What to Knit While You're Camping

Turns out this summer has brought a lot of special events (like 50th birthday parties) (not mine!) and life changes (like a new job) and I haven't been able to knit like I usually do. I'm really hoping this will sort itself out soon and I'll be back to old form but meanwhile I'm keeping it simple (and small) over the summer.

When I was packing for a camping trip in Ontario last week, I was looking forward to hours and hours of driving time in which to knit. First thing I worked on was the Belinda shawl--the one item I was determined not to take. I mean who takes a mohair shawl on a camping trip? But, remember, I was very determined to finish it as well, and was so close I couldn't help but throw it in the car. I finished it in the first couple hours of driving. (Yeah!) I got it blocking tonight and will write more on that later this week. (That's the plan.)

The next thing I packed to take was the cotton cloth project I've been working on this summer. I don't think I've written of it yet, but it was something I decided to do over the summer. (Part of the "keeping it simple" plan.)

I've raveled cotton three sweaters: a powder blue, a soft lavender and a perfect red. The blue and lavender look lovely together and I've knit several designs based on a maple leaf:

To make the pattern I figured out what my gauge was and that I wanted the cloth to be 45 stitches by 60 rows. Then I overlayed a clipart of a maple leaf over a square grid representing that gauge. I then transformed the smooth lines of the clipart to "blocky lines" on the grid. After knitting the first leaf, I made a few changes to adjust for "real world" knitting and am pretty happy with the result now.

I'll be playing with some bleach on these blocks when I have enough to work with. If I like them, they may turn into a blanket or wall art; if I don't like them, they may become wash clothes or dishrags!

At the campout itself, I worked on some solid stocking stitch squares. The plan is to bleach the maple leaf onto these ones. And they were ideal for knitting outside as I didn't have to follow a chart. Nice and easy.

Being cotton was a good thing too, as I can wash out the campfire smoke smell!

On the way home, I finished the plain squares and I realized I left my charts at the campsite and couldn't make any more maple leaves.

So I cast on the last project I brought with me. Another pair of hat-heel socks out of a bright fuschia yarn:

I left this pattern with my charts so I didn't get very far. (Ok, so yes this is my third time, but I don't have it memorized yet!) About this time, Troy asked me to drive so it worked out alright anyway.

And now I've been home for two days and haven't knit a stitch. Not good!