The long and winding yarn

Ben came up over the weekend to ride with Jim.  Good exercise and a fun time together.

I finished the Sinopia shawlette from Curls.  I confess to a bit of whining during the process.  I found the chart difficult to read.  I prefer uncluttered charts for knitting.  Checking through  my books I could see the difference.

This was a great one skein project.  Baah Aspen was lovely yarn to work with and the color is just gorgeous.  

I pulled the points down to give the edge a nice shape.

Comparing the symbolcraft in this chart to the others below, notice the long vertical lines representing the k on rs/p on ws blends in with the grid lines.  

The smaller vertical lines fit into the grid and the horizontal dashes are bold making this easier to read.

The easiest chart for me to read has blank grid squares for the k on rs/p on ws.  

On Sunday I took the sock blank dyeing class at Anoka Fiber Works.  Carole and her son from Rocking Horse Farm in St. Cloud taught the class.  Since I rarely knit socks the stripes did not appeal to me so I chose a free form approach.  It was fun!

Everybody had fun experimenting.  (Photo from Rocking Horse Farm)

Distinctive striping and dragon scales.  

I opted to go freestyle with vertical stripes so the color would be more random.

I did the second one before class ended.  I used leftover colors.  I was happy to have lots of green!

I purposely did not allow the color to saturate the scribbly blank because I wanted more of the white to show.  

The two strands separated easily while winding one on the ball winder and the other by hand.  

I love this one!  Lots of green with white peeking through.

All wound and ready to knit.  I wound the skeins so opposite ends would show.  

24

Ben turned 24 years old yesterday.  I remember the day well, although from about 11:30 pm (German time) the memories are a bit fuzzy.  I am so proud of the man he has become.  I took a cake to his office and then we went to Mort's for lunch.  It was nice to spend time with him ON his birthday.  When he was in college this time period was for finals, so he spent his birthdays in the library studying.  It was good to see him and talk over a nice lunch.

Ben loved my little green chair.  Such a dear little fellow that has grown into a wonderful man.

I was finishing Pigment last night and ran out of the main color!  Arrrgh!  That is frustrating.  The scarf looks great.  I will get another skein, as I am not going to frog the project and re-knit it.  Today before class I want to have the small sample of double-knitting and the illusion circle finished.  Ambitious, but doable! Sample knitting is a constant to prepare for upcoming classes.  My personal projects are waiting...and waiting...

Pigment, color, easy stitching, a bit of shape--what's not to love?

Happy camper!

I must say I have been a happy camper over the last month!  A couple of weeks ago I was a participant in the Philmont Leadership Challenge in New Mexico.  It was an amazing course not to mention being held at Philmont Scout Ranch!

Pack line ready to go.  My pack is in the middle.
Big Agnes (my tent) is on the bottom, sleeping mat,
fleece jacket, camp shoes, and camp chair are on the
outside.  The pack weighed in at 28.5 pounds fully loaded.

Morning tour of Villa Philmonte

Deer on the lawn

Rocky Mountain Scout Camp in the area of that...

Igneous intrusion of dacite porphyry--the Tooth of Time!

Trail meals!

Entrance to camp--the parade field
where we met each morning.

Note two of the twelve points of the Scout Law.

Crew lead for my midweek birthday!

Hike on!

Lover's Leap

Morning "stampede"--it was more like a stroll.

Leaves changing

Urraca Crew in front of Urraca Mesa after our conservation project.

Our campsite at Lover's Leap Camp.

View from the Red Roof Inn.

Hike on!

Return hike to RMSC

Our last full day we went into Cimarron
and had lunch at the St. James Hotel.

There are bullet holes in the tin ceiling from the old days!

A trip to Cimarron is not complete without a
visit to the Art Gallery and some ice cream.

Leaving Philmont we stopped to take photos of the buffalo herd.

Last weekend, after being home a few days, I went through the Order of the Arrow Ordeal.  It is the BSA's honor society with a focus on brotherhood of cheerful service.  Camp Ajawah was glorious, as the trees were at peak color.  Our overnight under the stars did not disappoint--a full moon and clear skies.

Ben set up his old Voyageur tent at Conclave.

A splash of color on the maple leaves.

Mary and I take a break from cleaning
the basement of the mess hall.

We (Ordeal candidates) were in the no talking mode for a full day.

Since I am still on "Philmont time," it feels as though I am running a bit behind on some projects.  Coming up this week is my advanced technique class at The Shepherdess.  I came up with a quick to knit project that is easily adjusted to the student's preferred size for a cup cozy using advanced knitting techniques.  It can be knitted with multiple colors or in a solid color.  The checkerboard pattern can be done with knits and purls instead of stranding the color.  The second project has a steek and will be partially finished in time for class.  I am tweaking the pattern to make sure it is correct.
09.10.12  I finished the pattern for the other advanced technique project.

Cutting the steek

Camp Mug Sweater with buttons.

Make it Monkey hat.  This one is ready for winter!

Class Name: ADVANCED KNITTING

Class Dates: Thursdays, October 11, 18, and 25

Class Times: 6 pm to 8 pm

Instructor: Deborah Coder

Difficulty: Advanced

Pattern Name or Location: Pattern provided

Class Price: $36.00 Class Location: Red Table

Class Size: 6

Other Information: This is a series of classes (3, 2-hour sessions) for advanced knitting techniques. The first session includes Project Planning and the last session includes Finishing Touches. In between planning and finishing, students will work on small projects that can be completed in a relatively short time period.  

The sample fits my Eagle camping mug perfectly!

Cue the Elgar...

Yes, it is that time of year.  Ben graduated on Sunday, the 21st of May.  Jim and I drove to Kenosha on Thursday and started to pack some of his things.  All the seniors had to be out of their rooms after graduation.  It was tight, but we did it!

The weather was great while we were there.  Just the threat of a thunderstorm on Sunday.  Luckily the rain held off and we were able to get good photographs.

As a proud parent I will now take time to brag--Ben graduated Magna Cum Laude with all-college honors, and with departmental honors in Political Science.  The Baccalaureate service was really good.  The organist was a former student and amazing.  The college choir and gospel choir along with a small orchestra performed a piece of music written especially for President Campbell and Carthage.

I did a drawing of President Campbell with Ben and Eric in their red jackets (I'll tell the story in another post).  Jim and I stopped at Hobby Lobby, found a red mat, and a frame for it.  I did not have to mount it, as the framing department did the mounting and added a backing and hanger for a small fee.  Ben presented it to President Campbell at the senior dinner.  I received a lovely note from  President Campbell today.

I was able to do quite a bit of knitting while we were there because there was some down time until graduation.  Ben leaves for Philmont in New Mexico soon and will spend the summer as a second year Ranger.  He will be able to request Jim's crew, so it is a fitting way to come full-circle in Scouting.

Proud mom!

High five for Abe!

Many hours were spent here.

Ben at the Baccalaureate ceremony.

President and Mrs. Campbell with Ben.

It was nice to see the banner before it is even dedicated.

Squeezed in tightly.

Now on to the current knitting projects.  Picking up the Kauni yarns again, I finally got the hang of the Paintbox Scarf double knitting technique of reverse stockinette stitching.  Lucy Neatby, the designer has a good video on youtube.  The scarf is now progressing through its colors.

Ben was busy the day we came to Kenosha, so Jim and I drove around.  We stopped by (Jim stayed in the car) Fiddlehead Yarns.  It is always a treat to go into the small shop.  The atmosphere is very nice and the selection of yarn is wonderful.  Normally I pass by sock yarn unless color catches my eye.  There was some Opal sock yarn that caught my eye!  There were only four skeins, but the colors were beautiful.  Opal made a line based on some of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings.  I chose The Restaurant de la Sirene at Asnieres (#5437).

Painting by Vincent Van Gogh.

Colorway by Opal--The actual colors of
the yarn are exactly like the painting.
The photo does not reflect the warmth
of the colors.

New Box of Crayons (Paintbox Scarf)