All About Silk Spinning Retreat, Feb 7-8, 2025 in South Overland Park, Kansas

Let's explore all about spinning silk fibers together, while being absolutely pampered at a fun retreat! Come learn all about silk fiber while hanging out with fiber friends! 

NOTE: We're ALMOST fully booked, only a few spots remain!

Friday-Saturday, February 7-8, 2025 10:00am-4:00pm Central Time 

Hampton Inn & Suites South Overland Park, 7521 W 135th St, Overland Park, Kansas

To attend retreat, you must be a yarn spinner that is able to draft, spin singles and ply. You need to know how to use your spinning wheel and have a wheel in working order. Though a spindle spinner could attend the retreat, our instruction will be based on working with a spinning wheel. 

All About Silk Spinning Retreat Includes:

• Two days of instruction plus lots of time to practice new techniques 
• Instruction from local spinning experts Christine Long Derks, Teri Plemel and Meagan Condon
• Swag bag of silk spinning fiber and goodies valued over $100
• We will explore muga silk, peduncle silk, eri silk, mulberry silk, tussah silk, sari silk as well as degummed silk cocoons, mawata silk hankies, silk blends with various wools, yak, baby camel, llama and other fibers.
• Lunch each day plus morning & afternoon snacks
• Champagne & Wine plus fancy non-alcoholic beverages for optional Friday evening PJ party
• Our retreat space will be locked each evening so you can leave wheel overnight
• Payment Plan available (split into 2 payments for no extra charge) if you'd like OR
• Discount for payment in full
  
• This is a smaller retreat with limited spaces available.

Retreat Does Not Include:

• Supper will be your responsibility. Those that would like can join us for a group dinner at a local restaurant Friday evening (there are TONS within walking distance). 
• Lodging: There will be a block of discounted rooms available at the host hotel. The rate will be $99 plus taxes and there are rooms with 1 or 2 queen beds available. Once retreat is purchased, you will receive an email with the discount code and additional details.
• You are welcome to come during days only and head home for the night as well, you do not need to stay at the host hotel.

BONUS ADD ON DYE DAY AVAILABLE! Includes 3 hours of dye time, all supplies needed and includes 2 4-ounce braids of silk blend combed top and 20 grams of mawata silk hankies to dye. Saturday, February 1, 2025 $99 

NOTE: The dye dye is not necessary for the retreat. You will receive a swag bag full of more than enough silk fibers to spin through the retreat. This is a super extra bonus to see the dyeing side of silk.

Retreat Package Options:

• Retreat Only Full Payment with Discount $500
• Retreat + Dye Day Full Payment with Discount $599 ($500+$99)
• Retreat Only TWO Payments $550 (2 payments of $275 each, 2nd payment due 1/15/25)
• Retreat + Dye Day $649 ($550+$99 in 2 payments of $324.50 each, 2nd payment due 1/15/25)

How do I know if this retreat is perfect for me?

• Are you a yarn spinner that is able to spin a continuous yarn (be able to draft, spin singles & ply)
• Do you love learning new techniques or want to explore some yummy new fiber?
• Have you wanted to learn more about silk fiber and how to work with it?
• Would you love to be pampered, spend time with old friends & make new ones?
• If you're not sure, reach out by email to christine@treasuregoddess.com and I'll answer any additional questions.

Spinning Retreat FAQ's

• "I'm not a good enough spinner to go to a silk spinning retreat!"
  • Can you spin a continuous ply of yarn on your wheel? If so, you ABSOLUTELY are "good enough" to attend! Your spinning does NOT need to be perfectly smooth, thin and amazing. It can be a bit thick and thin (ummmm my go-to) it can be bulky, it can be super thin. However you spin, you will get a lot out of our workshop!
    
• "I don't enjoy spinning pure silk, so why would I want to learn more about it?"
  • I think MOST PEOPLE don't enjoy spinning pure silk straight out of the gate. While we WILL be experimenting with different kinds of silk and learning some techniques for spinning 100% silk.... that's only a PART of our workshop! We'll find ways to blend silk in with other fibers and spin some true luxury blends. 
  • We're going to learn ways to help our hands love the process of working with this unique fiber. We'll also get some amazing recipes for hand scrubs & learn stretches and exercises to help our hands and wrists keep active as we age.
  • ALSO, every time I've attended a spinning class I've learned something OTHER than what the class intended. You're going to be not only taught techniques by three teachers, but you'll also absorb and learn from the other attendees! There's nothing like spending time with other yarn spinners!
    
• "I just don't spin that often, so I'm not sure I could spend a weekend spinning."
  • I get it. We will have a lot of fiber & spinning going on, but we're also going to be taking a LOT of breaks, learning good hand care (which is amazing for spinning silk but also for ALL of your creative adventures), eating yummy food, and basically relaxing, being totally pampered and hanging out with fiber loving friends! You DO NOT need to spend both days spinning continuously. :)
    
• "A whole weekend to learn about silk? That seems odd."
  • I have obtained a CRAZY amount of unique silk fibers for us to play with and LEARN ABOUT! There's some wild histories to share.
  • We will explore and learn about NOT ONLY the "usual" silk spinning fibers of mulberry silk, tussah silk and recycled sari silk, but we'll also play with peduncle silk, muga silk, eri silk, mawata silk hankies, silk carrier rods, silk comber's noil, silk cocoons AND learn when and where to add these to your other fibers for projects.
  • I've got some seriously luxurious fiber blends featuring combinations of silk with llama, baby camel, polwarth, yak, merino and more!
    
• "I don't have a spinning wheel, I spin only on spindles."
  • The techniques we share will mostly be aimed at those who spin on wheels or e-spinners, but you can absolutely still attend and get a lot out of our retreat if you use spindles only.
  • Though I am ABSOLUTELY not the person to talk spindle spinning, both the other teachers Teri Plemel and Meagan Condon are spindle experts.
  • ONE NOTE: you would need to either bring multiple spindles or spin one batch of multiple types of fiber. We will be asking our attendees to bring multiple bobbins to experiment with the multiple silk types and fiber blends and for plying tips.
    

Meet your instructors: 

Christine Long Derks is the owner/creator of Treasure Goddess, luxury hand dyed yarn & fiber all with a yarn pirate theme. She has hosts classes, workshops and an annual Yarn Party at her barn studio outside Spring Hill, Kansas. Her passion is creating luxury hand dyed yarn and spinning fibers. She teaches dyeing, knitting, photography and spinning with an emphasis on textured yarn and art yarn. Christine can be found on ravelry and IG as @treasuregoddess.

Teri Plemel is a talented fiber artist who teaches knitting, crocheting and spinning classes around the greater Kansas City area. She also co-hosted an art yarn spinning retreat with Christine Long Derks in 2016. Teri has been sewing and knitting since she was a child. Whether it's spinning, crochet, embroidery, etc. she loves all things fiber. She loves to challenge herself with her crafts, she loves stranded knitting and doesn't shy away from weaving in ends. Teri can be found on ravelry and IG as @fiberterian.

Meagan Condon is an internationally published writer and fiber artist with extensive experience teaching the gentle and not so gentle art of making yarn. She is the technical editor for Ply magazine and her areas of focus are microscopy of fiber, breed studies, plant fibers, natural dyes, digital community, and the science behind textiles. Since 2014, she has been teaching at fiber retreats and conferences across North America. You can follow her at www.luthvarian.com