oh, the places you’ll go

we are keeping up such a hectic pace at sock camp that i’ve barely had time to check my email, much less write a blog post (honestly, i never even know what day it is . . .). but today i got up extra-early to squeeze it in, because i have so much to share.

i arrived in port ludlow on wednesday for a day of R&R before camp began. my dear friend karolyn (yes, the famous karolyn, test knitter extraordinaire) came to the inn to meet me for lunch and an afternoon of knitting

look at her in her sprossling sweater; isn’t she gorgeous? after a delectable meal, we sat in front of the fire to knit and talk for a couple of hours; it was wonderful.

karolyn brought along a bag full of finished shawls so i could see them in person—since we live so fr apart, this was a real treat for me; she’s an awesome knitter with very good taste.

i worked on my twinings stole and got several more repeats done; it’s starting to grow (of course, ive barely glanced at it since∏—there’s hardly any time to actually knit at camp).

on the plane over, i also worked a bunch on my little campanula cashmere scarf

and it’s also gotten to a respectable length now. i have a feeling that these two pieces won’t see much action til i’m back on the planes home, but then i’m going to spring fling afterward, so maybe then, too.

anyway, it was so good to see you karolyn; thanks for making the trip to visit with me!

there’s not much to say about that evening; i decided to take an hour-long nap and woke up seven hours later at 1 am, completely rested and ready to go.

go where?? nothing to do at that point but knit and listen to a great book (which was really, really good and which i finished).

so i motored along on my cabled sock til it got light enough outside to take a walk. i got it past the heel and gusset shaping and everything was seeming to go well with it at this point, but as you will find out later, there was trouble brewing in paradise.

at this point, i was still under the impression that i’d be getting TONS of knitting done at sock camp, heh.

once the sun was up, i started out for a walk, deciding to take one of the wooded trails near the inn

don’t let that paved stretch fool you; i soon came to a fork in the road and chose the direction that had a soft undulating surface underfoot—which was totally the right thing to do

the pacific northwest is a rainy, damp, and cool environment and the woods are full of the most fantastical mossy sculptures

and these are just a few i captured with my iPhone camera.

it’s even hanging from the finest branches.

oh, and there’s all manner of lichen too—it’s everywhere, crawling up tree trunks, latching onto logs, encrusting rocks. just take a look at these amazing ruffles, worthy of a queen

i’ve been on several early-morning walks since i got here, each one in a different direction. i’ve been trying to get to “the falls” each time, but so far, have managed to get off course every day and haven’t seen those yet—i’m starting to think i’m destined not to see them. but, maybe later today.

around noon on thursday, my lovely roommate arrived

yes, that’s sivia harding—i get to share a cottage with her, isn’t that awesome?? we are getting on in grand style too, having good talks and lots of fun. someone told us last night we seem like sisters that made me feel really good.

we knitted for a while in the afternoon while we rested up for the days ahead. i worked some more on my sock

and finally had it long enough to try on. ooops.
remember last week when i ripped it out and resized it? well, now it was perfect on the foot, but the leg is still way to tight to pull comfortably over the heel. dang it.
i think i’m going to have to reconsider this design completely. it’s in timeout right now . . . after all, there’s enough yarn here to distract me from it; i’m sure i’ll find something to knit a sock with . . .

the campers started arriving later in the afternoon and that’s when the antics began

we had a lovely evening get-together with yummy appetizers (the food here is out o this world—the array of dishes from local producers are simply amazing)

this is maria. and that’s maria’s caricia shawl. maria knits a lot of knitspot patterns and she has a different shawl for every day and man, are they lovely. i’m so flattered; i can hardly speak.

she’s holding out though—she has a finished pine and ivy shawl that she’s saving for the last day of camp and i’m just itching to see it.

we had a few announcements and a little getting-to-know-you activity and then we all headed off to get ready for the first full day of camp. this year’s theme is a suessian one . . . you can imagine the depths to which we plunge into that one . . .

the next day we had our first class. these are my class materials packets—aren’t they yummy looking? this is what you can make with one of these

it’s a swatch—you know how i love swatching? well, i’m spreading the love; i’ve got my classes swatching like mad. i figure, as long as i have them captive, i may as well exert my influence, right??

they seem willing enough though—just look at them go.
i was a little nervous the first day, but since then, my sessions have been going swimmingly.

in the afternoon, we had craft activities. that day we made our own little suessian creatures from orphan socks.

tina read us dr suess stories (extremely well, i might add) as we worked.
the room was awash in feathers, pom-poms, pipe cleaners and fluff of all sorts. but it was SO worth it

everyone got into the spirit of it and some amazing creatures were born.

this is my purple thatched hatch-a-batch—i love crafts.
after crafts, the store was open for a little bit and i’m afraid i succumbed at the mill ends rack. i found a beautiful skein of yarn i could not let go of and decided it would do to console me for my cabled sock failure

isn’t it lovely?
i will rework the cabled sock as soon as i have time to rip it back and start over; i still love that yarn too and the fabric it makes is incredible. it will be a good project to take to spring fling.

yesterday we had another class and more afternoon crafts, but the highlight of the day for me was the evening program—talent show and group storytelling

complete with the perfect hats, provided by debbie. they were an unexpectedly HUGE hit with everyone.

just awesome debbie—great choice.

and with that, i think i have to end now—time to run to breakfast. i won’t be proofing this post even, so please forgive my typos that are sure to be here.

i’ll try to be back before i leave, but you know, they keep me very busy here.