*NEW* Parking information:
We highly recommend that you put your vehicle in an off street lot or garage during the workshops, as all street parking is limited to 3 hours or less. Here is a map of Old Town lots and garages:
Our recommended lots/garages are:
South Henry Street Lot | 112 South Henry Street . This lot is City owned. Pay at the pay station, and you can park all day. It is centrally located between our shop and the two venues on North and South Washington Street.
Cameron / St. Asaph Street Lot | 210 North St. Asaph Street. This lot is City owned. You can pay to park all day. It is nearest the Lloyd House venue.
Morrison House / 116 S. Alfred Street Garage. The garage is located next to the Morrison House Hotel and is easy walking distance from both our shop and the Lyceum.
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Join me in historic Old Town Alexandria as we gather together with Olga Buraya-Kefelian, Franklin Habit and Norah Gaughan for specially curated knitwear classes designed to inspire and unleash your creativity. We will meet at three historic properties in Old Town for workshops and at fibre space itself for a Neighborhood Fiber Co Trunk Show and even more workshops. Choose one event from each session or only one or two days of events! The choice is yours. No full weekend commitment is required. For those who register for four or more events, you will receive the exclusive Wool Immersion Weekend goodie bag.
**Call the shop to be added to the wait list for anything that is sold out!
Schedule of Events:
Thursday, November 9, 6-9 pm
Dinner with Franklin Habit
Venue: Virtue Feed & Grain – 106 S. Union Street (Second floor)
Cost: $75 per person, inclusive of three course meal and beverages
Session 1: Friday, November 1o, 9 am – 12/1 pm
Garter Party: Garter Stitch Gone Wild (with Special Guest I-Cord!) with Franklin Habit – SOLD OUT
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
Magical Brioche with Olga Buraya-Kefelian
Venue: fibre space – 1319 Prince Street (second floor)
Cost: $90
Session 2: Friday, November 10, 2 pm – 5/6 pm
Garter Party: Garter Stitch Gone Wild (with Special Guest I-Cord!) with Franklin Habit
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
Magical Brioche with Olga Buraya-Kefelian – SOLD OUT
Venue: fibre space – 1319 Prince Street (second floor)
Cost: $90
Friday, November 10, 6-9 pm
Neighborhood Fiber Co Trunk Show preview event
For those registered for one or more sessions in Wool Immersion Weekend, you are invited to join us for an exclusive preview of the Neighborhood Fiber Co Trunk Show! Shop vibrant, one of a kind colors inspired by urban landscapes.
Session 3: Saturday, November 11, 9 am – noon
Carved in Wool: Bavarian Twisted Stitch with Franklin Habit
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
Knitting 2 Sided Cables with Norah Gaughan
Venue: The Lloyd House – 220 N. Washington St
Cost: $75
Session 4: Saturday, November 11, 2-5 pm
Carved in Wool: Bavarian Twisted Stitch with Franklin Habit _ SOLD OUT
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
Knitting 2 Sided Cables with Norah Gaughan
Venue: The Lloyd House – 220 N. Washington St
Cost: $75
Session 5: Sunday, November 12, 9 am – 12/1 pm
Double Brioche Hat with Olga Buraya-Kefelian
Venue: fibre space – 1319 Prince Street (second floor)
Cost: $90
Cabled Hat with Norah Gaughan: choose your own arrangement – SOLD OUT
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
Session 6: Sunday, November 12, 2 – 5/6 pm
Double Brioche Hat with Olga Buraya-Kefelian
Venue: fibre space – 1319 Prince Street (second floor)
Cost: $90
Cabled Hat with Norah Gaughan: choose your own arrangement
Venue: The Lyceum – 201 S. Washington St
Cost: $75
About our designers:
Olga Buraya-Kefelian
Growing up in Belarus, Olga has learned knitting from her mother at a very young age. She has created her own brand of knitwear patterns olgajazzy that are sold via her website and authored several publications. But you can also see her designs in numerous publications in print as well as online. Make sure to check her recent book, Capsule, published by Brooklyn Tweed. Currently residing in Alexandria, Virginia she continues work on her brand and numerous collaborations while teaching classes and workshops nationwide as well as internationally.
Franklin Habit
Designer, teacher, author and illustrator Franklin Habit is the author of It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons (Interweave Press, 2008) and proprietor of The Panopticon (the-panopticon.blogspot.com), one of the most popular knitting blogs on the Internet. On an average day, upwards of 2,500 readers worldwide drop in for a mix of essays, cartoons, and the continuing adventures of Dolores the Sheep.
Franklin’s varied experience in the fiber world includes contributions of writing and design to Vogue Knitting, Yarn Market News, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, PieceWork, Twist Collective; and a regular columns and cartoons for Knitty.com, PLY Magazine, Lion Brand Yarns, and Skacel Collection. Many of his independently published designs are available via Ravelry.com.
He travels constantly to teach knitters at shops and guilds across the country and internationally; and has been a popular member of the faculties of such festivals as Vogue Knitting Live!, STITCHES Events, Squam Arts Workshops, Sock Summit, and the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat.
Franklin lives in Chicago, Illinois, cohabiting shamelessly with 15,000 books, a Schacht spinning wheel, two looms, and a colony of yarn that multiplies whenever his back is turned.
Norah Gaughan
About our venues:
Virtue Feed & Grain
Virtue sits in the heart of Old Town on Alexandria’s waterfront. The historic building that houses Virtue Feed & Grain was once a feed house in the 1800s, bordering historic Wales Alley. A former Alexandria Mayor, Irishman John Fitzgerald, shared ownership of Wales Alley where beer was sold as early as 1786. The alley was named after the brewery owner, Andrew Wales, and today Mr. Wales is memorialized with a special cocktail on the menu. The current interiors of Virtue Feed & Grain show remains of the past as well as signs of more recent years’ history – including the high-water stains marked by Hurrican Isabel in 2005 on the lower level floor beams.
The porch at Virtue Feed & Grain, where we will dine, is a gorgeous private room with wraparound windows and Potomac River views. It features the rustic elegance of the wooden floors and brick walls to make it wonderfully cozy.
The Lyceum
In 1839, a group of gentlemen calling themselves The Alexandria Lyceum joined with the Alexandria Library Company to build a grand hall to provide a place for lectures, scientific experiments and quiet reading. The Alexandria Lyceum was founded a year earlier, in 1838, by a group of well-educated local men with an interest in improving public educational and cultural opportunities throughout the community. In 1839, the group joined with the Alexandria Library to construct a new home for both organizations, the building known today simply as The Lyceum. This historic site has also served as a Civil War hospital ward, a private residence, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Nation’s first Bicentennial Visitor’s Center.
The Lloyd House
Constructed around 1796-1797, Lloyd House is one of the best examples of Alexandria’s late eighteenth-century Georgian style, and one of five buildings of the Georgian style remaining in the city. It is assumed that the Lloyd house was built by John Wise who owned the land and also built and operated the City Hotel ( Gadsby’s Tavern) around the same time. There are many similarities between the two buildings.
By 1956 the house was slated for demolition until Wyoming geologist Robert Valentine New read about the possible loss and purchased the property. The Historic Alexandria Foundation secured the money to buy out the demolition contract. New began a renovation in 1960 and used it for his offices. Later he proposed the Lloyd House Center, a nine-story office building.
By 1966 the City of Alexandria had determined that it was necessary to try to save the building and purchase it from Robert New. The Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission, founded in 1962, took on the project of raising funds for the purchase of the building and for its subsequent rehabilitation. Funding for the purchase and restoration came from various sources, including the Hoge Foundation, federal, state and local governments, and private donations.
The restored Lloyd House was then leased to the Alexandria Library for historical collections. In 1999 the Local History/Special Collections branch moved from the Lloyd House to the Barrett Library across the street.
The Lloyd House was further restored in 2002-2007. Funding for this later restoration was provided by the City of Alexandria and the Save America’s Treasures Historic Preservation Fund. The Lloyd House is now the administrative headquarters of the Office of Historic Alexandria.
Recommended Hotels:
There are many wonderful hotels in Old Town Alexandria. Below are our recommended hotels. We have a Kimpton property, a hotel indigo, a Hilton property and a Marriott – covering most of your possible rewards points! The closest hotels to our shop are the Lorien and the Hampton. The Morrison House is not too far away and is situated the closest to our historic venues and workshops. The Hotel Indigo is on our waterfront and closest to the Thursday evening dinner with Franklin Habit.
Hotel Indigo Old Town Alexandria