We had a great time in knitting class!

Just wait until you see how it all turned out!

We had our first finished project for this week of camp!

It is always such a thrill to cut your first project off the loom!!

I make sure that the warp is long enough to make a scarf that will wrap around the neck and keep them warm.  Isn't this such a nice scarf?

All of the campers are super excited each day when they come to camp.  They start their weaving right away.

Our resident furry "helper".  Notice that her leg is actually THROUGH the warp.

Of course Tux knows that if she is being cute, she will get lots of love from our students :o)

The first thing the campers did at snack was to check out their yarn.  I asked them to eat before they took the yarns out.

After snack the chickens had to be played with for a bit.

This chick really loves this camper.  He's the only one she will sit on quietly.

Now we were able to see exactly how our yarn hanks turned out.

We had to wring them out a little so they would dry faster.

Here they all are, just drying in the sun this afternoon.  Tomorrow our campers will wind these into balls and weave with them if they choose.

Another camper is almost done with her scarf.  Here she is learning how to use the hem stitch in order to get a really nice finish.

Today was our first day of weaving camp this week.  It's always fun to see new weaving students learning and enjoying themselves at the loom.

It's also great fun to have students come back for another session.  This time I created an Intermediate Weaving Sampler Pattern for two repeat campers.

We worked hard for the first half of camp and then took a short break to eat snack and play with the chickens.

After our break we  dyed some yarn.  This time we made dye baths with food coloring.

Each camper filled three jars with water and chose their food color for each one.  Then they placed each end of the hank of yarn into one of the jars and the middle of the hank into the middle jar.

It's fun to see which colors each camper chooses.

It will be even more fun to see how the yarns turn out!

A friend of mine gave me some of her left over yarn.  Isn't it so pretty?!

Well most of the campers felt the same way and wanted to use it in their weaving.  This yarn weaves up so nicely!

Gift yarn getting ready to be used as weft.

See how pretty it looks in this project?!  LOVE IT!  Thanks so much, Margaret!

We had such a blast today at camp!!  First we started out with our knitting and made great progress on our projects.

This is what our work table looks like after a morning of hard work :o)

We took a small snack break at the half way point.

And of course the chicks had to come out to play!  After our short break we went straight out to prepare our yarn for dyeing.

Should we gently set our yarn in the water, or should we just drop it in?

Making sure the yarn is completely wet.

Make sure the yarn is not dripping but just damp.

More students preparing their yarn for dyeing.

They carefully spoon dye onto the yarn in the places that they want it.  Notice the ultra snazzy aprons they are wearing to protect their clothes!

After dyeing yarn, the campers worked more on their pin weaving and on their knitting.  Tomorrow should see some completed projects!

Take a look at the beautiful things our students are making!

A few campers finished their weaving this morning and started the finishing process.  Here this student is learning how to hem stitch.

This student completed all her finish work and then decided to sew her scarf in half to turn it into a skinny scarf.

Isn't this scarf lovely?!

The same student immediately wanted to start her next project.  She picked her warp and started measuring it out.

Another student finished all her weaving and started the hem stitching.

More hem stitching.  These students should be so proud of themselves!

Of course we had break time and our new baby chicks were enjoying some play time.

Back to work and the measuring of the warp was finished, then it was wound onto the back beam. Now it is time to thread the heddle.

This scarf is just about done!!  Tomorrow the weaving will be completed and the finish work will start.

After break, we took our dyed yarn and started winding it into balls.

This is what it looks like after it has been dyed but before we wind it.

Don't you just love how different each one turned out?

After finishing the scarf, it was time to start a new project.  So it was time to learn how to measure warp.

The first warp is all tied on and the waste yarn has been woven.  New weft yarn has been chosen and the real weaving will begin tomorrow.  Can't wait to see what these campers will be up to tomorrow morning.

I always love the first day of a camp where students meet each other and they begin learning a new fun skill!!  None of the campers (except for one) had ever done any weaving before today.

But they all took to it very quickly.  In this picture, you see two of the students weaving with waste yarn.  We always start a project with waste yarn and soon move into the more fun and colorful yarns.

All of the campers got quite far on their scarves today.

After break time today, we learned how to dye yarn.  They had all different colors to choose from and it will be so fun to see what their yarn looks like when it is dry.

Don't you just love those stylish aprons?!!  They have to wear aprons because the dye will stain clothing.  I made these out of trash bags :o)

Look at that bright, yummy yarn!  I really like the contrast with the dark colored warp.

One of our students finished weaving her scarf today.  Woo Hoo!!  She hem stitched and finished the other end and now she just needs to finish up this end.  Tomorrow she will learn to warp and also learn some specialty stitches along with some beading if she wishes.

Camp today went so well!  The campers really got into weaving whole heartedly!

Here we are just learning how to use the shuttle and adjust the heddle reed.

It didn't take very long for everyone to understand what to do and boy did they take off!  They were adding colors and textures - these projects are going to be so beautiful!

Of course we had to dye more yarn.

By the end of camp today, all the campers had a fair amount completed.

     

I just love all the different colors each camper has chosen!

This is the second week of Crochet Camp for Let's Go Crafting and we have a whole new group of enthusiastic new crocheters.  All but one were brand new to crocheting this morning.  But by the end of our three hours they were doing great!

There was such a lot of great work going on today!

Fun yarn, a new skill, what could be better?

This camper already knew how to crochet, but she learned a better way to hold her yarn and hook so that her next projects will be easier to complete.

The first boy crochet camper!

This is such a great time for the campers!  They make new friendships and bond together.

We dyed yarn again this week because the campers really love this activity.  We soak the yarn first because the wet yarn takes up the dye better.

Every single camper finished their shoelaces today!!  What a great day at camp!

Boy, we had a lot of fun this past week!!  Lots of knitting was done and new friendships were forged.  Knitting always seems to bring people together, both kids and adults.One of the camper's favorite places to knit is around the kitchen table.  They knit and chat and laugh and have a great time.Another favorite place was on the couch.However, knitting outside was their very favorite place to knit.  Unfortunately, the first two days of this past week saw rain and we had to stay inside.  Thankfully, by Wednesday, things had cleared up and we were outside again!The abilities of our campers was also varied.  We had campers who were brand new to knitting and...Knitters who had been with us for awhile.  This camper made a vest for her bear.  The bear she had made during knitting class after school during the year.Isn't that vest so cute?!!  It fits her bear perfectly and look at that great knitted fabric - job well done!!Such concentration!During camp this week, we learned how to dye our yarn!  See those extremely fancy garbage bag aprons?We placed the yarn on a plastic wrapped paper plate and used spoons to get the dye in just the right place.Each hank of yarn was unique and beautiful.Lots of very vibrant colors.Then back to their knitting!Proud of progress!Having so much fun!This camper finished her wrist warmers in a day and a half!  Then she started a scarf.   Amazing!Her first knitted project and it looks fabulous.  Such a lovely bag!  This camper went on to knit several cat toys to donate to our local animal shelter.Meet Stella Stuffmore, the name given to this monster bag knitted by this extremely creative camper.Gotta love that colorful yarn!  Isn't Stella Stuffmore cute?This camper is entering 2nd grade in the fall and completed these wrist warmers before the end of the week.  Her knitting improved so much and I am so proud of her!!  Now she is working on a stuffed toy.More wrist warmers - a very nice first project for this camper.A mini-monster stuffed with beans and with an embroidered face.  So cute.Her very first knitted project - VERY nice!Octopus dolls.  These are so fun to make.Another octopus doll in the works!Not only did this camper finish her wrist warmers (her first ever knitted project), but she made this little phone holder for her phone.A very mini octopus.  I have to say, I think this is the cutest!Another set of wrist warmers made by an entering 2nd grader.  That is a lot of knitting for a 2nd grader!!