Beginning Weaving
What better way to learn weaving than making a woven potholder at summer camp!? You take simple tools– a square weaving frame and crochet hook –and a bag of colorful cotton or wool “loopers.” After a short time learning the basic idea, you’ll be weaving.
And the technique is easy too! First you select colors of loopers and stretch them across the frame to form the “warp” of the project. In this photo the warp is the different colored vertical strands. Then you weave another looper, alternating over and under each strand of the warp to form the weft. Adding one (in this example, white) looper at a time, and alternating which strands go over and under, a dense colorful pattern begins to form. As you add more and more loopers, you’ll probably need a long crochet hook or other wire hook to pull the last couple of loopers into place.
This is real weaving. Sure it’s a simple example, but that’s good when you are just beginning to learn. The next step is varying the colors and weaving pattern of the strands. There are even different shaped frames to make things even more interesting. We also like starting with these potholder weaving projects because they don’t take too long to finish.
With the basic concept of weaving understood and practiced, campers can move on to one of the tabletop looms or even the wide floor-standing looms for their next, larger and more complicated, weaving projects. Down at Curosty, the fiber arts activity cabin at camp, Rockbrook girls are learning to weave!
Ready to Paddle and Bid
“Who wants to go rafting?” That’s the question we asked all the Middlers and Seniors, and with little surprise, we had almost 90% of them sign up to go on a trip to the Nantahala this week. There were two options, a day-long trip that would leave camp after breakfast to return before dinner or an overnight-trip that would spend the night over at Rockbrook’s outpost camp near the river. Both are big adventures, with the overnight being even more so. The outpost is very remote (It adjoins the national forest and is not far from the Appalachian trail)— no cars, people or city lights for many, many miles. It’s a real treat to spend time out there sitting around the campfire, gazing at the stars, listening to the whippoorwills, enjoying the cool night air, and enjoying the social energy of being together. Monday night we had over 30 people out there, and while we made s’mores, I think we sang the entire Rockbrook songbook around the campfire!
And the rafting! Wow, it feels good these days. We too, like most of the southeast, have been experiencing some hot weather (For us that means highs just above 90 and lows just below 70), and this makes whitewater rafting all the more enjoyable. Each raft for these trips is guided by one of our seasoned guides, and is “powered” by 5 or 6 campers decked out in helmets and lifejackets ready to paddle. The 2-hour trip down the river is exciting right from the beginning with the first large rapid, “Patton’s Run,” around the first bend. Every rapid means a boat of happily screaming campers, the raft bouncing up and down, and plenty of splashing cold water to keep everyone cool. Between rapids, there’s time to trade places in the boats, maybe play a name game or sing a song, and even jump in the water for a super quick swim. And, you just never know when a splash war will break out between rafts. After successfully navigating a tricky rapid, often a boat will do a “high five” with the paddles proudly in the air. Sometimes campers will take a break from paddling and ride on the front of the boat as the “hood ornament,” something guaranteed to get you some serious splashing. It’s no wonder those two hours go by like 30 minutes!
Back at camp, the place was buzzing with activity, girls doing what they love and in lots of places, trying something new. At the very least, they may have tied a friendship bracelet before, for example, but not in such a beautiful place (like on the porch of the hillside lodge) or with so many friendly, supportive, nice people. Weaving a basket is fun, but so much more fun with your feet in the creek and good friends along side giggling in conversation.
Speaking of the creek, that short, open stretch of running water by Curosty, it has been a favorite hangout these days during free time. One thing the juniors like to do is have flip-flop races. Each girl takes off a shoe, drops it in the water simultaneously and then watches as they float down the stream. Of course, it’s important to catch them at the other end because that water ends up in the lake. If you miss your shoe, you’ll need a canoe to get it back!
Tonight’s evening program was a western themed, all-camp auction, a special event where our very own auctioneer, Jerry, “sells” surprise items to the cabin groups. Each cabin has $1000 of RBC bucks to bid, but what makes it exciting is that they don’t know what they are bidding on. Last night it might have been a yummy snack like chips and salsa, or it could have been something like serving your counselor breakfast in bed. Other prizes included glow sticks, sun glasses and tooth brushes! Some cabins were very careful with their money, waiting for the bid prices to begin lower before jumping in, while other cabin groups bid as high as they could, spending all of their money on a single item (of unknown value!). It’s easy to imagine the girls’ excitement when they win the bid and the prize turns out to be something great… hands-in-the-air-screams. Usually, each cabin can win two different items, and generally at least one is a snack of some kind. Either way it was loads of fun to dress up in out western garb, hear Jerry’s auctioneering, and enjoy the surprises unveiled to every winning bid.
Camp Outdoor Living
The weather has been just great these last few days of camp. It’s been warm and sunny during the day with highs in the mid 80s, but still nice and cool, around 60 degrees, when we wake up in the morning. Hearing thunder off in the distance, we’ve realized an afternoon thunderstorm or two have been nearby, but at least so far they have all missed us directly. Being so close to the weather, living outside while at camp, is one of the best parts of the experience at Rockbrook. We spend so much of our ordinary lives inside climate controlled spaces, it’s great for children to be able to feel the natural world a little more, to reconnect to the power of their senses. Cool, sweet watermelon by the lake on a hot summer day… Yum!
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Down in Curosty, one of the craft cabins at camp (and one of the oldest, predating 1900), the girls have been learning to weave on the looms. Our fantastic weaving instructor Alison has many projects set up: belts, headbands, and wider place mats. Here’s Velvet working on a tabletop loom and making a narrow strap that will probably become a belt. It takes real concentration to operate the harnesses that move the heddles up and down, making the different patterns, but on these top looms there are usually a simple set of levers to press.
Late this afternoon we loaded up all the seniors to take them on a surprise trip into the Pisgah National Forest. They all came prepared dressed in bathing suits. The first stop was Sliding Rock, the natural water slide well-known in this area. Looking Glass creek rolls about 60 feet over a big smooth rock and then plunges into a deep pool at the bottom, so what used to be just a pull-off of the road is now a major attraction in this area. The girls absolutely love it! Over the roar of the waterfall, it’s a series of piercing screams as the girls take turns sliding down in pairs or triplets. Did I mention the cold water? You can imagine how that amplifies everything!
After sliding (some of the girls went down 6 or 7 times!), we drove down to another spot in the forest for a picnic supper. Rick set us up with homemade hummus and veggies, fruit, sandwiches, chips and chocolate brownies. This was a nice time for everyone to eat and talk about their experiences sliding down the rock. But perhaps the highlight for everyone was our last stop of the evening: Dolly’s Dairy Bar. There’s nothing like a yummy ice cream cone of your favorite flavor to top off the day. Singing songs out front, laughing and eating a super sweet treat— what nice trip!
Kids Love to Weave
Just about every day at Rockbrook you’ll find kids weaving down in Curosty, one of the nineteenth century log cabins at camp. And there are all kinds of looms in action and weaving techniques going on. You might see rope or finger weaving, for example. Girls could be using a flat lap loom. There are several sizes of tabletop looms, and for the more advanced weavers, kids could be weaving on large floor looms.
This photo shows Emma working on one of our great classic Leclerc floor looms. One of the fiber arts staff members set up the loom (something that takes a lot of time!) and then helped Emma design a pattern for her piece. If you look closely, those green tags are “cheat sheets” for the treadle pattern.
These floor looms take some time to learn how to operate, but with them, kids can weave nice wide fabrics in all sorts of cool designs. It’s a lot of fun, so come on! Let’s weave!
Jump, Flip and Weave
We’re seeing great horseback riding down at the barn this session. Cara, our Equestrian Director, has been keeping everyone busy with three and sometimes four simultaneous riding classes going on each activity period of the day. The beginners have been riding our smaller ponies (e.g., Annie and Cool Beans) and learning to walk, start and stop them on command. Intermediate riders are working on their posting and canter technique. It seems everyone wants to learn how to jump too, so when the riding staff thinks they’re ready (being able to canter securely, for example), campers can begin learning jump techniques as well. There are several new skills involved in jumping, and the girls really work at it a long time before they actually jump an obstacle. What a thrill when a girl clears her first jump!
Everyday down at the Alpine Tower, groups of girls are tying into a belay rope and balancing their way to the top. Starting behind the gym, the walk leading to the tower is a magical, winding path through the woods with ferns, mosses and wonderful big trees. The tower is hidden in the woods and is such a surprise when you first see it along the trail— an impressive 50-foot structure of thick telephone poles bolted together in a complex triangular pattern of two inverted pyramids. There are ropes, cables and climbing holds arranged on each pole creating different routes to the top. Altogether, there are almost 100 different ways to climb up! The view from the top platform provides a nice birds-eye view of the treetops and of the “tiny people” on the ground. Coming down is also part of the fun. The belayers slowly lower the climbers on their belay ropes (which are rated to hold 7620 pounds, by the way!), stopping part way to let the girls do a “spiderman” flip if they want.
Over in the fiber arts cabin, “Curosty,” the girls are hard at work weaving. Our arts guru Kimberly has set up the looms to make belts at the moment, yarns and string woven into different colorful patterns. These table-top looms have 4 levers to press that change the warp and allow the shuttle to alternate through the “shed” (the space between the warp layers). It’s a little challenging to maintain an even amount of tension on the weft, but with practice that becomes easier. It’s fun to make a narrow project like a belt because it doesn’t take long to see progress as the woven pattern emerges. Seeing them at work, it’s easy to predict that weaving will become a lifelong hobby for some of the girls. That’s so great.
Dinner tonight was a special themed restaurant night called “A Night at the Oscars.” We sent out word for everyone to arrive at dinner dressed in their best red carpet attire, so we saw all manner of glamor, camp style. Outrageous wigs, audacious make up, sparkly dresses, and very fancy shoes emerged to transform the girls into parodies of Hollywood stars. The counselors, of course, were also dressed up, and as they served their cabin (a Restaurant Night camp tradition), they would impersonate certain famous actresses or movie characters. The food was also special: eggrolls, bacon-wrapped scallops, and Danish Havarti, bread, and Spanikopita. Liz had lemon bars for dessert too. Yum! The whole meal was a sea of energetic creativity, and very big fun.
A Square Dance Saturday Night
One of Rockbrook’s original camp songs, in fact our official “Camp Song,” begins with the line, “In the heart of a wooded mountain, circled by silvery streams.” It so nicely conveys the character of camp, Rockbrook’s woodsy feel, being tucked in a hillside valley between two rock mountains and waterfalls. Every session for generations, girls have sung this song. So much so, “In the heart of a wooded mountain” has become a shorthand phrase to refer to camp. Here’s the rest of the first verse.
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Today the girls woke up to a big breakfast of eggs, grits, sausage and OJ, along with the usual fruit, cereal and yogurt options. It’s been a little cooler than usual these past few days, so it’s nice to start the day with a good warm breakfast. After a few energetic songs in each line’s Lodge, our “Morning Assembly,” everyone launched into their morning activities. Down in Curosty, Kimberly has been teaching the girls how to weave on flat looms, a simple traditional hand weaving technique. With so many colors of yarn and strips of cloth, there are really cool things being made… hand-woven fabrics soon to become place mats, or sewn into pouches or bags. We’ve also seen really complex friendship bracelets being made in Curosty. That place is buzzin’!
The rest of the day was filled with more regular camp activities… painting and drawing, practicing for the play, riding horses, learning to kayak, learning to do a flip in gymnastics, or to throw a clay pot on the wheel. There’s also a nice amount of free time for the girls to just hang out, play in the creek, or head down to the lake for a swim or for some sunbathing.
The big surprise for the day, though, was our dance with Camp High Rocks, the boys camp just up the mountain from Rockbrook. We announced the dance right before dinner, giving the girls only about a hour (!) to get “ready.” After dinner (baked ziti, garlic bread, salad, and a shortbread with fruit for dessert), with hair brushed and dressed in clean clothes, we loaded up the buses and drove the whole camp up to High Rocks.
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The dance was held outside on three tennis courts. This allowed us to spread out and divide everyone into three general age groups for the dancing. It took a while for a few jitters to subside, but soon just about everyone was smiling and having fun. Of course, part of the fun is making mistakes and laughing when you turn the wrong way or grab the wrong arm. The whole event is lighthearted, a little silly, and surprisingly enjoyable for the girls, even though most of them have never tried square dancing before. The counselors are right in their too, so this also encourages everyone to relax and enjoy themselves. We all took a short break for lemonade and cookies, only to recharge and dance for another hour or so. As it began to get dark, we said goodbye and thank you, gathered all the girls back into the buses, and made our way back to RBC for the night. It was a wonderful evening.
Weaving at Camp
The most popular weaving activities for children at camp are the table-top looms. These are small weaving looms, usually between 6 and 24 inches wide, that sit on a table rather than standing on the floor. The shafts that move the “heddles” (and yarn!) up and down are operated by hand levers rather than foot treadles. This way, pressing each lever creates a different pattern of yarns, and ultimately a unique piece of cloth.
Using these looms, the camp children are weaving belts, bookmarks, scarves, even tapestries to hang on the wall. It’s amazing how these weaving activities turn out, but it’s also really fun.
Want to learn more? Here’s a .pdf article from Handwoven magazine that tells you how to weave a cool little critter.
Loom Weaving at Summer Camp
One of the most traditional arts and crafts activities at Rockbrook is weaving. It’s been something girls have done at camp since the very beginning back in 1921. In the craft cabin we call Curosty (which even pre-dates camp!), there are several table-top and floor looms we use to teach basic weaving techniques. It takes some time to set things up and to learn how to operate the looms, but you can make really cool designs. Bits of yarn and string, even natural fibers you gather around camp, all come together to create fabrics, place mats, belts, and other straps. Weaving is a lot of fun, and if you really enjoy it, it’s something you can do at home too.
