I spent this past weekend with four of my favorite girlfriends at a knitting retreat put together by our local knitting group, Des Moines Metro Knitters. It's called Sticks and String, and we look forward to it all year long. It's basically a whole weekend of uninterrupted knitting + girl time. We're already sad it's over.
We each spent the week prior going through our stashes and Ravelry queues to pick out the perfect projects to work on. 
It's the perfect time to start some of those projects you've been wanting to work on forever but just haven't found the time. And while we always end up a bit more ambitious than time (or human knitting ability) allows with our plans, I think we all accomplished quite a lot. 
It's so refreshing to get away for a weekend, indulge in our favorite snacks, hang out in yoga pants, go out to eat and chat the days away. We do knit, too. Here is our weekend in Instagrams.
Meet my friends. This is Nichole and Melissa hard at work, a most hilarious pair.
Amy, who first taught me how to knit. And managed to complete an indoor Triathalon in the middle of our knitting weekend.
And Sarah, who also taught me how to knit. (Okay, they co-taught.) She's all kinds of incredible. 
A few pics from my new most favorite local breakfast/lunch spot, Tartine. 
Melissa's fantastic turquoise vintage suitcase, full of knitting supplies. I love this suitcase.
The breakfast of my dreams. I want to go back and order this again immediately.
