Stories Inspired by Alaska Native Knitters. She spent four months this year traveling in Europe to teach knitting workshops and do research for her next book, which will be about knitting in Lithuania. During her two-month stay in Lithuania, she studied with local knitters, visited fiber arts galleries and museums, and enjoyed being in her home-away-from-home, Vilnius. Now that she's home in her own cozy house for the winter, she's knitting up a storm, for publication and for holiday gift-giving. Next year she will be traveling a bit less, but she is very excited about the New England & Canada cruise, because she hasn't seen the New England fall colors in over twenty years.

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Joan Schrouder

Joan has been teaching knitting for more than 30 years. She began at the local level in her hometown of Eugene and then moved to the national level teaching for Stitches, TKGA, guilds and yarn shops around the US. Early on she was influenced by Elizabeth Zimmermann and attended more than twenty of Elizabeth's (and later Meg Swansen's) Knitting Camps between 1979 and 2005. Because of that tutelage Joan focuses on construction methods that utilize the special qualities of knitting to achieve a customized fit and minimize finishing. She has a solid basic understanding of traditional knitting styles and techniques, yet loves to defy some of the "rules" to break away from slavishly following them to come up with something unique, leading to designs for various knitting magazines and yarn companies. Creative problem-solving intrigues her and she often spends inordinate amounts of time answering knitting questions on various on-line knitting groups and on Ravelry under the name of "schrouderknits".

2011 will mark Joan's fifth and sixth trip with with Craft Cruises, including being on the inaugural Alaskan cruise in 1999 when it was dubbed "Knautical Knitters". Though she is cutting back substantially on her other teaching gigs and going into semi-retirement, knitting related trips remain high on Joan's "want-to-do" list. If you cannot make this cruise perhaps Joan's rail to the Canadian Rockies in August 2011 will be of interest instead. The rail trip journey is traveling round trip from Vancouver, BC on August 29-September 2.

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$25 Halcyon Yarn Gift Certificate

Book with in two weeks of receiving this newsletter and get a $25 Halcyon Yarn gift certificate! Halcyon is not only a fiber producer but their on site retail outlet is one of the largest in the country. Halcyon has been providing yarn and fiber art supplies to knitters for nearly 40 years. In addition to learning the history of Halcyon there will be a felting demonstration and plenty of time to shop in their outlet store in Bath, Maine.