theraineysisters knitting and so much more

July 15, 2016

From Susan — Camp in Review

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 11:51 am

Sally, Kim, and I came back from Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp 2.75 on Monday.  I can’t speak for them, but upon returning from Camp I felt completely unplugged!  Dragged about for days.

Camp was great.  I loved seeing my favorite Campers (P, L, H, J, L, B, D, S, etc…you know who you are!!) and listening to Meg wax poetic about knitting.  Amy Detjen was particularly delightful this year. 🙂

I went a little bonkers with my shopping:

The Complete Surprise by Cully Swansen (Meg’s son) takes EZ’s Baby Surprise Jacket to a whole new level.  As one of the few knitters who has never made a BSJ, I hope to do so with the inspiration of this book!  Cully described some details about the book and is presenting in other venues as well.

1 – an array of beauties from Sun Valley Fibers (from left to right: Calligraphy, Coral, Wedgewood, Maverick, Antler, and Cobblestone) in a variety of fibers – I just picked pretty colors!!

2 – sweater quantity in Jamieson Spindrift to make Helsinki by Janine Bajus, a fellow Camper.

Speaking of fellow Campers, we were honored to attend Camp with the extremely talented and prolific designer, Carol Sunday of Sunday Knits.  She was so unassuming and understated she really kept her light under a bushel!!  She had a shawl with her that will be coming out very soon.  I quickly ordered the yarn (her Angelic 5-ply in Moth) and will be starting it ASAP.  S T U N N I N G!!  She had several beautiful designs on her needles so we have much to look forward to!

One of the highlights of Camp is the annual contest.  This year’s theme was “Kniterature: Favorite Book or Movie Character.”  Kim and I both entered.  Kim’s entry was hilarious — she knit a sheep and placed duct tape over its mouth…”Do you hear anything?  Do you hear anything?”  Silence of the Lambs!

The winner was Jane, with a stunning shadow knit of Girl with a Pearl Earring:

Second place was Mary, with a full tilt rendition of The Cat in the Hat:

She goes all out!!  My entry took third.  Those who know me accept the fact that I have a full-blown yet well-founded obsession with Colin Firth, especially in his signature role of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, BBC version, 1995:


The above collage was part of my presentation.  In addition, I made a knitted replica of Darcy, with a little handmade shirt:

He is about ten inches tall – the exact size as Darcy in the poster!  The final touch was that I sprayed his shirt with water — because it is all about the wet shirt!!  😉

The look of horror on the faces of my husband and daughter during the creative process gave me pause, but that did not stop me!!  🙂  John is a little worried about the increased competition in the house!

Sally will share her Camp experiences soon.  She bought a ton of yarn and has some beautiful FOs to share.

PS to Pam — About the hair:  The hair was a lot of work!  In the pattern you start at the top of the head with the hair color and then switch to the face color – it looks like a skull cap.  After you finish the body, you go back and duplicate stitch the part in the hair and all the hair on the back and sides.  By then it looked like the middle picture.  To get the “Firth-Darcy” curls, I soaked yarn in starch and then wrapped it around large knitting needles until dry.  I layered kinked yarn over the entire head and then layered loose curls in the front and along the hair line at the nape.  The picture on the right shows the hair at its best.  It started to droop over time and after I sprayed him a couple of times with water!!

 

11 Comments »

  1. How I love to read your blog entries after Camp! Thanks for sharing the experience many of us dream about but haven’t accomplished- yet! Love your Colin Firth tribute piece. And that shadow knitting project of the Girl with a Pearl Earring is breathtakingly beautiful.

    Comment by Barb — July 15, 2016 @ 12:02 pm

  2. So enjoyed your post about Knit Camp! I just returned from my little Knit Camp experience yesterday about 5:30. Thought I would make it back in time to hear the in-person stories from your Knit Camp but it was not to be. We had lots of rain but who cares when you have knitting to do! Your yarn looks scrumptious! Can’t wait to hear what Sally has to say as well. See you next week!

    Comment by Kathy W. — July 15, 2016 @ 1:21 pm

  3. Camp is fun. Camp for kids. Camp for grownups. Camp for music. Camp for knitting. Camp for….well, there is one for everything now. Thanks for sharing your pics.

    Comment by Mimi — July 15, 2016 @ 3:30 pm

  4. What a wonderful weekend! As always, you all made our camp a special time. I may have some Carol Sunday on the way to me as we speak!

    Comment by Penny — July 15, 2016 @ 7:23 pm

  5. Susan…..I am so glad to hear that you and Sally and Kim had a great time at camp. I think it is the highlight of your year! Loved seeing the photos and narrative of everything. And your purchases were awesome. I am slogging away up here in the Northland. Don’t know when I will get a Thursday night at Panera. Happy knitting! Cathy Rootness

    Comment by Cathy Rootness — July 15, 2016 @ 7:44 pm

  6. Sigh. It sounds so wonderful. I love looking at your purchases, and look forward to seeing Carol Sunday’s shawl. I’d hoped next year would be the start of a camp tradition for me, but Madagascar is calling (DD is there with the Peace Corps.

    Comment by Susan — July 15, 2016 @ 7:55 pm

  7. What I want to know (about your Mr. Darcy) is — the hair — how did you manage the messy but fetching effect?

    Thanks for the camp update & sharing Mr. Firth-Darcy with us!

    Comment by Pam — July 16, 2016 @ 3:31 am

  8. I’m so envious – had to miss this year, but will be back next year – great to see photos.

    Comment by Pippa Jones — July 16, 2016 @ 11:04 am

  9. This post is so inspiring. Love the camp tales and found a new yarn to add to my stash-Sun Valley fibers! The creativity for the competition was fun to see. Thanks for sharing

    Comment by Robin F. — July 16, 2016 @ 11:11 am

  10. Love your Darcy doll! Very accurate representation!

    Comment by Misty — July 20, 2016 @ 7:22 am

  11. Susan, I too have felt “unplugged” since camp…but only ll more months before we can do it again. I thought that you would have a difficult time outdoing your 2015 contest entry, but…who can compare with Mr. Darcy???

    Brava!

    Comment by Marilyn — July 25, 2016 @ 9:28 am

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