Camp Knitty HA Ha!

Like I said earlier, by now Camp Knitty ha Ha has been well-covered in the Blogosphere, but I will attempt a rendition of my own.

As in past years, we were broken into tribes. I was in the Peekytoes; there were also Fiddlers, Hermits and hmmm...one other I can't think of offhand! This year due to Rosario Resort on Orcas Island being closed, our venue was moved to Port Ludlow Resort, a bit further southwest and more conveniently accessed with road access from the south and a more frequent ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. As always, Tina did an awesome job finding a perfect venue! No underwater knitting competitions as in the past, but jacuzzi tubs in all the Inn rooms!

The Inn at Port Ludlow Resort

Lil' Emp actually prefers Orcas Island because, "it's an ISLAND..." I suggested it may have seemed more like an island had we ferried in from Seattle, but he said, "No. You can get there by a bridge. ISLANDS don't have BRIDGES." 8 yos have quite the wit and reason about them, don't they? Not as easily fooled, but still easily satisfied.


By adult standards, I think the campers were happier at Port Ludlow Resort given the cell phone availability, internet access and the AWESOME food-not to mention the daily happy hour!

Who (but my WW leader) would oppose two three HOT meals a day and two desserts per day? The nice thing, too, is that our Vegetarian campers didn't have to go hungry! Or at least sustain themselves on bread, cheese and salad.

Our usual evening reception got us pumped up for camp, and the next few days were GO, GO, GO! Sadly there was no Cookie A class this year, but we did have Nathania back helping out and leading a yoga class (that I somehow never was prepared to attend and didn't!) Don't get me wrong, the times I've done yoga in the past, I've enjoyed it. But I have to do it on my terms, which means: comfy stretch pants and a soft, wireless bra! Oh-and the camp store can NOT be open with newly-released camp colors available in limited quantities! My rules.

About the Shop:
Rumor had it that a couple of boxes were left behind and to be expected later. I held out and only purchased a couple of STR the first night. An added surprise was that Tina had a bunch of her old spindles out for sale. I scored an Avi Wasserman spindle! Special as it is that it was once Tina's, I've brought it home and spun with it and have decided that (for me, at least), it is prettier than functional. It just doesn't spin the way my Bosworth does. But...being the Spindling Idiot I am, it could just be the lighter weight and perhaps I need to spin my merino silk or other light, thin stuff on this spindle.

So...Tina had posted on her blog, soliciting colorway suggestions to dye for camp. Then she followed up and mentioned that she would be bringing some NEW colorways! I only purchased one of the new colorways, "Beached". I think Nartian scored just about all of them (well, except for maybe Crabby McHappypants), so if you want to see them, she's got them over at her blog. I regret not getting The Claw. Plankton Ooze, Scum Bubbles and Crabby McHappypants were other new colors.

The Classes:
As always, the classes were incredible! Cat taught yet ANOTHER "Sockitecture" which will be the subject of her next book she is hoping to have ready by Sock Summit in August. Cat is such an amazing person-so many ideas and it never stops! She already has her next book stewing, too! As a little bonus, she shared with us a stretchy bind-off she learned.

My tribe had Tina the next day for Dying. Could everyone have been in sheer heaven from getting to dye with the Depraved Dyer, herself? We shared our color preferences and got to explore them on yarn. We learned about Tina's inspirations and approach to dying. Mostly, we learned there is a heck of alot about translating color to yarn in a meaningful way. Lots of trial and error and work in keeping track of it all to recreate later. We only scratched the surface. Tossing dyes onto yarn is easy; making it translate into something specific and being able to repeat it? Entirely different.

Look what Nartian dyed!

JC did a phenomenol job in teaching us various bind-offs. Not just teaching various ones, but categorizing and explaining the role of a bind-off and why certain methods work more for specific type projects depending on what you want your finished result to be. JC covered alot of grounds and is so thorough!

Then...there was Yarn Harlot Stephanie. "Knitting for Speed and Efficiency". She offered many interesting tidbits about knitting, as well as societal influences on how we knit now and before. This segued into her conclusion that "Lever Knitting" or "Irish Cottage Knitting" is the most efficient and proceeded to teach us this method. Of course, I think most of us left that class wanting to pull out our straight needles or regretting getting rid of them all! I'm definitely planning on conquering this style of knitting in the future!

Crafts:

Cockeyed never lets us down and this year, it was all about "Joe's Crab Sack"!



There is so much to report! I have separated my entries and will continue next time. Next up? Homework. Camp Antics. Crafts. Rumors...and MORE...!