Finished Object: Bounce

Pattern: Bounce by Tin Can Knits 

Yarn: TCK Heirloom Rainbow 

Colour: Sunshine and Storm
Needles: 4.5mm Round Needles
Start of project: May 16th, 2016
End of project: June 20th, 2016

On Ravelry

When I saw this blanket the first time I knew I was a goner. I had to have these amazing colours and I really wanted to knit this blanket. I wasn't disappointed at all when I got the yarn, the colours are beautiful and the yarn is so very soft.

In the beginning I didn't want to rush through the blanket because I wanted to savour every colour. Then I got into a slow rhytmn, knitting a few colours every week while alternating with my crochet blanket and while starting a new pair of socks (the blanket got too big to take along to school or to our school camp) I did work on the blanket during a few Knit'n'Sips and a couple of Stitching at Starbucks with the Zurich Stitching Group.

The pattern is really quite easy, there is a twelve stitch repeat that takes eight rows and in between there are a few rows of garter stitch. Nevertheless it was important to keep track of the stitches and it wasn't easy to undo mistakes, which had me frog back a few rows more than once, because it was easier to go back to the last white stripe instead of knitting backworks.

I am very happy with how my blanket turned out and also with the size of it. I cast on 201 stitches instead of the 141 stitches in the pattern. Now my blanket has more width than length, but I am glad I knit as much as possible. There was usually between one and three grams left of each colour, so I might have been able to squeeze out one more pattern repeat, but it would have been very tight. I am not sure yet who this blanket will go to. Actually I am pretty sure that I'll keep it for the sofa and for myself.

There is still a lot of the natural yarn left and there are 21 bits of the different colours. I want to use them all for one single project, maybe a hat with stripes or some gloves, we will see. For the moment I am just glad that I managed to finish at least one project during June.

Schoolcamp in Charmey

I just came back home after 5 days with 44 teenagers. In Switzerland most classes go away for a week once or twice during their three years of secondary school. Last week is was our turn for the first time with these students...

We spent the week in the Swiss Alps in a little village in the canton of Fribourg. We stayed in a big house in the middle of lots of grass (and lots and lots of pollen!!!). The kids had time to do different kinds of sports, to hang out, to talk and to eat together but we also did some organised stuff all together or in smaller groups.

On Tuesday we went on a hike along the Lac de Montsalvans, to the dam and then all the way down the gorge to the Electrobroc where the water masses are turned into electricity.

On Wednesday we went to the Adventure Park where we balanced over different treetop courses. I am usually very prone to vertigo so I was proud to master the green course (the one for the beginners ;-) The courses were more difficult that usually because it was raining most of the time and the wood was very slippery wherever you put down your feet.

On Thurday we went hiking again, this time our goal was Gruyère. In the beginning the weather was ghastly, it was pouring down so hard that we were very close to not going at all. But even though most of us were soaked through to the skin we still had fun and there were mostly happy faces in the evening.

In the evening the students had organised a huge party with different challenges. I participated as well and I was very glad that I only had to pronounce a Chinese word (instead of picking out an apple from a bowl of water without hands or eating really spicy food).

And today it was time to go home again. It was an intense time and we all got close to the edge once or twice but the atmosphere was amazing all week long.

(In case you wonder why I suddenly start sharing photos of my students - these photos are all online anyway because we blogged daily to tell parents and friends about our adventures)

(I am not wearing some weird apron but my blanket, because it was quite cold in the evenings)