Tag: camping

Happy New Year 2026 and Time to Cast On

A new year means a brand new knitting project to begin. What will you be making?

Believe it or not, this unfinished post has been sitting around for a year! I had to change the title for 2026. Talk about being behind!

Last January

We went camping the beginning of January 2025 (pics below) and I wore my Calliope 2 sweater. It does get cold in Florida and it is a damp, nasty cold. Sometimes we even have ice! The hand knits that sit in my closet and under the bed for months and months, finally come out and get some use. We had fun camping last January, even though we had to bring our cats!

In the photos below we are camping in north Florida at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch campground. I love this area for the hills and trails. Bike riding is a challenge (for this old gal), but lots of fun. The campground is expansive, with lakes and three separate areas for RV and tent camping.

wearing the Calliope sweater in gold
Winter camping, sweater weather- yay!
Campsite at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch state campground in north Florida.
Our campsite – January

Plans for This January

We are not camping. The past two years of camping in winter made me re-think it. In Florida it can be nice in January, and it can be downright cold. This year we are skipping the January camping trip. That means it will probably be a beautiful and temperate month…LOL.

I will stay home and knit instead. We do have some fun planned, which I may share – we’ll see how it goes.

January 2026 and a New Cast On

I like to begin the new year with a special knitting project. I’ve been thinking about knitting a cable cardigan for a while. Cables are time-consuming to accomplish, and I knew the project would require the best yarn combined with an awesome pattern.

After much thought and lots of searching, I hope to be casting on for the ….. Book Club Cardigan.

Sari Nordlund is the designer and I see her knits on Instagram all the time. Usually I feel like they are too difficult for me to manage. But, she assures us (right on the product page) that this cardigan is easier to knit than it may appear. It is seamless – meaning there are no pieces to sew together. Often a cabled cardigan is knit in pieces and then the pieces have to be attached. This pattern is not like that. I’m looking forward to it.

I just need to buy some yarn.

After completing the Simple Stripes sweater and a beanie, time got away from me. Already it is New Year’s Eve! And I don’t have the worsted weight yarn for the cable cardigan.

Do your New Year plans include a new knitting project? I ‘d love to hear about it. Thanks for reading!

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Year-Round Camping in Florida; Enjoying Nature While I Knit

The peaceful days of camping in the wilderness go perfectly with knitting. What could be better than having coffee outside, with knitting on my lap? We camped twice in the last month and here is a look at the knitting projects I took along.

I live in Florida where we can camp year round. We take our travel trailer north to the Ocala National Forest and enjoy the natural springs, or old Florida settings which are free of traffic and commerce. Sometimes, out in the woods, the internet is sketchy or nonexistent.

As an older woman I am perfectly able to live without access to the internet, at least for a short time. I do work online, but it can wait a few days. Camping for me means relaxing around the campfire, bike-riding, and knitting. Usually my two cats don’t go with us, and that is a form of freedom in itself!

red dirt bike with rider

During this trip, my son took off on his dirt bike, and I worked on my recent knitting project. I’m knitting a fun, little project with wool, which I will use when we camp!

knitting project, seating pad, in colorwork with black cat
Seating pad project and Fontana my cat

The item is meant to keep your bottom warm while taking a sitting break in winter. The SkiBUM Felted Seating Pad comes with a color-work graph. I began by following it, then changed to more simple designs. I do a lot of knitting while riding in the truck. The bumpy ride makes it difficult to follow a chart.

My wool chair pad will be used when we camp. My folding chair has no padding. During cool nights around the fire, my butt was cold! I was using a little foam seating pad for some insulation. The wool felted pad will also be used when eating at the picnic table. I’m sure I can use it year round on our trips. This project is perfect for using up some wool stash! I’ll be writing a post about it soon.

Two Weeks Before This

We also camped on the days following Thanksgiving. During that two day trip I worked on my cotton top (Knus Light) while enjoying the grassy woodland view from our campsite. I saw a lot of Woodpeckers and heard Carolina Chickadees. From over by the lakes, the calls of the Sandhill Cranes could be heard all day long. Lots of deer crossed our path while bike riding. This area is full of wildlife.

Mornings were a little chilly, so I wore my fingerless mitts (Stellar Parallax pattern). I LOVE it when I can wear my hand knits.

Our campsite for 2 nights
Knitting in nature while wearing fingerless mitts.
Knitting the Knus Light top

I really enjoy this cooler weather. Getting outdoors, without sweating, is such a treat. It won’t last long.

Advice For Knitting on the Go

Be sure you have all the items you may need! Needles and yarn of course, but scissors, a crochet hook (for those dropped stitches), stitch markers and holders, and embroidery needle, in case you finish and need to weave in some ends. I like a simple project for the ride, and maybe one other for day knitting. We always have more than one project on the needles, right?

Thanks for reading. Here are more knitting stories.

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More Info on The Girl Scout Camp

tent city at camp chenoa
"Tent City" at Camp Chenoa

I have posted some photos of the girl scout camp near my place (all photos were taken in the off season) and the following is from a reader of this blog who works at the Camp Chenoa girl scout camp during summers in Antrim, NH. Thought I’d post it for anyone wanting more info.
She says:
“Tent City is used for administration staff, like the nurse and the rock wall supervisor. I was a CIT/Camp counselor at Chenoa this past summer, and I’ve spent entire summers there for 5 years. Currently i’m about to turn 18, but ladies, its still amazing when you an older teenager as well as a younger child. Girls go between ages 6/7(The Itty Bitties) And 17 if they decide to be a CIT or Dream Worker. It’s an amazing place to send your children if you aren’t close enough to Chenoa’s sister camp Farnsworth. I highly suggest this camp to parents who have adventurous children! Even children who are excited in making friends! There are so many activities and fun things to do, and the counselors are very funny. Pickles is my camp name! If your daughter is interested, look Chenoa or Farnsworth up and sign up! There are three sessions, 2 weeks long at a time! Your daughter can spend a week, or 2 weeks there in cabins, and camping out at the various camp sites around the camp itself such as The Point and The Treehouses!”

Camp Chenoa wraps around a large section of Gregg Lake and is located in a beautiful area of New Hampshire. At the other end of the lake is the Gregg Lake beach area and this is a photo from the summer of 2010. The camp is located in those woods on the right in this photo. Read more about the camp at their site Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

lake and raft at Gregg lake, NH
Gregg Lake Swimming Area, Summer 2010

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