2026-07-05 21:28
aka “how much crafting did I do while camping”
My last couple posts have been kind intense. I definitely don’t regret them! My creativity post inspired my partner to learn sewing and he’s loving the process. Teaching is so rewarding, I want to figure out how I can do it more. Writing the anti-AI post was so therapeutic I’ve felt more clear-headed than I have in weeks or even months… But it maybe was kind of depressing.
So now it’s time for a little bit of fighting the dread!!
It is TIME to TOUCH GRASS!!
… aka I’m going camping this weekend!
Real spring is actually here, the sunlight is touching my skin, and being able to go outside without the wind biting my face is really helping my mental health (as much as I do really also love the winter, I also love variety). I also really need to get out more (I work from home in an apartment).
This is going to be a more ambitious camping trip than I could have done last year (due to my hip injury). It’s a long drive and I’m not even that anxious about needing to sit for so long!
Last summer I wrote a blog post about the August long weekend where my partner went camping without me because I couldn’t go, and hey look I’m going this year! Writing that blog post… honestly, I felt really silly writing it. But now I enjoy looking back on it, so I’m trying to remind myself that this blog is mainly just for me and that’s ok.
I did splurge a little and get a fancy camping chair which reclines. Ooo, so fancy. Honestly, this wasn’t entirely necessary but I struggle sitting for long durations and l have an outdoor camping mattress but it can get cold, damp, and buggy on the ground. Especially when you’re under the reach of the fire. I’m hoping this means I can enjoy the evening by the fire more and not have to retreat into the shelter of the tent due to the cold.
I also got a point & shoot camera so I don’t have to have my phone on me all the time. Recently, I’ve been completely putting my phone away for the entire weekend and I’ve been really enjoying it … but then I can’t take cat photos? The problem is now solved! I even managed to finish sewing a case for it (Cozy Camera Pouch by gracomakes) and a simple strap. I would like to weave my own strap eventually, but this will work for now.
Let’s review what (fun things) I’m bringing!
My current active knitting projects!
Some small knitting projects I’m really excited about.
My current embroidery project, where I just need to finish the edges to make it a patch, based on the badge Cobb wears in Monkey Island advertising LOOM, the latest masterpiece of fantasy storytelling from Lucasfilms™ Brian Moriarty™.
My current spinning projects! Red merino on a supported spindle (left) and “hot chilies” (pink/gold) 30% mohair/70% wool on a drop spindle (right).
And a genuinely excessive amount of books because I couldn’t make up my mind, including my kobo which also comes with way too many books, just incase I still completely messed up.
Everything before, all packed up and ready to go!
So the trip started off well! I got around 2 inches on my silk top done in the car… that twisted rib pattern is so slow so this it was a huge achievement. I also got some support spindling done, which is the easiest way to spin in a car!
Once we had actually arrived and set up our campsite, I hit a huge road block… it was too cold to knit/spin, my hands would need constant breaks for warming up.
I ended up focusing more on reading, hiking, taking photos with my new camera, enjoying the trees, and admiring the fiddlehead ferns.
Over the four days we were there, I was obsessed with watching the slow unfurl of the fiddlehead ferns. I had actually made fiddlehead rissotto the day before following the Stardew Valley cookbook.
And I enjoyed some birds.
I also did end up loving the new chair I mentioned, it’s much warmer higher up, and being closer to my friends!
So… despite my excessively thorough packing, while we were actually camping the only knitting I got done was on my handspun hat since it was compact and I could put the ball of yarn in the hat like a bowl. I also ended up only working on that for the drive home. In total I did ~60-80 rows and it’s almost done!
I really didn’t achieve much of any of the goals I set but I’m not sad about it. I’m laughing at myself a little for being so over-prepared, but sitting by the fire, looking at trees, and listening to water flow was really nice.
(I may have also added a pair of finger-less gloves to my knitting queue so I can knit easier in the cold.)
I maybe had too much fun on cooltext.com trying to make fun images here, please forgive me I promise I’ll also summarize the confusing text in normal text and alt text.
My handspun hat I had good progess, my silk top I barely touched.
I didn’t touch either my Harold Fatmus or my swatch.
I didn’t touch my loom badge at all.
I spun a little, but not enough to really count.
I read the Experimental edition of Ply magazine, which surprisingly took me a while. This is my first time reading this magazine, but it was denser than I expected. I really have so much to learn in fibre prep I realize, even if I’ve started to understand spinning. I also started the Starving Saints, but I’m only a few chapters in.
Once the trip was over I did hit a bit of a mental road block. I was so tired of my silk project (lace-weight 4.5mm needles and twisted rib was so slow) and losing motivation to continue. There is so many other things I want to do, but I don’t like having too many projects so I didn’t want to start something new.
I realized I was being stupid. These are my hobbies, why was I following such a strict schedule on what project to work on when. I like having some system, some plan, but I was following it too closely. I need to remember to allow myself to be more flexible, even if my spreadsheets demand order.
I was burning myself out on the things that were supposed to bring me joy for no reason. But I didn’t want to start casting on random projects and get overwhelmed.
So I made a 3-step plan to hold myself accountable:
And then I would let myself cast on a new project, skipping any queue I had created, that I was really excited over.
It only took me less than a week to finish both!
The badge:
And my hat:
I’m so proud of my handspun hat, you can really see the progress in the quality of my spinning from one end to the other. Please ignore if you notice how I ran out of yarn on the left side of the long view, it doesn’t matter because it’s on the inside of the hat (when you invert & fold it). It’s fun seeing how the colour pooling changes throughout the hat too! That’s not really an effect you can get with machine-spun or dyed yarn. The potential of spinning is so exciting to me, and also so rewarding … even if now my knitting projects are going to take a lot longer.
And now I’ve cast on my Porcelain sweater! I got a kit for this project in the pattern-recommended yarn… which is something I’ve never done before. I was even hesitant because I wasn’t sure I wanted such a white sweater (I hate the beige trend) but I realized looking through other people’s projects that the white/blue is the only version which really captures the porcelain look that made me want to knit this sweater so much.
Also! To conclude the grass touching, I got a planter for my balcony! I can’t express how much joy it’s brought me to have a small garden, to be able to see it from my desk and smell it when I’m on my balcony, and especially be able to garden while sitting (squatting/crouching is hard on my hip injury).
My tomato plants are already looking so strong, I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten. Everything I’ve planted so far has done so well, even the garlic cloves from my fridge that I’ve just shoved into the dirt. There was a bit of a problem where they weren’t getting enough water (and then too much water) but I think I’ve found the sweet spot. I even have flowers blooming!
If you know anything about fiddleheads, you probably realized that they come up in the spring. Also I repeatedly mentioned how cold it was camping.
I have a confession, this trip really happened in May. My porcelain sweater’s body is actually almost done, I only really have the sleeves left. I wrote this intro before the trip, had a great time, and then never had the energy to finish this blog post. Partially because I was busy and there was a lot of post-camping cleaning to do.
…But really, the dread came back and my motivation was very low. It’s been hard. I’m trying so hard. It feels like I’m giving all I can. I’m pretty sure I’m entering a pretty deep wave of real burnout.
I decided to take off 2 weeks as a stay-cation to give myself a little bit of refresh. Even the thought of trying to plan a more elaborate vacation was too much stress. My goal is to try and let myself actually relax, so I’m not going to make a list of projects to do over those 2 weeks or commit myself to anything. I want to focus on whatever I want to do in the moment. Go on more bike rides, maybe read more books.
Fuck I started planning again.
I’m really a planner. It’s both a good thing and a bad thing because I overwhelm myself with all my ideas and plans. There’s so many things I want to knit, read, sew, see, do. I have barely played any video games in months, or even worked on any of my own game ideas. I have so many blog ideas I’m buried in them and the list just keeps getting longer.
But I also need to rest or the burnout will just get worse.
Tour de Fleece is coming up soon though, so I will be spinning more (but at a sustainable pace). I might make a post about it, I’d love to do a little deep dive into all the spinning I’ve been doing, but I might not. I’ve posted some stuff on my mastodon.
Good luck!