Join us in a mission-driven historic knitting factory in the heart of Connemara.
The Old Knitting Factory exists to provide free retreats and residencies to single mothers and other single parents, to give them time and space to rest and make art. You can help us provide this support by booking overnight accommodation in our newly renovated guest space, or by applying for a paid retreat or residency. You can also join our founder and New York Times bestselling author Betsy Cornwell for online workshops and retreats or private writing mentorship, either by booking individual sessions or with a monthly or annual subscription that includes merch, access to all online workshops, and 10% off accommodation.
Paid residencies and accommodation are open to everyone, not just single parents! Your time here will help support the space’s mission, and we and the single parents we serve are so grateful. You can book accommodation or apply for a residency below.
All residencies include six nights’ stay in The Old Knitting Factory’s lakeside guest space, including a kitchenette, en suite bathroom, living room, and private entrance. Accommodation includes a double-single bunk bed, so there is space for up to three people; the space is designed for a single parent and up to two children, but adults are welcome to share the space as well. Residencies run from Monday (3 pm check-in) to Sunday (11 am check-out) year-round.
Arts Residencies include two hours of private mentorship with New York Times bestselling author and The Old Knitting Factory founder Betsy Cornwell, and are priced at €1000. Rest Residencies, or retreats, do not include mentorship and are priced at €800.
Please note that fully funded residencies are open for application only in May, and are now closed. I usually receive over one hundred applications for each funded residency I’m able to offer. There is no means evaluation for fully funded residencies, but they are intended for single parents who cannot afford the paid residencies. If you can afford a paid residency, please consider doing so to support our mission.
Thanks to our Patreon sponsorship, I’m able to offer a fully funded residency every month — twelve per year. At €2,000 that becomes two residencies per month, and three at €3,000. You can help us get there by subscribing from €5 per month, and you’ll get merch, behind-the-scenes news, handmade mailings and zines, and lots of other fun things.
If you are interested in funding an Arts Residency or Rest Residency for a single parent, I’d be thrilled to hear from you! You can offer a one-time sponsorship or monthly or annual support through The Old Knitting Factory’s Patreon page, or contact me using the form below.
Go raibh maith agat: thank you so much!
Apply for a residency or retreat
The Old Knitting Factory loves hosting artists, academics, and anyone looking for a week of restoration in the beauty and peace of Connemara. You can apply for a residency or retreat using this form or by emailing hi at oldknittingfactory dot com.
Our mission: offering free residencies and retreats for single mothers & others.
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Tawasul E.
2022 Rest Resident
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Ann Begay
2023 Rest Resident
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Helen Flynn
2024 Rest Resident
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Peace Waters
2025 Elizabeth Crowell Parent-Poet Resident
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Marissa Merrill
2025 Rest Resident
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Grace Mitchell
2025 Rest Resident
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Anna Gazmarian
2025 Rest Resident
I created this space because it was the kind of support I longed for so much when I became a single parent, and the kind of support I still long for. There will be as many residencies in the knitting factory's future as I can offer while maintaining the business and the space.
Inspired by the work of The Nap Ministry, adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism, and The Mae House, each year I offer at least one rest residency, meaning that you don’t have to be an artist to apply; you just have to be a single mom (or other marginalized single parent) who could use some rest. And couldn’t we all?
My goal is to offer the space for free to any single mothers and other marginalized single parents who need rest — as often as I can. Cash stipends for childcare, and free residents for single parents, will be offered frequently as the income from paid residencies and subscriptions allows me to do that. Once again, I’m indebted to other projects like The Mae House that provide an example of this kind of offering.
The Old Knitting Factory is a crowdfunded project, and our sliding-scale monthly supporters are the reason we’ve made it this far. Subscriptions also include unlimited access to the knitting factory’s online retreats and writing workshops (which are always free for single parents), behind-the-scenes looks at the knitting factory, writing and creativity prompts, recipes, blog posts, exclusive book excerpts, and more. You’ll also get some pretty cool merch — stickers, tote bags, mugs, t-shirts — as part of your membership.
You can also support The Old Knitting Factory by:
Reading Ring of Salt!My memoir about single parenting, leaving domestic abuse, and finding home and hope on the wild coast of Ireland is out now. Ask for it at your local independent bookstore, or order the US edition here or the Irish edition here.
Telling people about us! Follow us on Facebook or Instagram and share your own posts
about us. This project only exists because of its community of supporters, and spreading the word about our work here is one of the most helpful things you can do (and it's free!).
Thank you so much again for your interest in the Old Knitting Factory. We hope and believe these are only the first of many residencies we can offer you in the years and decades to come.
FAQs
Who can apply?
Anyone is welcome to apply for our paid Arts Residencies and Rest Residencies.
For the fully funded residencies only: single mothers and other marginalised single parents from anywhere in the world are welcome to apply.
For the purpose of the funded residency we define a single parent as someone who is actively parenting children without a partner in the majority of their day-to-day life. Divorced, separated, widowed, foster parents, guardians, and single parents by choice are welcome to apply so long as they are active, primary parents in their children’s lives.
We define a marginalised single parent as a single parent who
also faces systemic marginalisation due to factors including but not
limited to race, class, sexuality, gender, income, immigration status,
or ability.
Are travel costs included?
No, travel costs are not included. However, I would be happy to help share a travel fundraiser for the recipient; crowdfunding is how this space happened, after all!
Should I bring my kids?
It’s up to you! Every single parent’s situation is different, which is why we want to make this retreat as flexible as possible. The retreat space currently features a double-single bunk bed, futon, and pack-and-play crib. As a single parent myself, I understand why recipients would like to take some time away from their children, as well as why they’d like to bring them! That’s why it’s important to me to leave it up to you.
Can partnered parents who feel like single parents apply?
Part of single parenthood is facing the stigma that comes with that
label. If you are a partnered parent who feels that a free week’s
holiday and childcare stipend would provide you with more benefits than your partner does, we encourage you to leave them and then apply!
In seriousness: I came out of an abusive marriage, and I know that leaving is never easy, and sometimes impossible. If you are experiencing any kind of intimate partner abuse, I hope you will contact your local domestic violence center; mine offered me crucial help.
Ongoing support is crucial to the work we do here.