Join designer and knitwear historian Sydney Roseweck for a mid-century knitting retreat in sunny, beautiful California. This six-day, five-night tour will take you on an adventure in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, where Kitsch is king, honey!

* makes Stefon face *

This tour has EVERYTHING. From marionette shows to excessively decorated Mexican restaurants. From giant dinosaurs to costume contests. From crafty afternoons to drag queen bus tours. From tiki bars to watching the stars. From morning and evening movie screenings of kitschy cult classics to cocktail parties by our exclusive pool. Party of knitters, your table is ready!

We'll spend our first evening together in Burbank, California right on the notorious Riverside Drive, where there are plenty of fun places to walk to, or hang out and grab a drink. The following day we'll make our way to Palm Springs, but what's a long drive without a myriad of fun roadside attractions along the way?

For the next four nights, we will be in our stunning exclusive use stay in the heart of Palm Springs. We have our own pool, hot tub, outdoor courtyard and patios, indoor hang out space, and kitchen at our disposal. While here, there will be plenty of time to hang around the pool or pop out for a look around the various vintage stores in the city. Sydney will lead a fun, mid-century inspired craft class as well as a "project lab" class, where you can get one-on-one assistance on a vintage knitting pattern of your choice, or get questions answered about fitting and measuring.

So what are you waiting for? Let's have a ball together!

This trip needs at least 10 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed"). We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward. Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

Please Note

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

While our Tour Activity Level describes what to expect on a tour, our Mobility Comfort Level is personal to each traveler.

We would describe this trip as a Retreat with a mobility comfort level of 2+.

Expect walking 0.5 - 3 miles per day and walking to get any "on your own" meals. Both accommodations will either have ground floor rooms or elevators. Ride shares or taxis can be hired at your own expense to reach any destinations in Palm Springs. Be aware that it is likely to be warm and sunny with little shade coverage while walking.

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight here or through your own provider.  

*Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF and we will receive a small commission for policies bought through the provided link.

In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination state. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and/or missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

Full flight details will be provided upon registration, however we recommend flight arrivals into Bob Hope Burbank Airport (BUR) and departures from Palm Springs International Airport (PSP).

BURBANK

Welcome, Bienvenue, Welcome

You've made it darling: welcome to sunny Cali-for-n-i-A! You will arrive in the afternoon and get settled into your hotel for the night, the mid-century styled Tangerine hotel in Burbank. We'll meet in the late afternoon for orientation, then we're off for an inaugural group dinner together at the fabulous Don Cucuo, a notorious dining spot since the 1960s. We'll enjoy a great meal together and get to visit with friends, old and new.

BURBANK TO PALM SPRINGS

C'mon dear, get your bags in the sedan ... we're heading for the desert!!

Today is our road trip day, but we'll make the most of our journey with plenty of roadside attractions along the way. After breakfast, we are off to one of the most magical places on earth .... no, not Disneyland silly, even better! Bob Baker's Marionette Theater! Here you will feel your childlike whimsy spark back to life with an unforgettable puppet show that tugs at your heartstrings. From here we'll make a stop for a yummy lunch before we head back in time ... millions of years back in time. Off the highway we'll peel off for a stop at the larger-than-life Cabazon Dinosaurs, made famous in Peewee's Big Adventure. After we've waived our hankies and whispered a sweet "Au reviou, Peewee, au revoir" at our dino friends, we will reach our final destination: Palm Springs.

This evening we'll settle into our exclusive use stay and enjoy a fun pizza party before an evening swim.

PALM SPRINGS

Let's Get Away From It All

Get out the green face masks, your favorite swimsuit, and your knitting. It's time to relax!

These next two days are for enjoying the surroundings and the good company. At our home for the remainder of the tour, we'll have two different classes facilitated by Sydney: a crafty afternoon (a non-knitting craft) and a "project lab" session, where you can get in-person help on knitting, fitting garments, or deciphering a vintage knitting pattern you're interested in making. We will have a large pool and hot tub at our disposal, along with an indoor hang out space decked out with a large screen TV (movie nights / movie mornings, anyone?)

Sydney and Betsy will also throw a rompin' technicolor costume cocktail party! Come dressed as your favorite TV character from the 1950s - 1970s! I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, Three's Company. The possibilities are endless. Lounge by the pool with drink in hand, walk our catwalk, and see if you'll win the costume contest!

The days will be chill enough that you can hop in and out of the hotel at your leisure for shopping, dining, bar hopping, and site seeing.

PALM SPRINGS

We're Goin' Out With a Bang, Honey

Now that we've all settled in, let's do some gallivanting together! Today we will hop on the Drag and Fly for a memorable tour of Palm Springs greatest hits with one of Palm Springs greatest drag queens! We'll be taken around the town by bus and get to see some of the stunning mid-century architecture Palm Springs is famous for. After this, we'll jaunt through some of the well curated vintage and thrift shops in Palm Springs before we all get decked out for a high end dinner out on the town all together.

Au Revior, Peewee

So, where are your troubles now? Forgotten? I thought so.

Sadly it's time to say farewell, darlings. Today we'll check out of the Marley, and everyone will make their journeys onward. Until we meet again!

Sydney is a voracious knitter, designer, and knitwear historian. She has been knitting and studying fashion history for over fifteen years and recently turned her passions into a career at Squid's School of Vintage Knitting, an online school devoted to the education and love of historical knitwear. Her work in the knitting world is also supplemented by her academic background in film history, and she tries to combine the two as often as possible. In collaboration with Rowan Tree Travel, Sydney works to develop tours that have a historical or vintage bent, often with elaborately themed and niche activities! With over ten years of working in the fiber industry, Sydney continues to love meeting other knitters and sharing fiber experiences with them more than anything else.

For this tour, she is joined by her other half, Betsy Roseweck, as her fabulous assistant.