There are two kinds of Camping Knits — the kind you wear while camping and the kind you knit while camping.  On our family camping trip last weekend, my granddaughters Evelyn and Coco wore the hats I had knit for them last winter (evenings and mornings are cool in the Pacific NW — even in summer!).  I had asked my grandkids to choose yarn hues — and had them pick color-work designs from Andrea Rangel’s super cool book Alterknit; Stitch Dictionary.  

I have a particular Q’mitl that I always bring camping — it is forest-y colored and thick and indestructible and cozy.  It makes its yearly trek out to a campground, gets good wear (cool evenings, cool mornings), then goes home to get the smokiness washed out and snuggle back into a drawer.  It is something of a tradition for me.

Sarah and I had brought our Camping Knitting projects 🙂 These particular projects have also become something of a camping tradition — as we started them 4 years ago and have faithfully brought them along to each camping expedition (and a few beaching days) since then.  We had ordered the yarn for that camping trip 4 years ago — but it didn’t arrive in time (we were tracking the order as we were loading up to leave!).  So, they got started post-camping — but they are still our Camping Knitting.  The pattern is “Ribbon Wrap” from illitilli.  They are garter stitch (knit row followed by knit row) with some straightforward striping and basic increases and decreases.  Simple, but just a little bit interesting to knit.

And now, after all this time, it is nearly done!  It is made in two sections that are joined with grafting.  And today (post-camping), I started the grafting — which is really more sewing than knitting and requires more attention than I am willing to give while sitting around the campfire drinking a beer — today at home.  Out on my deck in 95 degrees!  Yep, that was me — a big wooly shawl on my lap!  Well, I admit that I didn’t last outside too long (much as I love deck knitting!).  But I hope to get the grafting and the end-weaving-in done today or tomorrow.  This shawl has a beach vacation coming up!