FEATURED TRIP

KNIT & SKI ~ STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

2013 Knit & Ski ~ Steamboat Springs

Fly through the Champagne Powder® in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado! Most skiers agree there's nothing better than blue skies and fluffy white snow! Snuggled into the northwest corner of Colorado, Ski Town, USA® showcases pristine wilderness together with world class skiing, and now will host four of the most innovative stars of the knitting world! Along with its famous western hospitality, the Steamboat Springs area contains alpaca ranches, world-class dining, and many other winter activities such as dog-sledding and snowshoeing.

The Native American Utes used to say that if a person spends a moon (month) in the Yampa Valley where Steamboat Springs is located, they will always return. Even if they don't believe in this myth, the haunting beauty of Steamboat Springs keeps visitors coming back year after year.

More Info

HIGHLIGHTS

KNITTING ACTIVITIES & OTHER EVENTS

Knitting Program

Learn from four of the most interesting and lively knitting experts in the knitting world. Lucy Neatby and Cat Bordhi focus on the blank slate of socks to teach their innovative and colorful techniques. Galina Khmeleva directs her attention to Russian Orenburg Lace and Mooshky Madness dimensional knitting Russian style, while Ann Budd showcases the construction, design and finishing of the "uncommon" sweater. This four-day event will contain something exciting for every knitter searching for knowledge...and a great time!

Sew Steamboat

From unique bolts of fabric to gorgeous skeins of local alpaca, Sew Steamboat promises you an enjoyable visit. Located conveniently in downtown Steamboat Springs, Sew Steamboat is the go-to destination for crafters in the Yampa Valley. During the Knit & Ski event, Gayle Dudley and Mariana Ishida, the owners of this extraordinary shop, will be hosting trunk shows by local fiber artists, classes, shop specials and books, patterns and yarn from our instructors.

Knitting with the locals

Steamboat Springs' famous cowboy hospitality shines when you join the locals for our fun knitting get-together. Delight in a variety of brews while knitting with old and new friends and indulging in yummy bar treats!

Snow Diamond Alpacas

Austin, Don and Sharon Greene started Snow Diamond Alpacas in 2008. Although they all ditched high-pressure jobs for the more laid-back life of western Colorado, they continue to carry high expectations of quality into their alpaca farming business. Their alpaca business is intensely focused on producing the ideal alpaca through carefully selected genetics. As quality-oriented alpaca breeders, their goal is to produce exceptional fiber. They breed for alpacas that give them improved and sustained fiber fineness, character and density with each generation. Once you touch one of their skeins of beautiful fiber, you'll know that they have succeeded! Plus, who can resist those cuddly alpaca faces?

Bijou Bason

Established in 2005, Bijou Basin Ranch is a small family owned and run yak ranch located just outside the small town of Elbert on the eastern plain of Colorado. The Koop family produces and sells premium yak fiber products such as rovings, yarn, and yarn blends. To do this they raise registered full blooded Tibetan yaks that have superior glossy coats which are harvested annually. To satisfy the needs of spinners, knitters, and weavers, they have created a variety of top quality yak fiber products. Most of the fiber they process is used to produce their Bijou Spun line of yarn. While some of their yarn is 100% pure yak, they also blend their beautiful yak with various other fibers such as Cormo wool or alpaca and even bamboo! Settle in with the softness and fall in love with the fiber and the magnificent beasts that produce it!

Book signing w/ all four instructors

Enjoy an intimate meet and greet session and have your books signed by our fabulous instructors!

Beading Program

Many who have cruised with Craft Cruises® over the years have seen many of the beautiful jewelry pieces produced by the founder of Craft Cruises' Mother, Mary Beth Gower. Mary Beth has offered to teach beading classes to anyone who's interested in giving this craft a whirl.

Mary Beth's beading program is designed for beginners. Learn the right angle weave which is one of the easiest beading stitches to learn and is the basic stitch used for Japanese style beadwork, the peyote stitch which is used by many cultures around the world in their beadwork as well as finishing techniques so you can put it all together to create fabulous jewelry in your favorite colors to match all of your hand-knitted garments perfectly!

Mary Beth's goal is to teach participants to enjoy the process of beading and to finish a small project or two as souvenirs from your trip to Steamboat Springs. This is a fun program that will not frustrate you or leave you with yet another UFO. You will love what you make and wear it!

INSTRUCTORS

Lucy Neatby

Lucy Neatby recently completed the full opening of her new web site and anticipates the launch of her new multi-platform app any day. She remains busy working on her new eBook, The Little Book of BIG Holes for Hand-Knitters, due for release this summer. Her eclectic fashion sense and amazing use of color draw us all into her entertaining and educational world.

More Info - Lucy Neatby

Cat Bordhi

Cat Bordhi recently released the next installment of her eBook, Cat's Sweet Tomato Heel Socks, which can be found on Ravelry or her website. The ninth pattern increases the size of the book yet once again, and we can look forward to two more patterns before the eBook is completed! She's had so much fun designing with the Sweet Tomato Heel that she can't seem to stop, and because it is an eBook, there's no reason to! Also, watch for the new eBook versions of her most popular Treasuries of Magical Knitting and a third, smaller, Treasury of Magical Knitting with some new Moebius designs, a new presentation of the method and an exploration of further knitting/design possibilities.

More Info - Cat Bordhi

Ann Budd

Known for her adaptable and versatile patterns, Ann Budd recently fully expanded into the digital world with her new iPhone apps, Knit Handy and Crochet Handy, and released all of her books as digital downloads. Her third book of the Handy book series, The Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters, will be released in July of 2012. As if all this doesn’t keep her busy enough, she also will be teaching at events such as the Interweave Knitting Labs, SOAR and the Knitter's Review Retreat.

More Info - Ann Budd

Galina Khmeleva

With her love of Orenburg's lace knitting, Galina Khmeleva transcends cultural divides to engage all of us with her unique, inspiring and fun-loving teaching style. The Mooshky dimensional knitting style showcases her innovation. Our "guru of lace enthusiasts" is about to visit Russia for her first time since becoming a US Citizen with a Craft Cruises knitting group visiting St. Petersburg for two days next month. Galina also recently recorded a highly anticipated spinning DVD with Interweave Press.

More Info - Galina Khmeleva

SKI TOWN, USA®

Steamboat Springs, Colorado is Ski Town, USA®. Steamboat is famous throughout the world as a world-class ski resort but it also offers something for everyone. When you're not knitting, Steamboat Springs still keeps you occupied!

Get out under our clear blue skies and into the snow by plunging into skiing or snowboarding. Lessons for every level are also available. Don't feel like swooshing quickly down our slopes? You can still experience the outdoor beauty with cross-country skiing and snowshoeing or, for a most unique experience, rejoice in an afternoon of dog sledding! Or, for a day of driving you'll never forget, skid and swerve through the snow as you learn about safe winter driving at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School. And after you've tired yourself out with all these activities, indulge in the natural hot springs available throughout the Steamboat Springs area. You'll return to the classroom rested and refreshed after your outdoor Steamboat adventures!

LODGING OPTIONS

Space is limited!

Phoenix Condominiums

Considered one of the finest lodgings in Steamboat Springs, the Phoenix Condominiums are located directly across the street from the Steamboat Ski area for the perfect winter destination. These nicely furnished condos are a short walk to the gondola, the kids’ vacation center and all the ski base area shops and restaurants. With a heated outdoor pool and hot tubs for relaxing, the Phoenix will keep you relaxed after a full day of knitting, shopping and skiing. For your further convenience, the clubhouse features a large screen movie theater, exercise facility, sauna and public internet access. Mountain Resorts offers its handy winter shuttle service to guests of the Phoenix for trips to the grocery store or downtown Steamboat Springs. Cat & Lucy's classes will be hosted in the meeting rooms here

Hotel Bristol

The historic Hotel Bristol offers convenient access to the amenities of downtown Steamboat Springs. Located conveniently next door to Sew Steamboat, the local yarn and fabric haven where Galina and Ann will have their classes, this full service hotel offers the hospitality of an earlier time with its "old west" heritage. Within walking distance of everything in downtown Steamboat, you can also find a free city shuttle just out the front door to whisk you to the slopes for skiing and snowshoeing. At the end of the day, relax in front of a roaring fire in the lounge or take a long soak in the hot tub. Steamboat Springs' ranching roots embrace you as you step across the threshold to an era gone by in the Hotel Bristol.

Sheraton Steamboat

This is Steamboat's only full service ski in/ski out hotel. This resort hotel features 3 restaurants on site and several in the Ski Time Square area adjacent to it. There is a lovely lobby bar, a game room and gorgeous seating area for knitting with full views of the slopes. There is an outdoor pool, spa, hot tub, sauna and fitness center as well. There is a full service business center and free internet on site. From this hotel it is less than a five minute walk to the Phoenix Condominium Conference Center where the main class program with Cat & Lucy will be held and for the classes with Galina and Ann it is a short ten minute shuttle to Sew Steamboat downtown.