Miss Babs' 20th Anniversary Celebration
Woodstock, IL
July 31 – August 4, 2025
Join Miss Babs; her team Ivy, Helen, and Veronica; Casapinka; Lyrical Knits; Imagined Landscapes; and Wild Onion as we celebrate 20 years creating with the yarn of our dreams! Choose from 9 classes, 3 lectures, socialization with friends old and new, hikes, games, and of course, a vibrant yarn market, featuring Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarns!
ALL INCLUSIVE
- Our venue is the serene 98 acre Loyola University Woodstock IL campus
- Room type of your choice (see below)
- 3 meals a day, prepared buffet style by experienced chefs using fresh ingredients and local products
- Catered Welcome Dinner
- A lecture on COLOR, given by Miss Babs
- An additional lecture on Saturday: KNITTING WITH VARIEGATED YARN, given by Veronica Ory
- 2 classes of your choice, taught by 3 well known designers (plus an opportunity to add a third class later on)
- Click HERE to read the Tentative Schedule
- A special swag bag to commemorate our time together
- A Yarn Market, featuring Miss Babs Hand-dyed Yarns, plus goodies from other vendors
- Opportunities to shop for yarn with personal assistance from the Miss Babs team
- Time to socialize with the instructors and other friends, old and new
- Hiking trails, fire pits, tennis and volleyball are available to us
- Click HERE for more details.
Room Types and Costs
- Hotel-style SINGLE, featuring one double bed and private bathroom: $2285
- Hotel-style DOUBLE, featuring two double beds and private bathroom: per person: $2195
- Dorm-style SINGLE, featuring a twin bed, desk, and gender-segregated, shared communal bathroom: $2095 (we have also reserved all of the dorm-style suite rooms which have private bathrooms. Please see the More Details page)
- Non-Knitter in a Hotel-style Double: $1435 This includes lodging, all meals, lectures, coffee/tea/water/snack service. (See More Details for information)
- Non-Knitter staying off campus (in a nearby hotel), who wishes to spend the days with us on campus, sharing meals, lectures, snacks, etc: $1120
- Transportation is not included in the price
- Click HERE for more details
OFF-CAMPUS AND DAY STUDENT $1875
Our on-campus rooms are limited, so once those fill up, there are plenty of local hotels for your stay (link to More Details page) located minutes from the venue! Or are you close enough to drive in daily? As a Day Student, you will join us every day after breakfast, from our Welcome Dinner on Thursday through our Farewell dinner on Sunday!
Everything listed above in the “All Inclusive” section is included in your reservation :
- Welcome Dinner on Thursday
- Lunch and dinner at the venue each day (breakfast on your own, at your hotel)
- All included lectures, classes and projects
- Click HERE to read the Tentative Schedule
- Swag Bag
- Entrance to the yarn market each day
- Non-knitter who wishes to spend their days on campus, with included meals, lectures, coffee/tea/snacks (see More Details for information) $1120
- Not included: room accommodations or bookings, breakfast, or transportation to and from the venue
You will be immersed in the retreat, and will want to join your new friends for lunches and dinners, shopping and socializing!
Click HERE for More Details!
MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
Casapinka
I’m a design crazed woman who loves all projects that involve knitting things in happy colors. I’m also a huge aviation nerd and spend a lot of time knitting and listening to air traffic control. Sharon from Security is my sole employee and she has a laziness problem and an addiction to spoiled sushi. What, your pets don’t work for a living?! (I AM A SPY, NOT A PET- SFS)
CLASS OPTIONS:
The Babs Celebration Shawl (FULL)
Choosing Colors for your Knit Projects
Learn How to Knit Colorwork
Lyrical Knits
I design and write patterns, sing and teach science. Often simultaneously. My singing training taught me to remember lyrics, which means that I can also remember movie dialogue, which I spout randomly, to the delight of everyone nearby. Schitt’s Creek? Ask me about fruit wine and folding cheese.
CLASS OPTIONS:
Colorwork without Stranding
Top Down Sweater Construction
Unlocking the Mysteries of Sweater Fit
Click here for Class Descriptions
Imagined Landscapes
I’m an urban prairie girl who is sassy and nostalgic, all rolled together. Think Anne of Green Gables meets IKEA. It’s no secret that I love gnomes. A lot. To my delight, the urge to be Never Not Gnoming is so strong that many knitters have joined me in my quest to populate the gnome world. And with folks like Gnicholas, Gnatasha, and Gnedward as friends, I’m thinking about moving to the Grimblewoods. I’ll show you a map in class.
CLASS OPTIONS:
Gno Fun Like Gnome Fun: Beginner Gnome
Gnome Beards and Bobble Noses
Getting to Gnome Colorwork (Design your own Gnome)
Lecture: Design Diary (available as an extra, regardless of class choices)
MEET TEAM BABS
Babs, the owner and founder of Miss Babs Hand Dyed Yarns, is the color visionary at the heart of the company. Her depth of knowledge of business, marketing, and color create the perfect foundation for a yarn business.
Ivy is the lead dyer. She oversees the studio, and makes sure the dye team stays on track, creating the colors needed for upcoming projects and shows. She is coming into her own, and you will see (and hear from!) her more over the coming years.
Veronica is the farthest flung member of Team Babs. Working remotely from California, she manages marketing, keeps the website running, and designs patterns to make the most of hand-dyed yarn.
Helen keeps the Miss Babs team organized, working behind the scenes to coordinate with designers and the dye team. She has a fantastic eye for combining colors and is a truly talented knitter.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
REGISTRATION
- Reservations must be placed before June 1, 2025
- Payment is accepted through Paypal (as a guest, if you don’t have an account) using your account or credit card, or choose the Pay Later button, to break up your payments and pay interest-free over time; or Stripe, which is a Level 1 (highest level of security compliance) secure online credit card processor. Keep reading for installment payment information.
- PayPal Pay Later information: choose Pay Monthly, to pay monthly up to 12 months time. You will need to submit a credit check to PayPal for this option.
- PayPal Pay Later: choose Pay in 4, to have your payments broken into 4 parts, interest free. HOWEVER, this can only be used for up to $1500. It involves more invoicing from Wild Onion Productions, which incurs a $50 service charge on top of the retreat cost. Please contact us at wildonionproductions@gmail.com for more information.
- Please choose your 2 desired classes; we will do our best to accommodate your top 2, but cannot guarantee this, as class sizes are limited to provide the best student experience. If your desired class won’t populate in the registration form, please choose another class, as this indicates that your first choice class has been filled.
- The Design Diary Lecture with Imagined Landscapes is an extra offering, outside of your 2 classes. Sign up at will!
- Once you’ve made your class selections and registered, you will receive a liability waiver sent to your email. Your class selections will be confirmed once we receive this e-signed waiver. Please be patient, as the waiver may take up to 10 business days to receive. Rest assured that your class selection will be held through this time.
- If you need to cancel, money paid will be refunded as per our refund terms, less $400 which acts as a service fee
- For rooms based on double occupancy, both roommates must submit payment within 7 days of the first order. After these 7 days, if all roommates have not submitted payment, your reservation will be cancelled and refunded, excluding the $400 service fee.
- Looking for a room-mate? Head over to the Wild Onion Productions group on Ravelry, click on the Miss Babs 20th Anniversary Celebration thread, and post that you’re looking to share your room.
- Looking for a carpool? We’ve set up a carpool sign up site for you here.
- All rooms on campus are ADA accessible. Email us at wildonionproductions@gmail.com if you require further accessibility support.
- Check in time is 11:30am on Thursday; there will be a hospitality room for knitters to gather and meet new friends, and to greet old ones! Lunch is available on Thursday, from 12:00pm – 1:30pm
- Click HERE to read the Tentative Schedule
- See HERE for a full list of our Cancellation and Refund Policies.
Register
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