The child's
Swirl Yoke Sweater was optional homework for camp. I'm so glad that I started it at home because I really needed help at camp! I would have given up on my own.
I knit up to the armholes at home. The sleeves knit up quickly at camp, but I could not figure out how to get them onto the circular needle without help. The swirl pattern confused me, too, but a camper helped me with that.
Then there is the
Pelerine shawl. This is something I would never have appreciated if I had not gone to camp. Pictures simply don't do it justice. Nor can a photo convey the lofty loveliness of unspun Icelandic yarn.
Yes, it is scratchy stuff, but this shawl will be perfect for winter, when it won't touch my skin. I love the history of this yarn: The Vikings brought these sheep to Iceland about 1100 A.D. and the sheep lineage has been kept pure. When you knit with this yarn, you are using the same fiber that the Vikings did! How cool is that?
Unspun Icelandic is carded, but not spun. Instead, it is peeled into strips and wound into "plates." The tables of plates for sale at camp were downright delicious! It is a bit fragile, but you can spit-felt it back together quite easily, which makes colors changes a snap -- and eliminates tails that must be woven in later.
John Green's
Paper Towns was my bedtime reading at camp.
I wanted to read it before the movie comes out. You may recognize Green as the author of the best-selling book (and movie),
The Fault in Our Stars. Like
Stars,
Paper Towns is well-written with witty dialogue and a well-planned plot. It mulls over some pretty heavy philosophy, too (in a good way). It wasn't quite as good as
Stars, but if you want more John Green, pick up this one.
I'm joining up with
Keep Calm Craft On and
Yarn Along. See you there!
