Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Stuff I Want To Knit PDQ

From my camp experience, these are just a few of my favorite things that I want to knit before camp next year.




I'll have to wait on this one til late Fall when the new book comes out!

Monday, July 30, 2007

Show and Tell, Final Page

But, not the final post about camp. I have alot more to show you. But, this is the end of the show and tell that others brought. Not all by any means, but ones that I got pictures of.

My traveling knitting pal, Char with just one of her grandchildren's outfits that she showed. I saw these as she was knitting them. She is a good grandma. The black background would have been daunting for me.


Linda's (my other traveling knitting pal)Aran. She amazes me on how she works these. That's alot of cables. And when she has to take one out, she just lets it drop and picks it back up. Me? I gotta rip it all the way back.

Lori from California. Another sweater her husband actually picked out for her to knit. She is a good wife, because the consensus at camp was that the rest of us would have told him to choose another sweater. Can you say tattoo?


Judy from Crystal Lake. She was working a design from Joyce's book during camp as well as a pair of socks that she was just flying through. Amazing work, and just a subtle hint of the color her husband did not want.

The show and tell at camp was just phenom. It makes you want to knit more and knit better. Just simply amazing!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Show and Tell, Page 2



The Ribwarmer. Char and I are both working on this one. To say it is quite the task is minumalizing it. Oy and Vey! This one is an adaptation one of the campers did. She added the diamond shape to the back. Meg is hoping the camper can recreate it and then it will be named after her. Wouldn't that just be the coolest, to have a variation named after you? Hmmmm,food for thought!



Another unbelievable sweater. This camper did it from a mouse pad! Do you now understand why one would be intimitated by show and tell? You just cannot imagine the amount of talent in one room. It boggles the mind!


And to think it has been a week since we have been soaking it all in. I'm wishing my life away...for next year. And already worrying about, what if I don't get in?

Friday, July 27, 2007

Show And Tell, page1

Char put it quite well, when you see everything that campers show, it kind of intimidates you. Me, I am in my garter stitch phase, and so I brought my Suspender Sweater. Not nearly as wow, as everything else I saw....but it makes your creative juices flow. Here is today's sampling of Show and Tell.

Here is Jodee in a beautiful shawl in my kind of green. I think the yarn was Kidsilk Haze. If she would have left in laying around, I would have had it in my bag in a New York minute. Well, maybe not, because, that is just not a knitter. Knitters go off and buy the yarn so they can make their own. Okay, so this goes out there on the list to investigate the yarn(at a future date, like in a year)

But of course, I would like this shawl. It has all of my colors and will be the thought process for a future project for me. Can't you just see Elizabeth's Pi Shawl with all the colors of the sea in shetland? Ooh, I can!

Pam in her Mimbres vest. This is on my list to make. Pam sat across from me at camp and was so sweet to worry about us driving home. Aren't knit campers the nicest people!

Oh, no, this is not all of the pictures of Show and Tell. You are going to have to endure a couple more days of Show and Tell. And then there are more Camp stories to be told and pictures from the album to be shown.

After all, it is my blog, you know.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

A Sea of Knitters

That is camp. You can participate as much or as little as you want. You can knit on a project you brought with you. You can buy yarn and start a new one. You can do one of several projects that are in the folder Meg gives you. No matter what you decide to do, you learn something.

And of course, you get to see what everybody else is working on from across the states. It is just amazing the amount of talent that is in one room for one weekend. The ages are varied, the walks of life are different, but yet we all have one common desire that brings us all together.

It is just indescribable, what Camp is all about. You have to experience it. And once you do, you want to do it again. You want the year to go by fast, even though it means one year of your life goes by too. It gives you something to work towards. All three of us from the Radicals came home with a thought of what we want to work on towards next year. Where we want to take our knitting. Who we want to be when we grow up as Linda puts it.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Where Do I Begin?

At the end....here is what is on my table after unpacking from Camp. Doesn't look like a whole heck of alot, but trust me it is. Two buns of Unspun Icelandic. Just add water and they become a sheep. Or add knitting needles and they become 4 or 5 sweaters.
The other yarn is what I took with me. And as you can see, most of it came back with me. Except for the one skein of Gansey in the foreground. I got it to do the Bavarian Twist Hat handout we got at Camp. I, probably should have been knitting on it this weekend, but Char and I decided to work on the RibWarmer.

Pictures of that project will come in the days to come. At the moment, I am working from three different sources on the RibWarmer, and attempting to write my own up as it makes sense to me. I intend on making at least one more of these in the near future, but first am testing it out to see how I like it.

And of course, I had the bestest two campmates - Char and Linda. We had joining rooms, which was so nice, and when we were done camping for the night. I could shut the door, stay up as late as I wanted and get up early if I wanted to. I like having my own room, I have decided.

Back to work tomorrow, I'd rather be getting ready for camp. Isn't that what every camper says? I met some really nice ladies this weekend and hope to see them all again next year. In the days to come, I'll post some pics.

Monday, July 23, 2007

I'm Home~From Camp
I'm unpacked. The dirty clothes are separated and downstairs. All of the makeup and sundries are put away. The suitcase with yarn and books and projects are unpacked and sitting on the table so I can play with them tomorrow.

The knitting bag still needs to be unpacked, which I am going to do shortly.

I have a ton of pictures to look at tomorrow on the camera and will add them to the blog in the next few days along with lots of comments about how nice camp was this year. Even better than last year!

There just seemed to be an awfully lot of nice people at this Camp. Char, Linda and I can hardly wait to go back next year and see some of the same ladies again.

And of course as usual, the Staff at Schoolhouse Press could not be any more accomodating. And Meg, what can one say? What a lady!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Gone Fishin....er Knittin

Be back on Monday Night!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Have You Tried Explaining

Knit Camp? What it is and why you are taking precious vacation time to do it? Some understand after you tell them. Most don't. And alot of them are men, too. So after telling one of the guy's I work with (one of the nicest guys you'll ever know)where I was going (he laughed heartily, not once but twice), I have started telling people I am going fishing. It's much easier!
And if I had the inclination, I'd knit him one of these and take it back to him next week. Because you see, as I am leaving yesterday, he yells at me "catch a big one"! Okay, so maybe he is not the nicest guy you'd ever meet!

But, Knit Camp is tomorrow and I think I only have to explain it to one more person today. After that, I'll be with a group that just understands! I don't have to Go Fishin!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Seriously, Whats Wrong?

I already know, I think. It's the first color pattern, the green, it's just too much. Or maybe the last color motif, too much cream?

So, I will take it to camp with me and rip it out. For my friends who went with me last year, you will recognize this as the same sweater I was working on last year. Only at that time, it was going to be the Norwegian Drop Sleeve Cardigan.

Constructive criticism will be accepted.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Just Sleep Til 9

When the kids were younger, I used to get up really early and knit. It was always nice to wake up to a quiet house. My husband would sleep later then too, and I would drink my coffee and enjoy the quiet of the house.

This morning really reminded me of that. I fell asleep last night on the couch (was just goint to lay there a bit and get cool). When I woke up there this morning, I reverted to all those years back. The first thing I did was make coffee. The second thing was, say a little prayer, just sleep til 9.

They all did not sleep til 9 this morning, but they did sleep long enough that I mastered Emily Ocker's Circular cast on. And so I started this shawl this morning, while watching EZ's Knitting Workshop (the chapter on lace).
It's kind of fun, and I have had a great day getting stuff ready for camp next Thursday.

I can hardly contain myself! It is really going to happen.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

I'm Not Showin Yet

I am to the color work on my round yoke sweater. I have added the green, but I think it is going to take a few more rounds and the rest of the colors in it, to make me really love it. It is my two fav colors.

I have narrowed my Camp Take Along Projects last night.
The Above Cardigan - I am hoping to have it done so I can cut at camp
The Guernsey - it will be a great project just to knit on
The Wedding Shawl - for at alone times only
The Cuff to Cuff - hope to have it to the color work so I can get help
The Russian Prime - just in case I feel the need to work on it
The Pi Shawl - have decided to do it all in garter
And two just take along projects, a scarf and sox

You know I'll be gone for 5 weeks and not 5 days don't cha!

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Eventually

I will stop blogging about getting ready for Camp! Then, you will have to put up with all the post-camp blogs...but until then, ah read or not.

Seriously, this weekend, I am going to map out a plan of what I am actually going to transport to camp to work on and take along just in case. Lately, entirely too much of my time has been spent thinking and not enough doing! So, I am going to get it all thought out and written down, so I can spend the next week and a half (give or take), knitting and NOT thinking.

Sounds like a plan, huh.

Nancy - aren't you just giddy with excitement?

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Two Weeks

Exactly two weeks from today at this very hour, we will be sitting at Knit Camp, knitting and waiting for dinner in an hour. Oy, I can hardly wait!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy 4th of July

Be Safe Today!


And when our little get together is over (mom and aunt have left and the boys have went to work and to their friends house), we are going to get a movie to watch and I'm gonna knit some!

I gotta go back to work tomorrow! But, only two days and then it will be the weekend again. A week and a half later and it is KNIT CAMP 2! All right, now!

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

You Just Would Not Believe








What I have been knitting on these past few days. I'm like a knitting fiend. I flit from project to project, throwing nearly finished ones on the table only to take them off again when it is time to eat.

I've knitted just a bit on the Adult Surprise Jacket. Found some Brown Sheep that I want to get rid of that will do just nicely.

I have been knitting steady (but getting no where) on the cardigan that was going to be a dropped shoulder Norwegian cardigan, but now I am going to use some leftovers from the Babies and Bears Sweater to do a Round Yoke cardigan.

I have re cast on and re cast on the Russian Prime and am now 6 rows into it. I have told myself that I MUST knit 2 rows a day on it. Which means, shut the t.v. off and knit.

I have knitted some on the Cuff to Cuff Sweater.

I have not knit on the Pi Are Square Shawl. I have not knit on any socks. I have not once got on the treadmill or paid attention to what I have been eating. I have surfed the net and read blogs and half listened to podcasts. I have found a couple of sweaters I'd like to make, but have talked myself out of. I have thought knitting, slept knitting and just plain had a ball!

I love being off.

Monday, July 02, 2007

The T.V. Is Off

Normally, I knit by the t.v. But, today is my day, and I shut it off, except for the times I want to look at a Schoolhouse Press DVD for reference. I am working on knitting thngs that require concentration today.....but my mind keeps wandering to other projects. FOCUS, Penny, FOCUS!

You know how it is when you complete a major sweater and then you sit and veg for awhile, trying to decide what you really want to knit on next. Thats me. I am flitting from project to project. No, thats not what I want to knit on, no not that one, put it in the tote for after Knit Camp, or maybe I better take it with me, just in case the bug hits me.

See what I mean! You'd think I'd been drinking caffeine and eating chocolate....hey, that's not a bad idea. No, no, today is the start of another new week for weight watchers, must FOCUS! Off to knit...on something.