Answers to your questions

There are a couple of questions that we frequently hear about Camp. 

The first is “I don’t have anyone to go with”. Don’t worry. You can book a double room and we will match you with a room mate. There will be two separate bedrooms and a shared bathroom. You will quickly meet other Campers in class and at meals. In the dining room we eat at long tables so you won’t be in a corner eating by yourself. The instructors sit at different tables every meal so you will definitely have Josh, Fiona and Beth time if you want it. Knitters are a friendly bunch and you won’t be by yourself for very long.

The other is ”I’m not a good enough knitter to come.” If you can knit, purl, cast on and cast off then we have classes for you. Yarn dying, which is the funnest class of all, doesn’t require any knowledge of knitting. Josh’s class sound intimidating but if you have the basic skills then you can participate in his courses. The instructors are awesome and patient. Don’t let this hold you back from coming

Classes

We've made two changes to the classes available at Camp.

Josh's Friday morning class is now
Tips & Tricks: Making Your Garment Look More Professional

In this class you will learn all Josh's tips and tricks to making your garment look more professional. He will demonstrate different cast on methods, increases, decreases, body shaping, and other special techniques that he uses when designing for himself and other fashion designers.

Beth's Saturday morning class is now
Yarn Dying 101

Ever wonder how those beautiful hand-dyed yarns are created? Beth will walk you through the Lorna's Lacescreative process and then share some of her tips and tricks for dyeing yarn in this hands-on class. You'll get a chance to design your very own colourway and take home the yarn you dyed yourself!
CLASS FEE: $25 for a skein of undyed sock yarn and dyes

If you have registered for Camp, please watch your inbox because I've sent you an email about this. If you want to change things around, no problem. Just call or email me.

Classes are Filling

I've been working on Camp this morning and started counting the number of students registered for each class. WOW. A few classes are almost full.

Fiona's Friday morning class has room for two more students.

CREATIVE COUTURE NECKLINES
The necklines on most commercially made garments are neatened by a simple rib pattern without any regard for the patterning on the rest of the garment.
Fiona designs her garments to include details such as running the pattern seamlessly into or around the neckline. This elevates the project to a beautiful couture finished piece. In this class she will show you how to include these details in your own projects and even make the neckline the main feature of the garment. 

Josh's Saturday morning class has room for two more students

TIPS AND TRICKS: MAKING YOUR GARMENT LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL
In this class you will learn all Josh's tips and tricks to making your garment look more professional. He will demonstrate different cast on methods, increases, decreases, body shaping, and other special techniques that he uses when designing for himself and other fashion designers. 

You can see the full Camp brochure on our website.

Don't be disappointed. Get your registration in soon.

Show and Tell

Saturday evening is a fun night where students get to show off some of their knitting.

We ask students to bring in one or two projects that they have finished over the past year. If it was something they bought at a previous Camp or a door prize from past years all the better.

Sister Beth is very excited about Saturday night. She is already packing a bag (closer to a suitcase) of her knitting to show off. Yes, Beth is knitting now.

Occasionally there is entertainment on Saturday evening.

Door prizes are also given out on Saturday evening. My suppliers are very generous with what they give. Everyone who comes to Camp goes home with gifts. Knitting bags, yarn, kits, books, needles, needle cases.....

Thursday Night at Camp

We schedule Thursday evening as a fun night where everyone gets to meet. It breaks the ice for the newbies. Returnees have a chance to catch up with each other. Instructors get to meet the 'kids' (as Josh refers to them) before classes start on Friday morning.

There is always some sort of game with the instructors acting as captains of the teams.

The games are somehow yarn related and meant to get lots of laughs.

It's very serious. :) The team captains do not want to lose.

What happens at Camp stays at Camp unless someone is walking around with a camera. :)

Beth's Yarn

Beth (my sister-not Lorna's Laces Beth) just emailed me a picture. She had fun dying yarn at Camp but hasn't graduated to sock knitting yet. Lynn knit up her yarn for her.

She has informed me that she will be dying yarn with Beth on Friday and Sunday.

Classes for Camp 2013

The brochure for Camp is done. We think you might have a hard time picking which classes to take. We've already had complaints that students want more than one class per session. :)

Friday Classes

Fiona - CREATIVE COUTURE NECKLINES
The necklines on most commercially made garments are neatened by a simple rib pattern without any regard for the patterning on the rest of the garment.
Fiona designs her garments to include details such as running the pattern seamlessly into or around the neckline. This elevates the project to a beautiful couture finished piece. In this class she will show you how to include these details in your own projects and even make the neckline the main feature of the garment. 
  
Beth - YARN DYING 101
Ever wonder how those beautiful hand-dyed yarns are created? Beth will walk you through the Lorna's Laces creative process and then share some of her tips and tricks for dyeing yarn in this hands-on class. You'll get a chance to design your very own colourway and take home the yarn you dyed yourself!
CLASS FEE: $25 for a skein of undyed sock yarn and dyes 

Josh - CUSTOM KNITTING
In this class, we will learn the start to finish of writing a basic sweater pattern. You will learn all the math to be able to start creating your own original designs and modify existing patterns for different fits. We will also discuss fits for different body types, picking the right fiber, knitting the correct gauge swatch, and measuring the body correctly. Tips and techniques on how to make your garment look more professional and have a better wear will also be discussed. 

Saturday Morning Classes

Fiona - DESIGNING YOUR OWN CABLES (USING EXISTING PATTERNS)
There are several ways of creating your own cables and using patterns that already exist can be a great springboard.
With so many lovely cables found in stitch dictionaries we can create many combinations of them set horizontally across the width of the fabric and be very happy with the result. But Fiona finds it more interesting to come up with vertically arranged combos. In the class she will show you how do this so that you can create something unique and exciting for your next cable project. 

Beth - INDIGO
This class will take you through the basics of working with indigo. You'll watch as your yarn goes from a yellow/green color to the classic blue we all know and love. Then you'll take home a skein of yarn that you created using one of the oldest dyes known to man.
CLASS FEE: $25 for a skein of undyed sock yarn and dyes 

Josh - TIPS AND TRICKS: MAKING YOUR GARMENT LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL
In this class you will learn all Josh's tips and tricks to making your garment look more professional. He will demonstrate different cast on methods, increases, decreases, body shaping, and other special techniques that he uses when designing for himself and other fashion designers. 

Saturday Afternoon Classes

Fiona - DESIGNING YOUR OWN CABLES (USING I- CORD)
Fiona has devised this playful method for designing your own cable pattern. Beginning with a thumbnail sketch of a Celtic Knot and learning to break it down into smaller elements Fiona will show you how to use a length of I-cord to "draw" out the cable pattern and then chart it so that you will ready to knit a beautiful sample. 

Beth - INDIGO
This class will take you through the basics of working with indigo. You'll watch as your yarn goes from a yellow/green color to the classic blue we all know and love. Then you'll take home a skein of yarn that you created using one of the oldest dyes known to man.
CLASS FEE: $25 for a skein of undyed sock yarn and dyes 

Josh - CUSTOM KNITTING
In this class, we will learn the start to finish of writing a basic sweater pattern. You will learn all the math to be able to start creating your own original designs and modify existing patterns for different fits. We will also discuss fits for different body types, picking the right fiber, knitting the correct gauge swatch, and measuring the body correctly. Tips and techniques on how to make your garment look more professional and have a better wear will also be discussed. 

Sunday Morning Classes

Fiona - FINISHING WITH FINESSE
Hands-up those of you who hate finishing! Now try thinking of it as a fun part of the project rather than a chore. In this workshop Fiona will demo, and then let you practice, several ways you can add some finesse to your project during the finishing process. These will include adding a knitted-on I-cord, 3 needle bind off for seaming and simple crochet edges. She will also cover a few of the basic techniques to allow you to become practice perfect, these will include, grafting stitches, mattress stitch and setting in a zipper. 
  
Beth - YARN DYING 102
You've already taken Yarn Dying 101 and want to play more with dying yarn. Beth will bring three different yarn bases (Shepherd Sock, Solemate and Haymarket) for you to dye.
CLASS FEE: Will depend on the yarn and how many skeins you decide to dye

Josh - DESIGN WITH JOSH BENNETT
In this class we'll look at some of the upcoming trends forecasted for fashion industry's knitwear season. We'll discuss how to incorporate these trends into your designs and garments. Class exercises will include sketching original designs based off trend inspiration or your own inspiration, and presenting the designs to the class and Josh. Don't be scared, no previous sketching ability is required and it is really fun. A traceable fashion figure is provided so your sketches will look great no matter what. We will also discuss and try the new techniques so you can use them in future projects.