Seascape Knit Trips
Monterey Bay Knitting Retreat
October 9-12, 2025
Join instructors Kim McBrien Evans and Amy Snell for
an unforgettable weekend on the shores of
the Monterey Peninsula
Immerse yourself in a creative retreat where you will enhance your skills and connect with fellow knitting enthusiasts against the stunning backdrop of Monterey Bay.
Our weekend retreat will take place at the Lighthouse Lodge and Cottages, a delightful boutique inn nestled an easy walk from the shoreline of beautiful Pacific Grove, California. Here, you’ll find inviting accommodations inspired by the coastal charm of Monterey Bay and a range of amenities designed for a memorable stay. Knit in front of a crackling fire pit, relax in the outdoor hot tub, or take the short walk to visit coastal gems like the Point Pinos Lighthouse, Rocky Grove, the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, and the Great Tidepool.
Expand your knitting skills while immersing youself in a community of knitters who share your passion for the craft! Our knitting classes at the retreat will explore Form, Fit and Function. Each session will be tailored to inspire while expanding your knowledge of garment shapes, personalized fit, yarn selection, and substitution.
The retreat runs from 5pm Thursday until 3pm Sunday and includes all meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch.
All retreaters will attend two half-day classes with Kim and two half-day classes with Amy, plus Kim’s Sunday Keynote lecture, “Size Inclusivity and the Maker.”
Enjoy our evening gatherings, a fabulous knitting bag filled with delights, and the beauty of sunsets, sea and sand.
You’ll also have a free afternoon to explore the wonders of the Monterey area on your own.
Price for the October 9-12, 2025 retreat is $1095 per person.
Note: Retreat price does not include your room at the Lighthouse Lodge and Cottages. You will be sent a registration link to book a room after you register for the retreat. Room rates range from $179 to $229 per night plus tax. All retreaters are required to stay at the Lighthouse Lodge and Cottages. Non-knitting guests are welcome when rooming with a retreater and may dine at a cost of $460.
Pre-Retreat add-on day. We have arranged for an exclusive opportunity for a limited number of retreaters to spend an extra day with us on Thursday, October 9 exploring the stunning landscapes of the Monterey Peninsula on a private mini-coach tour.
Our knowledgeable local guide will share hidden gems and local stories as we expolore the highlights of the peninsula, including historic Monterey, the rugged Pacific Grove coastline, world-renowned 17-Mile Drive, and the storybook village of Carmel-By-The-Sea.
Our tour includes plenty of photo opportunities, lunch at a charming village bistro, and a private chocolate tasting. Cost is $265 per person. More details here.
Classes
The Sweater Map: Understanding Body Shape and Sweaters
A Two-Part Class
Kim believes that visual tools such as schematics are essential for us to understand visual crafts like knitting and crochet. Her Sweater Map concept is one such tool. At its simplest, the Sweater Map is a personalized schematic built on your measurements. At its most complex, the Sweater Map provides a blueprint for understanding what ease looks like, a blank slate for labeling stitch and row counts that you need to create a sweater that fits you, a model for what your sweater will look like as you’re knitting it, and an at-a-glance view of your whole project.
Borrowing from pattern cutting techniques from the sewing world, creating a Sweater Map allows you to see what YOU look like in sweater pieces. Armed with your Sweater Map and a pattern with a schematic, you’ll be better able to choose a size or combination of sizes for your next sweater because you will fully understand what a sweater made for your body looks like.
By the end of this class, you will have:
- full understanding of how to take measurements and how they apply to sweaters
- an understanding of what ease is and how it applies to sweaters
- a body map of yourself
- a plan for using the sweater map alongside other patterns to create sweaters that fit you well.
Level: Any knitting level.
Secrets of Substitution
There are so many things to consider when substituting yarns: Grist, fiber characteristics, ply structure, and more. In this workshop we’ll learn the best ways to identify a yarn’s attributes, explore the importance of each, and work with specific substitution tools.
We’ll learn the importance of grist and how to calculate it; we’ll demystify wpi. We’ll learn how to find the closest match when we need it and also explore scenarios where we want to change something about the yarn. You’ll come away from this workshop with knowledge of how best to use various substitution tools and confidence in making the most educated choices to find the match you’re looking for.
Level: Any knitting level.
Don’t Make Me Swatch!
Why are we told to swatch, and why do we hate it so much? Are gauge swatches really just lying liars that lie? Sometimes they truly are; we’ll find out why and what to do about it so you can actually believe what your gauge swatch is telling you.
In this workshop will cover when and how to swatch, and what to do with your swatch after it’s knit so it will be a useful and accurate representation of your knitting. We’ll cover how to do a better job of measuring, and tips for dealing with yarn that “just won’t get gauge!” We’ll talk about why so many of us ignore row gauge and when it’s safe to do so. You’ll learn about the pitfalls of “magical” measuring, bad borders, too-small swatches, and what to do if you really, really hate making gauge swatches.
Level: Any knitting level.
Lecture
Size Inclusivity and The Maker
The lecture will be held on Sunday after lunch.
Size inclusivity is not just about making patterns that result in clothing that we can get on our bodies. It’s about understanding body shape, body size and proportion, how clothing should fit, ease allowances, and understanding what all these mean for each of us. Kim McBrien Evans believes makers and designers can be partners in an inclusive sizing. By understanding how a designer creates patterns, and the body measurements behind the size charts, makers can take control of their own clothing, build skills, and learn to make clothing that fits.
Instructors
Kim McBrien Evans
Curiosity, exploration and an ever expanding plan for world domination are central to the work of knitwear designer and indie hand dyer, Kim McBrien Evans. Kim believes all bodies are good bodies and deserve clothing that fits. She also believes that clothing should be dynamic and exciting to knit and to wear.
Known for designs that turn abstract ideas into colour-filled hand knit reality while simultaneously fitting and honouring every body, Kim aims to revolutionize sweater fit, sizing, and how diverse bodies are represented in the yarn world through research, education, and collaborations with makers worldwide. Her representative body measurement chart for designers—inclusive of 28 – 76” chest sizes—earned her a Top 5 Trailblazer award from Interweave in 2023.
Amy Snell
Amy Snell is a knitting instructor and designer with an eye for the unusual or unusually captivating. She enjoys teaching techniques and stitch patterns that bring color, contrast, geometry, and texture into knitting in new or interesting ways.
Whether teaching locally in the San Francisco Bay area or for knitting guilds and events nationwide, Amy loves to help other knitters explore new techniques and expand the way they think about their knitting. Her goal is to make complex concepts approachable for all knitters, while sharing tips that improve your process whether you’ve been knitting for several weeks or several decades.
