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(All footage shot, edited, and produced by Daniela Anderson. All rights reserved. This video may not be used in any fashion without documented consent from Daniela Anderson and the Alpine Adventure Agency.)

Image courtesy Myrna Stahman.

View of the Altopiano at the top of world-renown Sass Pordoi.  Photo: Daniela Anderson

WELCOME TO THE ONLY VACATION IN THE WORLD THAT COMBINES AN EXCLUSIVE KNITTING WORKSHOP WITH RENOWN FAROESE LACE SHAWL GURU, MYRNA STAHMAN, A COOKING SCHOOL VACATION, AND A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN THE ITALIAN ALPS AND VENICE,ITALY!

Love to knit? Love to cook? Love photography? Have you always wanted to visit Italy?  Here's an exciting opportunity for knitters and their families to enjoy a vacation that offers something for everyone!  We are so excited to have Myrna Stahman, renown Faroese knitted lace shawl expert, teaching her famous lace knitting workshop (Basic Lace, Faroese knitted lace shawls and Seamen's Scarves) in one of the most visually and spiritually inspiring locations in the world: the beautiful and unique Italian Dolomites (located in the Italian Alps) and Venice, Italy!

This is the first time that  Myrna's renown Faroese lace shawl and Seamen's Scarf classes have been available in mainland Europe.  This is an incredible opportunity for knitters from all over to take part in this exciting fiber workshop!   You won't want to miss this special opportunity to explore lace knitting with one of the most beloved knitting teachers in the world!

We especially are thrilled that we can offer Myrna's knitting workshop in conjunction with our very popular Tyrolean cooking school vacation and  Location Portraiture Photography Workshop.  Students participating in this workshop have the opportunity to choose only the knitting workshop, only the cooking workshop, only the location photography workshop or mix and match all three!  Enjoy amazing lace knitting lessons with Myrna, exclusive cooking lessons with master executive chefs, top sommeliers, and charming local home cooks, and a top-notch photography workshop with a respected pro!

Guests in our Tyrolean Alps vacations enjoy traveling by cable car to legendary Malga Pala, a high mountain dairy where we watch how Polenta is made in a traditional open kettle over a wood fire and make fresh Tosela cheese in the farmhouse kitchen Photos: Daniela Anderson

Never before have knitters, gourmets and photography buffs had the chance to customize a workshop vacation in this way! This is the perfect vacation for groups of friends or families that have two or more members  who might share different interests:

Picture yourself in the kitchen of a high mountain dairy farmhouse  - the polenta is cooking in a copper cauldron over a picturesque fire while you are learning how to make a cheese only found in this valley with the farmer's wife.  Just outside the window, the tinkling music of cowbells echoes through the air as cows graze in the nearby meadows. After sampling the fresh cheese, bread, and olive oil and enjoying a glass of regional wine, you step outside into the beautiful sunshine and crisp and clean mountain air to sit on the terrace and knit beautiful lace with Myrna while being inspired by your surroundings. You capture all these memories in spectacular photos with the help of your photography instructor guiding you every step of the way!

Students and their families started signing up for this very unique opportunity through word of mouth almost a month before we even had a chance to put the workshop page online.   We encourage students and their traveling companions interested in this dream vacation to indicate their interest to us as soon as possible  since we only take a maximum number of 15 students into the kitchen with Chef Giuseppe and 20 students in Myrna's lace knitting workshop.

Click here to view the detailed daily itinerary (includes many pictures).

WORKSHOP CLASSES:

Explore in detail the construction of lace stitches and knitting lace from charts.  Understanding the construction of lace stitches and knitting from a chart are the basic skills that lead to reading the lace knitted piece, assisting in fixing mistakes and really enjoying the rhythm of knitting lace. (A three-hour class.) This class is a pre-requisite for the other two classes.

Intermediate Lace Knitting -- Knit an Elegant Seamen's Scarf:

For the knitter who wishes to better understand and build upon basic lace knitting skills while beginning a Seamen’s scarf.  Learn provisional cast-on; the chain selvedge; different methods of turning two stitches into one, three stitches into one and the structure of these stitches; knitting from a chart.  Develop your lace knitting skills while knitting an elegant lace Seamen's scarf. (A six-hour class.)

Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls From the Neck Down – The Catharina Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawl:

Begin knitting a lace shawl incorporating (a) the wonderful traditional Faroese shawl shaping that enables your shawl to comfortably sit on your shoulders, (b) knitting from the top down [Barbara Walker style], and (c) the Catharina all-over lace pattern stitch. (A six-hour class.)

INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY:

MYRNA STAHMAN

Myrna enjoys sharing her love of lace knitting by designing shawl and scarves, teaching lace knitting classes and publishing her designs. In 2000 she self-published Stahman's Shawls and Scarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls From the Neck Down and Seamen's Scarves.

Myrna's definition of lace knitting is using two sticks and some string to connect a series of holes in a pleasing fashion. Lace knitting does not require 000 needles and very fine thread. Worsted weight cotton and size 7 needles make practical, pretty lace dish cloths. Bulky yarn and size 11 needles produce beautiful lacy afghans.

Myrna's philosophy in teaching knitting includes (a) the "right" way to knit is the way that works comfortably for each individual knitter; (b) she learns much from her students; (c) when encountering a problem with one's knitting, immediately tearing out the problem area is most often not the best solution; and (d) understanding the structure of knitting and learning to read one's knitting are important skills to develop.

Myrna's teaching experiences are vast and varied. She has taught lace knitting classes throughout the United States, teaching for TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association), MAFA (The Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association), NwRSA (The Northwest Regional Slpinners Association), Minnesota Yarnover (keynote speaker), and the Midwest Masters, and others. She has taught at the New Zealand Fiber Festival and in Orkney, was the opening speaker at the Canberra [Australia] Spinners and Weavers Festival and the featured speaker at the Tasmanian Fibre Festival in Hobart, Tasmania.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer Myrna taught elementary school in rural Liberia, West Africa for two years. Upon returning to the states she became the Director of what was then known as the Stevens County Activity Center for Retarded Adults in Morris, Minnesota. Working with these very special adults helped Myrna develop her ability to analyze and break down any task, no matter how large, into small, manageable pieces.

During her many years practicing law, Myrna understood that an attorney must be a good teacher, whether teaching a client, the jury or the judge about the law and the facts as they relate to the issue at hand. Her three years in Germany, while serving in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the US Army, provided the opportunity to teach various legal classes to the troops.

Myrna taught classes on the law as it applied to consumers as a Deputy Attorney General in the Idaho Consumer Protection Division. Serving as the Deputy Attorney General in Charge of the Appellate Unit of the Criminal Division she taught classes on Idaho criminal law to the Idaho prosecuting attorneys, the Idaho magistrate judges and the Idaho district judges. Myrna argued many cases before the Idaho Court of Appeals, the Idaho Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She always had her knitting by her side, whether attending staff meeting and legal education programs or in court observing the oral arguments of the attorneys she supervised.

In the fall of 2004 Myrna retired from the practice of law. She now devotes much of her time to fiber-related activities and traveling. Myrna hosts the Annual Boise Lace Knitting Retreat every October. Her husband, Bob, also retired, enjoys traveling with her.

EDUCATION:

Myrna earned a B.A., with a major in sociology, from the University of Minnesota, Morris and a JD from the University of Idaho College of Law.

BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS

In 2000 Myrna, doing business as Rocking Chair Press, self-published Stahman's Shawls and Scarves - Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls From the Neck Down and Seamen's Scarves, Myrna's designs have been published in Wild Fibers, Interweave Knits, the Ashford Wheel, Vogue Knitting, Knitter's Magazine and the Storey One-Skein Wonder books. Myrna is currently publishing pattern collections for Buffalo Gold Yarns and continues to work on two lace knitting books.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND INDUSTRY MEMBERSHIPS:

Myrna is a member of The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA), The Lacy Knitters Guild and The Association of Knitwear Designers, Inc. (AKD, Inc.). She is an affiliate member of the Idaho Bar Association.