A new knitter!

I am very proud to announce that there is a new knitter in my household!  This week Maddie learned to knit!  She's been asking to learn for quite a while and has even had her own knitting needles (the cute Lion Brand ones with the kitty faces on the ends) for a couple years, but I didn't want her to try too early and get frustrated.  Now that she's 6, I decided that it was time.

Since I knit in a kind of strange way, I used the book Kids Learn to Knit to get her started.  It has a lot of cute easy projects that got her interested (although she was already eager to learn, so that wasn't much of a concern in my case).  The cast on taught is the backward loop method -- which was easy for Maddie, who just turned 6, to master.  The only problem is that this cast on makes the first row on knitting very difficult, so I stepped in and knit that row so that there was no frustration.  After that she was off!  There are plenty of pictures and easy to read directions (she read them all herself, so they are simple enough for child to read).  I'm very happy with the book so far, and we both can't wait to get to the projects!

So far she has knit a couple rows -- one row takes pretty about as much concentration as she can muster in one sitting  :)  But she always seems very proud after she is finished and yesterday she came and asked me if we could knit, so I'm taking that as a good sign!

Oh yeah -- Maddie's been doing more than just knitting. I just updated her homeschooling blog too!

Comments

[Mama Urchin]

I cannot wait for my daughter to be able rto actually knit. Right now she just unwinds a whole ball of yarn and tangles it up with two needles.Your daughter gives me hope that the time will arrive someday.

[Michelle]

Yay Maddie! I can't wait to see what you knit!

[Elinor]

Awww, what a cutie! We've got to hook 'em while they're young, right?? ;-)

[Michelle]

That is so exciting. My daughter is 4 and a half, and wants to knit so badly. But she's just not there, yet. I really like the Lucinda Guy books, maybe in a year I'll be able to give this one to my Becca to start her knitting library!

[Karen]

YAY!!! Maddie. Welcome to the world of knitting.

[pippi]

Yay! welcome to the fold Maddie!

[Joni]

Congratulations Maddie!!!

[Jenny]

That is so cute! Maddie and the knitting.

[nik]

it's always great to see the little ones keeping their hands busy. I think it's great that she wanted to learn.

[--Deb]

Good for Maddie!

[Vicki]

WOOHOO! I know it must have hard to hold off this long. Knitting must be in her genes :)

[Rachel]

That's so sweet. Getting the book was a great idea. I have the same problem with teaching people how to knit; I was taught the combined method and whenever I try to adjust to how you're "supposed" to knit everything just feels wrong.

[Rosemary Capitolo]

Yahoo for both you and Maddie. How exciting!! I taught our two grand daughters when they were 8 and they have since made simple scarves and headbands, and last summer they youngest, Megan, who is now 9, came with me to the knit shop and sat and knit for 5 hours. I was continualy asking her if we needed to leave, but she loved all the attention and just sat quietly knitting and listening. So cute!!! Isn't it neat to have a new knitter?? So great to pass on what you love. Go Maddie!!!

[AmyP]

No child left behind? No *person* left behind. One by one we will convert them all! Mwhahahahahahaha ... :cough, cough:

[jessie]

My daughter just learned as well, and although she hasn't worked on anything lately, I think she'll get back into it this winter. The next generation....

[Kat with a K]

Congratulations, Maddie! Welcome to the fold!

[Tracey]

Oh how exciting, my daughter learned at that age, she put it aside, she really doesn't have the patience, even at 10 to work at it. i finally figured out she needs something with that "instant gratification" value to really hook her, so we moved up to bigger needles and a bulky weight yarn, and she is making progress on a scarf. I figure she's hooked now.

[minniepumpkin]

wow!!! I am so proud of her! I love your blog. Drop by sometime. She is a doll. My lexi is 6 and I am trying so hard to teach her!!! I may get this book too. ;)