Touring Since 2007

Meet Your Host...

Mary Jeanne Packer began planning and leading knitting tours to fiber farms, artists studios, and winery tasting rooms in 2007 when she owned Finger Lakes Fibers, a yarn shop in Watkins Glen, NY. Her vision for the trips then, as it still is today, was to provide knitters and other fiber artists with authentic, participatory experiences that lead to a deeper understanding of the natural resources of the place they are visiting and the arts, culture and food of the local people.

Since then, her company Battenkill Textile Tours has hosted groups in destinations including Ireland, Scotland, Shetland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Seattle, and New Mexico.

Plans are underway for trips to the Baltic region and Germany/Austria.

She is also the founder of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill in Greenwich, NY. The mill provides value-added, custom carding and spinning services for farmers and manufactures yarn for wholesale and retail markets including the mill’s own brand of traceable-sustainable-responsible hand-knitting yarns – Oysters & Purls. Since its founding, Battenkill Fibers has grown to provide 18 full-time and part-time jobs and was recognized as Washington County Small Business of the Year.

Mary Jeanne speaks on many topics related to sustainable textile supply chains for live and virtual events and instructs knitting and punch needle workshops. She is a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Textile Project and serves on its board of directors, as well as on the board of the NY Farm Viability Institute and NY Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee. She has a bachelors degree in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and a masters degree in communications management from Syracuse University.

FAQs

  • Usually, our tours have 18-24 people. We find that less than that is not economical; and too many more make it difficult to have positive learning experiences.

  • Tours include all hotels (double occupancy, some singles are usually available), baggage handling, workshop and materials fees, museum and studio admissions, all breakfasts and some other meals (see itineraries), a local guide, and transportation during the tour. Flights to and from the destination and airport transfers are the responsibility of the guest.

  • Most of the people on our trips have at least a basic level of knitting skill. Many also have other fiber arts skills such as sewing, crocheting, spinning, dyeing, or weaving. Because our activities are focused on how textiles are designed and made and the traditions of textiles in the places we are visiting, our travelers find it is more enjoyable to come to the trip with some previous making experience.

  • Pay for your trip with any major credit card or a personal check. We can also provide on-line billing/payment on request. Generally, we require a $1000 deposit when you register and the balance about 90 days before departure.

  • We will review any requests for a refund on a case-by-case basis. However, as a rule, no refunds will be made at any time. Commercial trip cancellation insurance is available from many sources including Allianz Travel Insurance (www.allianztravelinsurance.com) and they offer several levels of protection. Once a tour is underway, refunds for services that are voluntarily not used will not be made.

  • Sadly, planning around pandemics and wars is becoming the new reality. What we have been doing these last few years, is simply picking different destinations and continuing on; or putting a trip on hold until it is safe to travel to that destination again.