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Getting older doesn’t always mean rocking slowing down, at least to Polk County resident Becky Whitt. Five years ago, and nearing retirement, she and her husband Mike launched their own business, Carolina Fiber Retreats & Tours, offering knitting retreats in the Carolinas and nearby states.

Becky, an avid knitter, imagined years ago a knitting retreat that was affordable, relaxing, uncomplicated, welcoming, and fun. Combining her knitting and organizing talents with Mike’s communication and public relations skills, she now averages six to seven knitting retreats in North Carolina and surrounding states each year. Knitters come from all over the country.

“Attending a retreat can be therapeutic,” Becky says. “There’s no cooking, cleaning, or worrying about family or job. Instead, there’s laughter, togetherness, and new friendships to be made, all based on a common love of knitting.”  

Becky and Mike have carefully chosen their retreat locations for their uniqueness, amenities, and good food. Most are tucked away in the mountains of Western North Carolina, but beginning in 2022, Becky and Mike began offering a winter retreat on the North Carolina coast. This retreat and its location have proven enormously popular. “It’s our largest retreat in terms of participants,” says Becky.  

Becky credits her rural West Michigan roots for her passionate love of knitting. Her grandmother taught her time-honored skills that she passed along to her daughter and others. She also credits her late father. 

“Dad ‘s been gone for several years now, but it was his business sense and wisdom that has stayed with me,” she says. “ He had a knack for making good business decisions, and that’s in my DNA.”

Becky encourages anyone who has a passion to use it to benefit others.  

“You don’t have to start a business; just decide how to leverage your strengths and see what happens. Knitting retreats have been a blessing in so many ways.”  

 

Submitted by Mike Whitt