The Nelson Bay Spinners and Weavers’ first Wolstoncroft Camp for fibre and yarn addicts was held from 24 to 26 October at the very picturesque Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Camp on Lake Macquarie. Eighteen campers attended and enjoyed a sunny, relaxed weekend in delightful surroundings.
The lodge comprised seven large bedrooms with 2 double bunks in each and a spacious ensuite (maximum three to a room) and our workroom was an enclosed verandah the length of the building with a glass louvered wall looking out over the Lake. Spectacular! There were enough walking tracks to satisfy the most avid walker amongst us, a pool and plenty of space both inside and out to spin, felt, knit – whatever. The food was gourmet with a pot luck supplied by the campers on Friday night and a barbeque cooked on the indoors BBQ expertly by Lyn, who, with Beryl controlled the well equipped kitchen.
The program included a Yarn Challenge where campers spun their own fancy yarn from a variety of materials supplied and a Mystery Task, where campers were given a bag of items when they arrived and asked to make an animal. The very inventive results made it hard to decide on a winner. We had several demonstrations including fry pan dyeing, knitting techniques, jelly and food colouring dyeing in the microwave and advanced felting methods. Games and a sing-song livened up Saturday night and three traders came along to both sell their wares and participate in the activities.
Initially, the organising committee was disappointed by the response to the camp. There were no takers for the day registrations or for any last minute vacancies despite extensive advertising in guild newsletters and through contacting other groups. We had intended to expand the camp, taking in another lodge next year and gradually providing the spinners and weavers in the Lower Hunter and adjacent regions with an easily accessible camp venue. However, at the meeting to discuss the future of the camp it was decided to limit the numbers to one lodge as it was this year, and to keep the camp small and intimate since participants had enjoyed it so much.
The 2009 camp will be held from 28-30 August in Geebung Lodge at Camp Wolstoncroft.
