Ravelympics2008

Over on Ravelry, the Ravelympics are set to begin on 8-08-08. I am apart of TeamKnittingCamp. The idea is to start cast on a project during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics and to have it completed by the Closing Ceremonies.
By being a part of Team Knitting Camp, our projects are either EZ/Meg Swansen projects or in the spirit of their style.

I am going to use my Unspun Icelandic that I got at camp this past month. I have committed to the Event Shawl Relay. I hope to do the February Pi Shawl from Knitter's Almanac. Since, I have in progress as we speak the simple Buttonhole Pi Shawl and the other version from February in purple icelandic laceweight, I am on the search for other alternatives for the bands of lace. I will be researching that in the next 7 days.

I am not at this time 100% sure this is how the colors are going to lay in the shawl. I am thinking this weekend, I might do a little color swatch to see how I want to have them appear. This is all part of the Olympic experience.

I look forward to the Olympics and my knitting. In the Winter Olympics, two years ago, i was so proud to finish my Arnhild Lace Poncho. At the end, it felt so good to accomplish one project! And oh the opportunities to knit!

Pre-Olympic Knitting

In anticipation of the Olympics coming on August 8th, I am doing some pre-olumpic knitting training. And it comes in the form of socks. Here are three that are on needles, two which have the second one in progress. If I could accomplish finishing all three sets before the Olympics, I would have three pairs of socks come Fall.

This one has the most possibilities of being a pair by the Olympics. I am much further on it than all the rest.


But, first where did I put that other finished sock that goes with this one? It hung on a rail in our living room for the longest time, but when I moved into the yarn room, I am not quite sure where I put it.

This one has the least possibilities of being a set. It seems to be knitted on toothpicks as Jan would say, and will probably not make the pre-Olympic team.

Tomorrow --Ravelympics, I think I have a project in mind!

Something I Learned This Weekend

Or rather re-learned. If you focus on one particular project, instead of flittin from project to project or thought to thought, you can accomplish more.

This weekend was completely free of obligations! I almost succombed to the yarn shop, but am saving it for this weekend. Instead, I played chair veggie, and knitted solely on some socks that I had on the needles. What happened? By the end of the weekend, I finished one and have a good start on the second.

I'm quite pleased with what I re-learned this weekend.

And Finally

Believe it or not, two weeks have passed since Camp. It seems like it went by so fast. There are so many things I want to do! I am already planning for next year's camp. I am going hell or high water!

For now, it is Meg's Show and Tell. Below are future items for Woolgathering.





What more can I say about Camp? Some would be pleased that I am finished posting about it. There is so much to tell, but alas, we must return to the real world now. It's cruel, but another year will be here before we know it. And more fun and memories to add to.

And for the Quilters

Amy's sister brought her 50th birthday present to Amy at Camp. Amy is not 50 til later this year, but her sister brought the early present. It's a Cat quilt, with that one block for the dog lovers! I believe the story is Amy started it, but her sister finished it and which equates to the bulk of it, don't cha think!

Tomorrow, Meg's Show and Tell!

I'm trying my hardest to stay away from the yarn shop today! It's tough! All I really need to do is go into my own yarn room!

I've Just Got A Couple

of days worth of Camp Posts and then we'll be done for another year! I'll find another thing to post ad nauseum on for the daily readers.


Martha and her rats. Now, those who work with me know that I hate rodents! They give me the willies, but still I had to take pictures of Martha and her pieces. They give me the willies too, but show and tell is show and tell

Jennie the Potter and herFebruary Lady Sweater. I saw one of these on Ravelry and downloaded the instructions and it sits in my list of want tos. I have the perfect cotton yarn for it. Maybe for next Summer!

And then there is Al. The camp photographer. He takes pictures of everythihg AND I do mean everything. Even of what we are having for lunch. Then he sends us all a CD with the pictures on it.

What a group!

Do You Get The Picture?

So many great things are paraded before us at camp. This is not nearly all of them, just the pictures that really turned out well.

Some Show and Tell


None of it is mine. I only showed a half a Round the Bend. Next year, I am going to have the whole Round the Bend to show.

These are just a few of the amazing pieces campers showed. What a talented group!














Click on any picture to get an up close look. You have to!

Mythical Beasts Part Deux


This is not all of them by any means, but these are the last of the pictures that turned out good enough to post. The others were too dark (I must remember next year to forget the long lenses and go with my shorter lense and get more up close).




Greg mis heard the contest title, he thought it was Mythical Beets.

Next years contest is "Recycled Knits". I'm already thinkin on that one. Thinkin positively!

Mythical Beast Contest Part 1

Unbelievable! Everything from soup to nuts or should I say Dust Bunnies to Harry Potter

No Wonder I Want To Knit Shawls

I dare you to go to camp and not come home and want to knit everything you see. This work thing is greatly interfering with what I want to do.

Carol's Clever Little Shawl

Cheryl Oberle gave us the pattern. And Marge gave us her page with the variation. Linda and I are both working on it. Mine is out of Chianti Ultra Alpaca. I see me wearing this quite a bit come Winter. It will be perfect with several turtlenecks I have.

I'll model mine when finished and blocked, but for now...here are three from 2.75.

2.75 Is The Place For Me (to the tune of Green Acres)

I don't want to pump it up tooooo much, because then everyone will want to go and maybe I won't get in. But, it truly is the camp for me/us. At the end of the new format of camp we were not near as tired as in past camps.

Camp ended on Sunday night with a pizza party. The classroom and shop were open the whole time and even on Monday morning. We stayed and talked for a long time with Martha which was so enjoyable in itself. She had stories that transported you back in time. Frankly, I could have heard more!

On Monday morning we had brunch together at a semi leisurely pace. It gave us time to just down shift before taking off for home. We checked out with Schoolhouse Press. The ladies brought our purchases in on Sunday afternoon, so there wasn't any rush like there usually is on Monday to soak up the last minutes of camp, check out with Schoolhouse Press, and the hotel itself. That in itself is usually so tiring. And there was not the usual popping up of campers to leave.

With Monday morning brunch, it got us on the road earlier, which got us home by dinner time. There still was time left to unpack and relax IF I would have had to go back to work.

Now, already as always, we are looking forward to next year's 2.75 and hoping we can get in again with this wonderful bunch of campers. More about them all tomorrow. It's back to work for me today.

I Love The Day After

I have got in the habit of always taking the day before and the day after a trip off. The day before to get packed and kind of calm down before the excitement of going somewhere. The day after to finish unpacking and unwind.

I especially like the day after camp. It gives me a chance to see what I bought, wind some yarn, look up some things on the internet that I took notes on at Camp and think where my knitting is going to go after seeing so many unbelievable knits at Camp. My god, I need to live til I am 200 to do it all!


But, first I am going to start with my newly acquired stash. The great thing about camp is it is okay to take a sack of yarn from the table one day and return it the next. Take it to your table, fondle it, dream about what it will be and generally just kick it around with my campmates as to whether it will look good in what I think it should be when it grows up.

So, what's on this table?
New Books - Latvian Mittens and Heirloom Knitting. Every year when I go to camp, I pick this book up and think about getting it. It is quite expensive, but hey, what the heck I am with worth it.

A new format of pattern from Schoolhouse Press. This one has the Ribwarmer on it. I have the Woolgathering with it, but since this is their first pattern in this format, I just had to have it. Plus it shows some technique on it.

2 skeins of Cheryl Oberle's yarn - there is enough for the garter vest from her Folk Shawls book or a garter stitch shawl. At the moment, I am leaning towards the vest, especially since I acquired a new shawl pin this year. (another one of those things I keep looking at every year.

One of the new colors of unspun in yellow. I bought a bun of purple too, but it is in the car already to take to Knit Nite on Thursday. Char and I are going to undo it and her purple that she bought and we are going to share the bun. The yellow, purple, green and some red that Char has is going to be a shawl.

The two small skeins of Shetland are for the stash. The purple WAS going to be a shetland shawl, but after swatching it, I decided I really wasn't all that fond of it, so I went back and got the Turquoise instead. The white is for the stash for maybe some mittens out of it and the left over Turquoise that I am sure there will be.

The last but not least is part of what I am currently working on, Chianti Ultra Alpaca. Cheryl Oberle gave us the pattern and Marge gave us the variation on it and both Linda and I casted on it while at Camp. I am working on mine and will show it later this week.

And finally, my new Camp bag. Every year we get one and I love this one.
I could have kept going buying and buying and I do have a list for future purchases, but for the moment I "have" to make some money for now.

Suffice it to say, it is now once to start focusing on where I am going with my knitting (I do this every year), but really mean it this time. I have to stop flitting around and being so fickle as to what I am doing.

I am sorry to be done with camp for the year, but happy to be home surrounded by my yarn and books and now can really formulate on the plan of attack. Tomorrow, it's back to work but with a Focus.

I'm Home

I'm unpacked, but it is not all put away. The suitcases are waiting to be go downstairs. The projects are put away but the new stuff is not.

We had a great time! Met some great new campmates, Nancy and Linda face to face. Have loads to tell and lots of pictures to show in the coming days.

You just cannot imagine how much fun and knitting we did! Thank god, I am off tomorrow!

Stay tuned!

Gone Campin

My Bags Are Not Packed

I'm not ready to go to camp. YET. But, I will be. I am off tomorrow and plan on sticking around home most of the day knitting. I still am thinkin about what is going with me as far as knitting. Its an age old problem for me. I don't want to get up there and decide what I brought doesn't interest me.

By the time I got home from work today, I had a sick headache. I stayed up too late last night, couldn't sleep when I went to bed and woke up way too early and just got up. After a day of working really hard, by the time I got home and two glasses of wine later, I laid down on the couch and took a really nice nap.

Got up and started knitting some more on the Round the Bend Jacket. I hope to have it completed when I get home from Camp. It's my Camp project this year.

Three projects are still waiting to see if they make the Camp Knitting Cut. Only two can go. We will see what tomorrow will bring. It's time for bed. But, hey, I can sleep in tomorrow! But not the next!!!!

Happy Birthday Linda!!!!

This is a test post from my phone to see if when I go to camp I could do a short one from my Treo.

Cards Won! Cards Won!

Lets do it again today, boys!

4th of July Memories

We had a great 4th yesterday. Maybe because it was Friday and knowing we had two more days left with no work, maybe it is the thought that after two more days of work next week, I am off for a week and going to camp, but whatever the reason it was a great day.
Ever since we stopped getting together with the tall guys family on the 4th (more about that later), we have been having my mom and aunt over for 4th of July chicken on the grill at noontime.

They are both alone, so they come over. The tall guy grills, my aunt always brings brownies for the boys, my mom brings the green beans. They stay and we sit around the table and let them talk. They are a hoot, because at times they are just like sisters and we have to jokingly get them to stop fighting!

This year we were missing a son, but it was still a great time. They leave around four and then we have the whole evening to ourselves. I knitted and watched the NCIS marathon. I finally got to see what happened to Kate. I packed a bit for knit camp, looking seriously at what books I have to take and what projects and extra yarn are absolutely necessary.

Years ago, when all of the kids were young, we would get together in the evening for dinner and then go to the fireworks out to the park. The kids would sit on a blanket and all of the adults were in their lawn chairs in the stadium. We would take snacks and have a night of it and then fight the traffic out. But, as the neices got older and then the boys we stopped doing that.

One 4th I spent it at Meg's Knit Camp #1. That, I believe was my first knit camp at the old hotel. We had sparkelers and I had a magnificent time.

Then came the tradition of having it with my aunt and mom. My aunt remarked once how the 4th was the most difficult times for her since her husband passed away back in the 70's. So, once we figured what the heck and the tradition is a standing one. Unless she hears differently, we have the same fare every year.

This year was a nice one and since she is going to be 89 this year (hard to believe) I hope we have many more to come with her. It wouldn't be the same without the sisters!

1 Week To Go!

Just one short week from right now, I'll be making my final post and telling you we are on our way to Camp. I am just down right giddy. It is just like Christmas when I was kid. All anxious and hardly able to contain myself.

Some things never changed. And thats a good thing!

The Mythical Beast

Is dead....I thought I had a great idea. One of my lunch buddies came up with the idea sometime ago. I got the yarn and started two versions of it. Then, I made the mistake of searching on the internet. And to my surprise, someone had come up with the idea already. A Giant Squid.

Who would a thunk it? For a couple of weeks now I have went back and forth saying what the heck, I'll do it anyway. The tall guy had the idea of a scarf which was where I was going with it.

But, now there is just too much other knitting getting in the way, so my mythical beast will remain dead. Now what to do with the 720 yards of semi bulky weight really cool feelin wool in a coral, white and light brown variegated?

I've Ripped

At least a year ago, I thought I had my Around the Bend all knitted up. Then, I discovered the two pieces did not meet up in the back. I started to scrutinized it and discovered the half with the vent just did not look right.

So, I decided to rip that part back. Trust me, no small feat! You don't just rip the thing back. Finally, after spending most of tonight trying to rip it back I took the scissors to it.

Good thing I have extra yarn. I've left the other half unripped and will see if my thought of it being the vent flap that was off all along. I am going to now start back at the sleeve and knit from there.

Out comes the video again and I will have the other half next to me at all times to make sure it matches up with it's mate. Meg was right this very well could send one around the bend.