Montana’s nickname is “Big Sky Country” and it was clear the moment we arrived. All 12 of us met in the Bozeman airport and anxiously waited to start this adventure. Our group was from all over the country, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, North Carolina. We immediately bonded over our love of knitting, and even started working on projects as we waited there in the airport. On the drive to Big Sky, we saw green rolling hills, snowy mountains, and a long rushing river. We could tell that Montana would be the perfect spot for a fiber retreat. Before the trip, Jade from Violent Cat Lady sent us all Mountain Meadow Wool in Jackson DK, with several patterns to choose from. I started the Night & Day cowl by Andrea Mowry, using the colors Storm and Cowboy. Such a soft and squishy yarn! It almost feels closer to worsted weight.

The home in Big Sky was beautiful, with a great view of Lone Peak out the window. One of the best parts of this trip was our group sessions to learn how to process fiber. Many of us knitters buy the yarn and use it from there, but it’s hard to work backwards into spinning, dyeing, carding, and washing the wool from the raw product. I’ve often seen raw wool at festivals and never felt confident to process it myself, but this retreat changed things. With Violent Cat Lady as our host, she had a multi day workshop planned. We started with raw wool from Lavonne, a local Montana wool mill owner. We learned the differences between the sheep wool breeds, washing the wool and dried it overnight. Then using hand carders, we brushed the fibers in the same direction, preparing to spin. VCL taught us two spinning techniques: One by hand with a drop spindle, and another with a motorized 3D printed spinner. Seeing the difference between the end products was fascinating. The hand spun yarn is slicker, with less loft, while the machine spun yarn is fluffy and somewhat bulky. Seeing this entire process gave me a new appreciation for the work, skill, and equipment involved, and certainly made me look at my stash a little differently.

After our workshops, Jade had a mountain of yarn for us to choose from Ranching Traditions, a company based out of Montana, in the most beautiful pastel colors.

Of course, getting to meet the animals was a highlight. We spent time at the Alpaca Farm of Montana, where we learned about differences between llamas and alpacas, walked our personal alpaca around the field, and fed them treats. They were endlessly entertaining, especially when taking a dust bath. Pictured below is my alpaca, Hamlet, he loved to eat grass.

Another great stop was visiting the Wool Mill of Montana and learning from Lavonne. She is a fiber rockstar. Writing her own UDSA grants to make the mill solar powered and free of water waste is incredible. She showed us several industrial machines, several large washing baths, spinning and plying machines, and her massive shed of wool waiting to be processed. By the end, we had a much better understanding of the steps involved in producing yarn and a great appreciation for the people who make it possible.

One day, our group set out to hike Lava Lake, and it was stunning. The trail was about 6 miles with over a 1000 feet of elevation, which I was luckily prepared for coming from Albuquerque. At the end of the trail, lava lake appeared between the mountains. It was formed from a landslide, which cut off the base of the mountains, and over time as water melted, it accumulated there in the lake.

As much as I enjoyed learning about fiber production, the favorite part of the retreat was spending time with such a wonderful group of women. There was plenty of knitting, yarn purchase enabling, admiration for each other’s projects, and fun throughout the weekend. All 5 twilight movies were watched. And shout out to Jenna for making the best food all day/every day. Some of my favorite memories were from sitting around together, knitting, laughing, and connecting over such a wonderful craft.