Auntie Camp v.3

3rd Annual Auntie Camp commenced early Wednesday morning when Mack & Addie arrived at my back door!

It was a dreary and rainy start, so we decided to go to a movie — something that was on our unofficial List of Possibilities, anyway. I don't think I've ever been to a 10:30 a.m. showing before!

We saw Despicable Me 3, and I didn't even fall asleep (as I am wont to do; close, but no Zs).

Later, after lunch and some errands, we tried our hand dyeing some silk scarves using The 5-Minute Silk Scarf method from Dharma Trading Co. I'd run across this tutorial when I was shopping for tie-dye supplies, and already had everything needed for the project except the silk scarves, so added a few to my order.

It was so easy, and really fun. Because we were using dry/powdered acid dye for this project, we needed to wear face masks — so it felt a little science-y, too! The boys LOVED how their projects turned out.

Jun & Gin came over for a while! Jun was wearing one of the old boys' old Brasil soccer shirts, and Gin sported my first attempt at a romper from a t-shirt! I made that two years ago (OMG, wee Jun!), using a shirt with Addie's art (still one of my favorites)!

On Thursday, we got together with Ali & the kids and headed up to Bay Beach Amusement Park – the best little park around!

The first thing on the list was a train ride! Junah was in HEAVEN… and didn't want to get off when it was over. Poor guy. He loves trains so much!!

While the little kids played on the playground, Mack & Addie & I took a ride on "Elvis' favorite" rollercoaster, the Zippin Pippin!

It's been quite a while since I rode a rollercoaster. Yikes! It sure is a nice view from up there, though. We also went on the Scrambler, one of my favorites from childhood (along with the Tilt-a-Whirl and Spider/Octopus). Mack & Ali & Junah went down the Giant Slide, and everyone but me took a ride on the Merry-Go-Round.

There were burgers & cheese fries, slushies & ice cream… everything you could want from a visit to an amusement park!!

On Friday, Maddy took the boys to Stevens Point for some kayaking.

I ran a few errands while they were gone, including delivery of the Mini-Me Hat & Beard and a stop at my LYS, Iris Fine Yarns, to get yarn for a new project. I also did a few things around the house, such as replacing the toilet seat!

We went to the opening of Settling the Ghost, an art exhibition curated by Kate (Young Space) at Standard Projects. There was great attendance, and I think the boys enjoyed it… though their favorite "exhibit" was on the snack table!

Rounding off a pretty busy day, Maddy built a fire when we got home, and we made s'mores!

Saturday was Tie-Dye Day! We'd been prepping shirts here & there over the previous couple of days, so we were ready to DO IT!

I guess I didn't take any photos of the process.

They tried swirls and sunbursts, and it was all about the application of the color. I'd purchased a Tie-Dye Kit from Dharma, along with a couple of extra colors and some of their ready-to-dye shirts (and a couple of onesies), plus some other shirts (both white & colors) that I had.

After applying the dye, the shirts were wrapped in plastic wrap to sit/set.

Anticipation!!

They'd held a few projects back to dye with indigo — because it just isn't Auntie Camp unless someone turns blue! Haha. I was a bit more stern about that this time, though, because their big brother is getting married on Saturday. The dye comes off of skin fairly easily, but takes quite a bit longer if fingernails are involved.

The "magic" of indigo is more immediate than the tie-dye, and so fun!

I made the t-shirt for Junah, Mack dyed the tank for me. I love it, and wore it yesterday! There are more photos on Instagram.

Ali picked us up and we went to the pool to cool off. We ordered pizza for supper, and then Maddy walked with the boys to get some ice cream. 

On Sunday morning, we were excited about the big reveal of the tie-dye projects!

There's a whole lotta water involved in that process. Wow. I unwrapped, rinsed with the hose on the driveway; the boys removed rubber bands, I rinsed with the hose again; rinsed again with warm water in the kitchen; did a rinse & spin cycle in the washer; hot/cold wash in the washer; and again. I put color catchers in with all of the machine cycles… and they caught a lot of color!

From left to right: Swirl shirt for Junah (I don't remember who applied the color); Addy's orange shirt with a shibori technique (kind of a dud); Mack's pleated shirt; Addy's swirl shirt for his mom; Mack's swirl shirt for his mom; Mack's swirl shirt for his dad; and Addy's tri-section shirt for his dad. The color in Mack's pleated shirt is a lot less vibrant and I finally figured out that we'd forgotten to soak it in the soda ash solution prior to dyeing!

The only major things left on our List of Possibilities was making bookmarks (collage/lamination) and knitting, and the boys chose knitting!

The boys are very different in their styles/technique — learning/doing — and Addie needs lots of breaks (bathroom, snack, drink, fiddling — that gadget he has isn't even charged). And we moved a bit, from the pergola to the porch and, eventually, to the couch.

  

Ann & Brian were originally due on Sunday afternoon, but were delayed by weather so the boys stayed overnight on Sunday, too. They both worked on their knitting for a while before we turned on a movie (Sky High — kinda cute), and it was so fun listening to them talk about how knitting is "magical" and "calming." Mack's talking about making a blanket, and Brian said that Mack made sure he had his knitting when they left my house yesterday — he forgot his hat & sunglasses, but he had his knitting!!

That's a wrap for Auntie Camp v.3! Already gathering ideas for v.4.  ;)

I am feeling much better, thank you! I was told yesterday that I sounded like Stevie Nicks… "sing something!" Haha. A bit less so today, and far less sniffly, too.