14-Day ~ Fjords & Highlands Knitting Cruise (May 2018)
Holland America Line
Start Date: |
May 20, 2018 |
End Date: |
June 3, 2018 |
Fjords & Highlands Knitting Cruise (May 2018) ~ Knitting Cruises Description
14-Day Highlands & Fjords Knitting Cruise w/ JC Briar
Join Craft Cruises Your adventure begins in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. This 14-day Highlands and Fjords cruise sails from May 20-June 3, 2018 aboard the ms Zuiderdam. This cruise visits many beloved ports in this region including Portree, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Greenock, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Invergordon, Inverness and Kristiansand. Take in the beautiful scenery, shop for yarn and enjoy a variety of knitting classes led by the "skill junkie", JC Briar from Eugene, Oregon.
JC is a popular knitting instructor who dabbles in all kinds of knitting, but has a special fondness for textured knitting and novel construction techniques. If it involves lace, cables, or seamless construction, it's sure to catch her eye. She shares her enthusiasm by teaching at shops and fiber festivals, online, and through her book, Charts Made Simple. Regardless of the topic, she aims to build confidence by expressing concepts clearly and concisely, and by presenting skills and ideas in a digestible progression. Her latest venture is Stitch-Maps.com, a website for viewing and creating grid-free charts of unparalleled fluidity, authenticity, and beauty.
Several of JC's most popular classes will be offered onboard including Get Twisted!, which is an introductory cables class, for the connection to Ireland, Lace Basics, Mapping Lace Scarves, and Wedge Shawl Design, for the connection to all the lace-knitting traditions of northern Europe. She will also offer an introduction to Beginning Brioche, because it's exceptionally popular right now, and it's another traditional knitting style in northern Europe as well as Charts Made Simple, as it teaches fundamental skills, and it ties into all the other classes. JC selected these classes because together they, more or less, form a theme: textured knitting techniques of northern Europe.
The ports on this itinerary are known for rich history, scenic beauty, rare sheep breeds, and high quality yarn. You will have the opportunity to learn about all aspects of fiber production from herding sheep and processing fiber to dyeing yarn using only natural colorants. Meet master fiber artists who call this region home and about how the techniques they use have been passed down for generations. For knitters who want to see this part of the world, this is a great opportunity to be pampered in style and for those who enjoy learning about local knitting culture this is a must-take trip.
Highlands & Fjords Knitting Cruise - Highlights
- Before the cruise take an optional historical walking tour of Copenhagen's historical core.
- Shop for yarn at Sommerfuglen and Rasmilla in Copenhagen.
- Visit the Isle of Skye's Shilasdair dye-house and yarn shop in the scenic Highland area of Northwest Scotland.
- Visit a working croft on the Isle of Skye, Eilean Òir Croft, and learn about raising Hebridean and Black Cheviot sheep in this harsh environment.
- Take an optional excursion to Lisburn outside Belfast to visit the Irish Linen Centre and trace the history of linen production from the earliest times to the present with the 'Flax to Fabric: the Story of Irish Linen' exhibit and see live spinning and weaving demonstrations.
- Have a pint of Guinness at The Crown Pub, one of the most famous in the UK.
- Enjoy traditional Irish tea in the medieval section of town at The Constant Knitter yarn shop in Dublin.
- In Dublin meet local knitters and designers, possibly including Kieran Foley.
- Enjoy a trunk show featuring the Irish cable designs of Carol Feller in her hometown of Cork.
- Shop for Hedgehog Fibers at their dyeing studio in Cork.
- Explore the Ucheldre Arts Centre on the Isle of Anglesey where changing exhibits nurture the creativity of the locals.
- Relax with a pint or cup of tea at one of Holyhead's charming pubs.
- Tour the New Lanark Mill and World Heritage Site learning the history of the town, see wool spun, shop for yarn and have traditional high tea with a little free time in Glasgow afterwards.
- Shop for souvenir yarn at Ginger Twist Studio and Kathy's Knits in Edinburgh.
- Enjoy a walking tour of Kristiansand with Åse Helene Williamson where she'll point out her yarn shop, Langfeldt Garn as well as the other yarn shops in town.
- Have a cup of the freshest seafood soup in Norway at the Kristiansand Fish Market, the most popular destination in port.