WAIT LIST ONLY!

Dear Traveling Knitter,

Please join us for our 2012 Vogue Knitting tour. On this trip we head North, where Fair Isle knits, Shetland Lace, exquisite luxury hand-knitting yarns and Icelandic Yoke sweaters are staples. We will meet renowned knitwear designers such as, Alice Starmore, Ysolda Teague and Di Gilpin, who will share their love of knitting with us. Carla Scott, Executive Editor of Vogue Knitting, will be there to teach some interesting and fun techniques as well as give you a preview of upcoming magazine issues and fashion trends.

Throughout our journey, we will visit a variety of yarn-related venues, such as Johnstons of Elgin Cashmere and Istex, the manufacturers of Lopi yarn. No need to worry, there will be plenty of yarn for purchasing. And in between all that shopping we will have the chance to explore the wonderful, historical sights of Scotland and the breathtaking natural wonders of Iceland. We hope you will come along with us on this knitting extravaganza!

Trisha Malcolm
Editor in Chief

WAIT LIST ONLY!
Please contact Traveling Together if you would like to have your name
placed on the waiting list.

YOUR TOUR ITINERARY:
Wed, Aug 15, 2012
This evening we board our Icelandair flight at JFK AIRPORT in New York for the overnight journey to GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. (See Additional Information at the end of this itinerary.)

Thu, Aug 16
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. Our hotel, THE THISTLE GLASGOW, is located in the city center near Princes Square and the ‘Golden Z’ formed by Buchanan, Sauchiehall and Argyle Streets; two-and-a-half miles of shopping heaven.

Fair Isle and Aran-knitting expert ALICE STARMORE and her daughter JADE will be waiting at the hotel to join us for a WELCOME LUNCHEON. Alice will give a talk about her work, where she gets her inspiration, and an informal discussion about how she and Jade put all of their ideas together in order to come up with their own unique style. The highlight of this event will be a FASHION SHOW featuring Alice and Jade’s designs, with many of the garments having been made by Jade. VIRTUAL YARNS will be on display and you will be able to place orders that can either be mailed home or picked up when we return to Glasgow next week. Learn more about Alice, Jade and Virtual Yarns

After an afternoon of visiting with Alice and Jade, your luggage will be waiting in your room and the remainder of the day is yours to relax or venture out to explore Glasgow.

Fri, Aug 17
TOURING GLASGOW would be interesting under any circumstances, but when you have ALICE STARMORE as our personal guide, it becomes a “Virtual” experience! Alice will spend the day showing us around Glasgow, visiting some of the places that provide her with inspiration, including the famous BURRELL COLLECTION. It contains an eclectic collection of art and artifacts. There are tapestries on display and plans are being made for the curator to exhibit some of the items that are in their extensive archive of textiles, including the Elizabethan knitted jacket which is featured in Jade's book A Collector's Item. Burrell Collection

Glasgow has been reborn as a center of style and vitality set against a backdrop of outstanding Victorian architecture, most notably the work of Scotland's best known architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose style adorns many unique attractions throughout the city. In addition to seeing some of his work and other highlights of the city, Alice will include a visit to Glasgow's famous Byres Road shopping street which has some funky shops and eateries. The perfect location for our mid-day lunch and shopping break!

George Square

Sat, Aug 18
We depart Glasgow this morning for EDINBURGH, the capital city of Scotland and seat of the Scottish Parliament. The Medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. After a PANORAMIC TOUR that will give you an overview of the city, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore Edinburgh’s winding streets, elegant terraces and an abundance of shops. Our Apex Waterloo Place Hotel is ideally located at the east end of Princes Street, one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh and the city’s main shopping street.

For anyone interested in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, there are two scheduled performances this evening. Once you receive notification that you may begin to make your connecting air arrangements to JFK, performance tickets can be purchased at Edinburgh Tattoo

Sun, Aug 19
Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is closely associated with Scotland's turbulent past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here between 1561 and 1567. Successive kings and queens have made this the premier royal residence in Scotland. After our morning tour of Holyroodhouse there will be time for you to explore more of Edinburgh. The National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle are both open today, in addition to many of the shops.
(Please note that Holyroodhouse may occasionally be closed when the Queen is in residence or for official functions.)


PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE
Founded as a monastery in 1128, now
The Queen's official residence in Scotland

YSOLDA TEAGUE is a young and innovative Scottish designer who has published popular knitting patterns in Twist Collective and Knitty, as well as two books in her “Whimsical Little Knits” series and her new pattern collection and resource "Little Red in the City." Her many other patterns are available on her website and in yarn stores everywhere. She lives and works in Edinburgh but loves to travel, especially when it means meeting the people who make her patterns. Ysolda Teague During a 2011 trip to New York, Teague sat down with Erin Slonaker of Yarn Market News.

Late this afternoon there will be a SPECIAL PRESENTATION AND TRUNK SHOW WITH YSOLDA. Her books will be available and Ysolda will be our guest for **dinner, following the event.

Mon, Aug 20
We depart Edinburgh this morning and head north to BALLATER, ABERDEENSHIRE. There will be a stop in
ST. ANDREWS with a chance to take photos of the infamous 17th Road Hole of the Old Course and shop for souvenirs to take home to your favorite golfers.

Having started with a hand-knitting studio and yarn shop in 1983 on Skye, DI GILPIN has been designing and knitting for almost 30 years. Along the way her design work has garnered impressive clients from Bette Midler to Helena Bonham Carter. Her personal design service still attracts many international and local clients, with whom she currently has many on-going projects. We will visit Di’s studio and shop prior to our afternoon drive to Ballater. Di Gilpin Collection

Welcome to the smallest Hilton in the world! The
HILTON CRAIGENDARROCH is set in the spectacular Cairngorms National Park. The hotel is just 8 miles from Balmoral Castle and although the Queen will be in residence at this time of year and the castle is not open to visitors, we may run into her tomorrow when we visit the charming village of Ballater. **Dinner tonight at the hotel.

Tues, Aug 21st
THE WOOL SHED is located in the beautiful Aberdeenshire countryside - at "the back o' Bennachie whaur the Gadie rins" as the song has it. It means they are just by the Gadie burn with a view of Bennachie, the highest point in the county - a mountain steeped in myth and legend. Owners Barbara and Anne will have the shop stocked with plenty of top-quality name brand yarns, along with various yarns from Scotland. The Wool Shed
Also on the premises is Touched by Scotland, a gallery selling contemporary Scottish paintings, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, wood and sculpture that showcases some of the best artists from Aberdeenshire and throughout Scotland.

BALLATER is a delightful Victorian town in the centre of Royal Deeside, just a short distance from our hotel. The Royal Family uses Ballater for much of the supplies for Balmoral Castle and many shops in the village display Royal Warrant signs. We’ll spend some time exploring this quaint village before returning to the hotel for some relaxation and knitting, prior to **dinner at the hotel.

Wed, Aug 22
Much of today’s travel will be within the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park. We begin by heading north to Elgin, home to JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN CASHMERE. The Mill in Elgin is the only mill in Scotland to transform raw cashmere from fiber to finished article. After learning about Elgin’s 214 year history in their visitor center, we’ll take a GUIDED MILL TOUR to see how the cashmere is dyed, teased, carded, spun and hand finished by the latest generation of Elgin craftsmen. The on-site shop offers their latest collection of fabrics, knitwear and accessories for ladies and men as well as for the home, in addition to Johnstons cashmere, lambswool and tweed direct from their flagship mill.

After our visit to Johnstons and time for lunch at one of their cafés, we drive south to GLASGOW for **dinner at the MILLENNIUM HOTEL, located on George Square and considered by Glaswegians to be the activity center of the city. YOUR VIRTUAL YARN ORDERS will be ready for pick-up if you opted to carry them home, rather than having them shipped.

Thu, Aug 23
Late this morning we drive to nearby Glasgow Airport with enough time to have lunch and do some Duty Free shopping before boarding our flight to REYKJAVIK, ICELAND. After claiming our luggage and boarding our motor coach, we drive directly from the airport to to the famous BLUE LAGOON, a geothermal spa and one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. Be sure to have your bathing suit easily accessable in your hand-carry, as there will be time to soak up the scenic beauty and enjoy breathing the clean, fresh air while relaxing in the warm geothermal seawater.

**Dinner will be at the Radisson Blu 1919 Hotel, located in the heart of the city and our home for the next four nights.

Fri, Aug 24
There’s no better way to begin our first full day in Iceland than to see how the famous LOPI YARNS are produced. ISTEX (Icelandic Textile Industry) is the only spinning factory in Iceland, producing and selling Alafosslopi and other Lopi yarns for hand knitting such as Plötulopi, Bulkylopi and Léttlopi and Einband. We’ll meet with Guðjón Kristinsson, Managing Director of Istex, and one of their designers to learn about the tradition of the Icelandic sweater, followed by a TOUR OF THE SPINNING FACTORY.

Just a short distance from the current mill and housed in the old factory premises is the ÁLAFOSS FACTORY OUTLET, where you’ll have the opportunity to purchase wool and ready-made garments and accessories, at discounted prices.
Next on the agenda is a PANORAMIC TOUR OF REYKJAVIK, prior to some more yarn shopping!

Sat, Aug 25
You’ll have time today to EXPLORE REYKJAVIK on your own. At the Culture House you can examine the preserved medieval saga manuscripts, visit the National Museum of Iceland, stroll along the Old Harbor, or shop at the many knit-wear and novelty shops in close proximity to our hotel.

Sun, Aug 26
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE is a circular route which encompasses many of Iceland’s most famous landmarks and scenic natural wonders for which Iceland is justly renowned. The highlights of today’s tour includes Gullfoss, the "Golden Falls", a mighty two-tier waterfall in a chasm on the river Hvita, and the geothermal fields of Geysir, where the spouting spring Strokkur spews boiling water and steam approximately every five minutes. In addition to our lunch stop there will be visits to local crafts shops along the way. Our **Farewell Dinner tonight will be at the Radisson 1919.

Mon, Aug 27
We depart KEFLAVIK AIRPORT this morning in time for our 10:30am departure that will arrive JFK at 12:30pm.

Included in your tour:
All hotels
Breakfast each morning
**6 dinners & Welcome Luncheon as noted in the itinerary
Meet-and-greets with world-class designers
All group activities and tours
Airport transfers in Scotland & Iceland
Luggage handling at hotels
Land travel by private motorcoach
Hosted by Carla Scott, Executive Editor of Vogue Knitting
Escorted by a professional tour leader
Yarn shopping and more!

WAIT LIST ONLY!
Please contact Traveling Together if you would like to have your name
placed on the waiting list.

Tour Price:
$ 4,361 per person, double occupancy
$ 1,183 single supplement (Single accommodations are limited!)
**Please see below, in regards to the purchase of required group airfare which is not included in the price of the tour.

**Due to the number of flights required and the logistics of transferring the group efficiently, we have secured space for all group flights. Northwood Travel will be handling these group air arrangements, round-trip from/to JFK Airport, NY. If you would like to have them co-ordinate any additional flights necessary to connect at JFK Airport you may email them at info@Northwoodtravel.com or call 1-800-780-0571.

The cost of group air is $1.083.56 and must be paid directly to Northwood Travel.
**Northwood Travel must receive your airfare payment by June 15, 2012, with no exceptions.

**Airfare cancellation policy:
Prior to May 15, 2012- no additional airline cancellation penalty
May 15- June 15, 2012- $150 Additional airline cancellation penalty
June 15- July 31, 2012- 50% penalty of airfare cost
August 01, 2012 and later- Airfare is non-refundable

**Due to the possible increase in the cost of airline fuel surcharges and airline taxes, the tour participant is responsible for these increases. Any and all luggage fees are the responsibility of the tour participant.

To help schedule your free time and learn about the places you are most interested in, we recommend that you purchase travel guides. The most popular are Frommer’s, Foder’s, Rick Steves’, or DK Eyewitness.

Please note: In order to fully enjoy this trip you will need to be able to walk up to 5 city blocks at a moderate pace and climb several flights of stairs.

Please be sure to print and read the 2012 Tour Terms & Conditions

Print and mail in the completed Tour Registration Form along with your deposit.

**If Traveling Together is bookmarked in your favorites,
please be sure to refresh the links, as many pages & forms have been updated.

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Read the Vogue Knitting article about the 2011 Tour to France, Switzerland and Germany!