Camp Report

I did mean to post last week to remind you that I'd be off to Camp in Tulsa this past weekend. But my flight left at 6:30 AM which meant I had to be up at 3:45. Everything I planned didn't get done.

What a blast! Although I was initially skeptical when I saw the mean snoring woman (to distinguish her from the smelly snoring woman) in the airport and I got that sinking feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy camp, I shouldn't have worried. It's sometimes easier to get a long with other stitchers than I remember. If you had sent me the bios of our little gang, I would never have believed we'd get along as swimmingly as we do. MB and I are way more progressive than the others, who, for example, were shocked when I said the Democratic Party wasn't liberal, but we tried to stick to safe topics. Our discussion of farting was politically neutral enough. And we had a lot of fun trying to make up the "typical day" at camp for an SO who was curious. It included lots of nude pillow fighting; I mean, really, who can't imagine what stitching camp is? It's all stitching, as long as you can take it! We laughed the whole weekend and mostly we managed to stitch the 3 projects (plus an optional lesson in punchneedle embroidery).

Our projects included a Cross-Eyed Cricket 4th of July acorn (although some of us are modifying it because we don't know what acorns have to do with U.S. Independence) done up in Silverneedle SNN fuzzies/sparklies. I'm giving it to my grandmother who likes patriotic. We finished a Trail Creek Farm pillow "spring". I'm going to design a set and velcro it to the pillow so they can be switched out and I won't have to buy more of those expensive pillows. We also did a flat fold garden piece. I was so excited to learn the flat fold because I have more than 40 pieces that need finishing. I just wish my hand sewing were better (there is something ironic about that). My tablemate DH did my sewing, and I fixed her mistakes on the stitched piece. She's only been stitching for 18 months, and she does a lot on aida so her linen skills aren't what she would like. People kept saying that I got the fuzzy end of the lollipop on that one but I was pleased with the exchange. I'm planning on finishing three pieces as flat folds. I know that hardly makes a dent in the finishing pile. . . I may have convinced Lindy to add a pre-camp on finishing. I can't be the only one with a pile of stuff to finish! Now I have to figure out how to finish the punch needle project. That may be beyond me.

The food was way better this year if you stayed away because you thought you'd starve.

I got a long way on the afghan jasmine pot. I'm off until Thursday so that I can work on the afghan. After this, I may do the backstitching before I move back to the hydrangea.