MDK Summer Camp 2023

MDK Summer Camp 2023 Is in Session!

This year in the craft hut, we’ll be making colorful, modern dishcloths with Lorilee Beltman, one of the knitting world’s most sought-after teachers.

Lorilee’s Sinkmates dishcloth is a project you’ll want to make by the stack, and it’s a fantastic tool for learning techniques that will elevate all your knitting.

Starting with the basic version of the dishcloth, you’ll learn a unique way to construct a mitered square that starts with an i-cord. With these fundamentals mastered, Lorilee will then help us build our skills with each variation of the basic pattern—mosaic, stripes, and intarsia.

You may be wondering, how will we learn all these different patterns and techniques in a three-hour session?

That’s the fun part: instead of swatches, our practice pieces will be four mini-cloths.

These minis are the cutest things ever—Kay demanded to make all the photography samples herself. The mini-cloths set you up for glory when you knit the full-sized pattern, which is included with your camp package.

What’s in the Box?

Your MDK Summer Camp 2023 kit includes everything you need to fill your dishcloth drawer with colorful goodness. You’ll receive:

• Six skeins of Rowan Handknit Cotton in a beautiful custom palette—Kay got eight full-size dishcloths and eight mini-dishcloths out of this set, with yarn left over for more scrappy dishcloths. 
• A pair of Kay and Ann’s favorite dishcloth needles—classic bamboo straights—in size US 7.
• A tapestry needle.
• A printed class handout with instructions for the four mini-dishcloths we’ll be making at camp, plus Lorilee’s notes and tips.
• A code for downloading to your Ravelry library the complete, full-size Sinkmates dishcloth pattern—including the four patterns we’ll learn at camp, plus additional variations!
• A handy kitchen gadget that we couldn’t resist.
• Last but not least: a collectible MDK Summer Camp 2023 patch!

Note: Camp boxes will ship out approximately three weeks before the day of the event, July 21, 2023.

Keep an eye out for your homework assignment in your kit. (Easiest homework ever!)

A Zoom link to the live event will be sent to you the day before.

Our Camp Counselor

We’re thrilled to welcome Lorilee Beltman to the MDK contributor lineup. Lorilee sees no end to where knitting curiosity can take you, and she loves to help knitters make new discoveries. Patient with students, Lorilee packs her classes with content and extra tips you can really use. She has enjoyed teaching knitters at over a hundred national events, and she looks forward to meeting you at MDK Summer Camp. 

Lorilee’s articles and designs have been published in books, magazines, and online mags. She has been a yarn shop owner, a Knit Stars master class teacher, a techniques columnist at Knitty, and an online instructor at Interweave and at Craftsy where her classes are bestsellers.

Lorilee grew up in Pittsburgh, spent thirty years in west Michigan, and now calls the Seattle area home, where she grows lots of veggies every summer. When not knitting, you can find her on the pickleball court playing for fun or teaching beginners as a newly minted certified pickleball coach.

Find out more about Lorilee at lorileebeltman.com.

All the DISHY Details

Is MDK Summer Camp 2023 suitable for beginning knitters? Absolutely. If you can cast on, knit, purl, and work simple decreases, you’re ready to camp with us, and you’ll learn a lot of great new skills. Lorilee’s class handout will have tips on how to prepare and set yourself up for success in the live Zoom. We’ll take our time with the first mini-cloth, repeating steps and making certain everyone’s got it. Chat will be monitored so that your questions are communicated to Lorilee.

Will a three-hour Zoom be long enough to complete all four mini-cloths? Yes—but no pressure! These little cloths share the same basic construction, so your confidence will grow quickly. There are just not a lot of stitches in a mini-cloth, but if you’d like to take more time with one, you can put it aside and come back to it later. You’ll finish your four mini-cloths—and start your full-sized cloths—on the camp bus or wherever you are when the MDK Summer Camp Zoom ends. We’ll start a thread in the MDK Lounge to share follow-up questions and sassy photos of finished minis.

Are the finished mini-cloths good for anything? Cuteness has a utility of its own—we really believe that. But we also think there is a place in the world for a 100 percent cotton mini-cloth with a handy drying loop. Serving suggestions: eco-friendly makeup remover; demitasse coaster; cooling eye compress (just add cucumber slice).

What are the colors of Handknit Cotton in the kit?—I might want to add some colors! Atlantic, Blushes, Flamingo, Goldfish, Lace, Thunder. Lots more colors sold by the skein here.

I can’t make it to the live Zoom. May I still participate? Sure! All MDK Summer Campers will receive a link to the event recording and all resources we share.

Do I have to order the kit in order to participate in the MDK Summer Camp Zoom or watch the recording? Yes, it’s a complete experience, sort of like when you had to pack three bathing suits for camp even though you only ever used one. It’s just the way it is.

We can’t wait! See you on the camp bus!