Knit Camp 1: the Knitters

So - after a huge hiatus with only book reviews on the blog, I'm back from Knit Camp in Stirling, with photos. Not as many photos as a really conscientious blogger would take, but actually there was sort of a convention that taking pictures in classes was probably not that sociable, so I didn't have my camera with me at all times.

Lots has been said on Ravelry about Knit Camp; and while there's been a lot of wild speculation in some corners, a lot of the tales of chaos were undoubtedly true, most obviously and spectacularly the failure to obtain work permits for the non-EU tutors before they arrived, which led to one tutor being returned unceremoniously to the States and one speaker/author spending an unscheduled few days with family in the Netherlands.

Having had many changes and cancellations before I set off, on the Monday I found myself travelling up to Stirling with no notion of whether I'd have any classes at all before Friday when I had my one UK tutor. I was not, let's say, in the best frame of mind, and my packing suffered as a result! However, when we got there we found that although the seven affected tutors wouldn't be able to teach on Tuesday, things should be straight again on Wednesday, and total disaster was averted...

There was a lot of disorganisation; things were definitely skin-of-the-teeth close in terms of yarn arriving half an hour into classes in the nick of time for being used, tutors not having enough copies of handouts because of last-minute rearrangements, some participants (including me) never getting hold of a copy of the revised running order, etc.

The tutors themselves, however, whether they'd been affected by the immigration situation or not, squared their shoulders, picked up their needles and just got on with it, despite on very many occasions not being sure how many students they should have in their class even at start time.

And really: I had a very, very good week. It wasn't at all the week I expected when I booked, but I did uniformly superb classes with some very professional tutors at the top of their game, and enjoyed the outings, trips, knitting and nattering, and the marketplace. I'll do some posts on Stirling, Loch Katrine, New Lanark and the campus later.

Here though, just some general pictures of the best thing about the event: the Knitters. Like the tutors, the Knitters just picked up their pointy sticks and got on with it. There were two alternative slogans I'd heard for this - the first was Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises"; the second was a Rav post just before I left on Monday morning, the more prosaic "If it all goes tits up, we'll be down the pub". Either could have made T-shirts for the week, honestly. Maybe you could have had one slogan on the front and one on the back.

So: I present to you (click to embiggen)...

There were knitters in Clapotis. Many, many knitters in Clapotis. About 150, at a rough estimate and based on the numbers for the event. Never have so many Clapotis been seen in one place... There was also a yarn swap...

There were knitters in pub quiz teams. We (the Sinisters) came second, and won a costume prize for Kath's wonderful T-shirts (we were, needless to say, the left-handers' team). Left to right (Ravelry names in brackets afterwards):

Gretchen (gretchenroth), Rosie (MrsMaddog), Lucy (cardifflucy), Jane (JaneKAL), Kath (Kathj), Ann (AnnKingstone) and me (greensideknits).


There were knitters at World Heritage Sites....

... knitters messing about on or near boats (yes, that's Norah Gaughan in the foreground)...

... knitters at breakfast...

... and more knitters at breakfast... the number of handmade garments, shawls etc. was inspiring!

There were knitters at Marketplace (this is as it was closing down on Friday night, when I could get an unencumbered shot!)...

... including new stallholders Abstract Cat Crafts (who got all that lot to Stirling from Bathgate on public transport)

and The Sulky Cat (ditto, but from Leeds). More from both when I do my stash roundup in a few days' time!

There were old friends. Ellen (Ravelry name unknown) was there - I think we last bumped into each other at an I Knit event a couple of years ago, but we know each other from SkipNorth and its predecessor event in 2004! I also sat next to the lady on the left on the way to Loch Katrine, but have completely forgotten her name. Apologies; you probably won't be reading this but hope you had a good time in Glasgow.

Also from SkipNorth, the lovely Isabella aka spinningfishwife who I see has just blogged the Marketplace - she's local and was here for the day. Sorry it's such a rotten photo - I was wandering around with my camera round my neck and had managed to knock the focus from Auto to Manual and not notice...

And for the trifecta, the inimitable Woolly Wormhead, Hat designer extraordinaire and all-round good egg. Here, she's desperately trying to scoff a salad between her morning teaching and her afternoon marketplace duty. A nice person obviously wouldn't have pointed a camera at her at that point, but I'm me, and it had to be done...

... and here she is somewhate later, trying on an amazing mediaeval hat/scarf/cowl/headwear thing belonging to the couple from The Mulberry Dyer.

There were new friends too - Kel (tootsie2121) and Nic (talesfromthe plain) attempt, and record, Portuguese knitting with a knitting brooch

Barbara (babalor) reads while waiting for her coach onward to Shetland. Barbara and I had an International Snack Exchange going which turned, as these things do, into an International Yarn Exchange as well.

Here are the snacks - I've been wondering about Triscuits since they turned up on the 5th episode of The West Wing and they are very delicious, it turns out - halfway between cream crackers and salty Shredded Wheat... Underneath my room key there are also two little boxes of chocolate sprinkles from the Netherlands...

Because of my room number and the Triscuits, I mentally named this picture Triscuitdekaphobia. (Sorry).

More Shetland knitters - on the left is Jude (meherbie) and on the right Lydia (lydiajensen), and I know the lady to the left of Lydia is her sister Trudy, but after that I get a bit lost...

Anyway, yes. Thanks to the knitters and spinners and designers and tutors and all-round good people who were there this week. It was brilliant to meet you and I'm sorry I didn't take more photos.

More posts coming soon.