Knitting the Camino

[knitknigel]

HI, I'm Nigel from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and I will be heading to Spain on April 28. Won't begin the Camino Frances until May 6 or 7, but will be walking from St. Jean Pied de Port. My goal is to reach Santiago, and I'll be blogging the trip on my website: http://www.knittingthecamino.wordpress.com

You will know me when you see me; I imagine I'll be the only guy with knitting needles, at cafes and albergues along the way. I'll be knitting socks - how appropriate.

I will also be using this as an opportunity to do some fundraising for Alzheimer's research. You will be able to make a donation through my blog or through http://www.alzheimerbc.org (when it has been activated by them).

I am looking forward to meeting others on the Camino. And it's not my first time. I walked the camino with my husband in 2004 from Pamplona to Santiago. This year he will be walking toward me from the south - on the Via de la Plata. He's walked from Seville to Caceres and this time will start from Caceres to finish in Santiago.

Look forward to seeing you.

Nigel

 

[Bridget and Peter]

Hi Nigel

I'm a knitter too, most recently Golden Shrugs!

I shall look forward to following your camino.

I have a friend whose grandmother used to knit both socks of a pair at the same time, one inside the other. Each sock had it's own ball of yarn, one kept in her apron pocket, the other neatly contained inside the inner sock. The stitches for both socks were on the same set of four needles alternately; the odd ones for one sock,the evens for the other. So she would do one round knitting all the odd stitches, then change to the other yarn and knit all the even ones. My friend remembers the 'magic' at the end when she pulled one sock from inside the other and, lo and behold, a pair of socks.
http://frostart.co.uk/publications/Slow%20Making.pdf

Now that would be a miracle worthy of St James!

I believe knitting needles are prohibited in cabin luggage; what a waste of all that knitting time!If your wool comes in hanks, you could wind it into balls on the plane.

I wonder if there is special Pyrennean wool that you could buy in SJPDP to knit socks which would be a souvenir?

buen camino and buen knitting

Bridget

 

[kimlin]

happy knitting and walking Nigel- I hope to cross shoes and needles with you late in May!The knitted scallop shell on your blog is awesome! I am starting out from Roncesvalles about May 1, but at my speed you may well overtake me. I am thinking of knitting sock monkeys on the Camino but am undecided as yet. A part of me thinks maybe I SHOULDN'T knit to take this 6 weeks more for meditation. Or perhaps I am just thinking about the weight...
buen camino, mejor tejido!
Kimlin

 

[knitknigel]

Kimlin, I'm sure we could come to some agreement about the Scallop shell. It's actually one of Barbara Walker's patterns, which some one had adapted into a hat. I looked at the pattern today in vol 2 of her books (my step daughter owns it), and it turns out to be the pattern used on the cover. It's called the Seven Rib Scallop. It is an all over pattern so I need to adapt it to a single shell, which means figuring out where to find some missing stitches. I think I've done it.

If I can get it charted, I could send it to you so you could use it as a test knit.

Nigel

 

[norway]

Hello Nigel, I would love to meet you knitting on the camino at the same time as fundraising for Alzheimer - I think it is great!!!

Sry I am on another camino this year - will start from Oloron up to Somport and then the Aragones camino to Puente de la Reina - would have been great to meet you!

Have a great knitting camino!!

Gerd Norway

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I´d love a camino sock monkey! Can you knit one on the way here, and we can trade a night´s lodging for a monkey?

Reb. in Moratinos

 

[knitknigel]

Thanks for your comment Gerd. I wish you a buen camino on your route too. I'm looking forward to my first day when I meet those who are starting on the same day I am.

 

[knitknigel]

Kimlin, you have only a few days left before you head out to the camino. I hope you have good weather and a great Camino. I hope we meet along the way.

 

[rosie]

Hi Nigel - I'm leaving Canada on the 14th of May, so will be following in your footsteps.
I hope we can get together some time in Vancouver and share road stories over a glass of wine.
Happy walking, happy knitting.
Hugs,
Rosemary (in Calgary)

 

[kimlin]

Thanks Nigel... still trying to get that pattern for the scallop shell, but the test little sock monkey is complete. I will try to leave him for you at Roncesvalles. Buen camino tambien!
Kimlin

 

[kimlin]

will definitely knit you a sock monkey Rebekah. Shall she have bandaged pilgrim feet?

 

[Bridget and Peter]

Just noticed you leave today, knitknigel. Have a wonderful knitting camino and get people to takes photos of you knitting in interesting places, won't you?
God bless