Well.....finger knitting that is. Yes, I was determined to teach Jetta how to knit when she showed the intrest, (even though I don't know how myself) so we got excited about our new found interest and marched down to the local 'yarn barn'. I was sure that we would find people so excited about knitting that it would inspire us and show Jetta how much fun knitting could be. I knew they would point us in the right direction to start. However, when we got to the store and began talking to the woman who worked there, we soon found out that knitting was not for kids and that nothing, I mean NOTHING was suitable for children in the store that had to do with knitting. I was told that trying to teach my daughter to knit would NOT be possible. " If she did knit something, there would be holes in it and the disappointment would be so great she may never knit again" one lady explained to me. I proceeded to tell them, in the nicest way possible, that we were not leaving without the yarn and supplies that we came for. I almost had to force them to sell it to me. I was so disappointed in these women, but I was going to show my daughter that if she wanted to learn to do something she could. On the way out of the 'Yarn Barn' Jetta asked me why those women thought she couldn't knit. I explained to her that they just didn't know any better. Maybe someone had told them that kids couln't do it, so that was their belief. We do not have that belief. So we marched home and decided we would just have to research it ourselves. We hopped on the internet and a few searches later, to our sheer delight, we found finger knitting! We watched the video a few times and we were off and knitting.
Jetta, age 5 (way too young for knitting, yeah right!), picked it up so quickly and I really had fun with it too.
Jetta, age 5 (way too young for knitting, yeah right!), picked it up so quickly and I really had fun with it too.
Her fingers moved with dexterity and precision. Her whole body in a deep meditational state. This is just the experience we were looking for.
And here is the beautiful bracelet that she made for me.
It is so important to teach our children that when we are guided to do something, there may be many blocks set in our path, but if you trust yourself, you can always find a way. I did buy the knitting needles too, which I am"sure that kids can't use either" but we are sure going to give it a try. We don't worry too much about a few holes in our scarves. We like them!
1 comment:
Yay! Yay! Yay! Finger knitting is indeed the best place to start, and it looks like she really got the hang of it! When I teach kids to knit, I insist that they do finger knitting first, because it teaches the feel of the whole thing before the needles are in there, confusing you. :)
When you're ready to move on to "real" knitting, my biggest tip for beginners is to use good-quality, natural materials. Wooden needles are the best, and worth the additional expense. (Stitches accidentally slip off metal needles too easily, leading to unnecessary frustration.) And the yarn should ideally be wool or at least part wool so it has some stretch to it -- bamboo, cotton, and acrylic don't stretch, so they are less forgiving.
Good luck! Good for you and your mama tenacity! :)
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