I was at Meg Swansen's Retreat 2.75 last weekend. What a feast for the eyes, the brain, and the spirit! It is like a giant family reunion because many of us have been coming for so long. Of course not everyone is there every year and there are always new people to welcome into the family but that is exactly the way family reunions work.
I took a lot of pictures this year, which is very unlike me. Usually I forget to take my camera out, and just sit there drinking it all in with my eyes. I am going to do this in stages. Today's stage is the Camp contest. We have a contest every year. We vote on the theme the year before.
This year's theme was Knitting Under the Influence, which can be intepreted in many different ways. Some of those will be visible here. I am not telling the entire story of each entry as that would be a) long and b) incorrect as my memory isn't that good. The post-it notes with the numbers indicate that entry's voting number. That is how we vote for each one. Mine is not here as that will be the subject of next week's blog post.
This is a necklace made from yarn from many of the attendees as well as from Meg and Elizabeth Zimmerman. The person who made this was very clever in acquiring those pieces.
One of our attendees has not interacted with her home town in decades. She found a group on Ravelry and did a KAL with them.
Here was a knitter who thought she was creating a lovely sweater out of all her leftovers, only to realize that she was copying the color scheme in her rug!
A token of a huge yarnbombing effort that took many moons to plan and execute
A sweater representing influences in color, pattern and design
A gorgeous Armenian knitted vest representing the influence Joyce Williams had on the knitter.
A fair isle purse that also represents the influence of Joyce Williams.
A cotton vest representing the influence of marketing on the knitter.
The winner! A vest with an illusion-knitted Elvis who was influential to this knitter.
This two-piece garment (a dress and a shrug) showcases what happens when a knitter gives in to influences that she's been fighting against for years.
A beautiful pair of dolls representing the influence of hungry and destitute children in the world.
Sheep have had a tremendous influence on this knitter, from childhood. The knitted items are from descendents of a family flock.
An 'angel' shawl (the name has angel in it) that represents the angel on this knitter's shoulder during a scary health crisis.
Fair-isle and garter st have influenced this knitter. I wonder who introduced those into her world? wink
A very clever entry that came in second, I believe. It is a yarn fume enhancer since we knitters do so much under the influence of yarn fumes. You put your yarn in the container on the seat and the fumes come through the long hose and out through the yellow dispenser (also on the seat). The scarf on the back of the chair helps hold the dispenser so the fumes can be inhaled.
This one is very cute but I don't remember the story. this is why this post is first in the series...
Yarn from a knitting mentor who had an influence on this knitter
This vest did not need a pattern written for it. It represents the freedom of not having to work out multiple sizes and write up all the details.
A hoodie that represents the influence of the people who have inspired and supported this knitter. We all took turns knitting a little on it.
This knitter appears to be under the influence of a pink elephant! Or maybe a woolly mammoth?
another one whose story escapes me... but a gorgeous piece of knitting..
This knitter was also influenced by Joyce Williams.
A knitter who is influenced by her friends to make something unusual and rather lovely.
A mushroom hat. What influence was the knitter under? hmmm...
A gorgeous shawl representing the Roses in this knitter's life. Many of the people she loves can be represented by roses. I think there is more to this than I am remembering...
I hope you enjoyed our little contest. It made us laugh, it made us cry and it made us grateful for all the influences in our lives, be they people, places or things.
I took a lot of pictures this year, which is very unlike me. Usually I forget to take my camera out, and just sit there drinking it all in with my eyes. I am going to do this in stages. Today's stage is the Camp contest. We have a contest every year. We vote on the theme the year before.
This year's theme was Knitting Under the Influence, which can be intepreted in many different ways. Some of those will be visible here. I am not telling the entire story of each entry as that would be a) long and b) incorrect as my memory isn't that good. The post-it notes with the numbers indicate that entry's voting number. That is how we vote for each one. Mine is not here as that will be the subject of next week's blog post.
I hope you enjoyed our little contest. It made us laugh, it made us cry and it made us grateful for all the influences in our lives, be they people, places or things.
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