Knitting Lessons

Niece #3 learned how to knit last year and is quickly getting obsessed, like so many of us knitters. She gifted her younger sister a hand-knit headband and a SELF-DESIGNED knit shark for her 2nd birthday last Monday! 

 

The shark took three weeks to make, which is pretty quick considering she had to design, knit, sew together, duplicate stitch a mouth, and sew on felt eyes. I am so impressed!

Nice detail with the white belly! Marine biologist in the making, for certain! It turned out super cute!

She really wanted to knit a hat, so I shipped her some purple worsted-weight yarn, size 8 circular needles, and a pom-pom maker for her birthday (which I forgot about in August... ooops!). We set a FaceTime date, and yesterday we started a hat. I didn't know that she didn't know how to purl yet, so we skipped a ribbed brim in favor of one that will curl up. I am loosely using the Beanie pattern from Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.

The hardest part of knitting in the round is getting the stitches arranged in the same direction before joining the stitches into a circle. Looks like she passed the test! Now she has to fight through 5 inches of knitting before she has to decrease. And it looks like Auntie E forgot that you need double pointed needles to finish the top of the hat. Time to send some more supplies. What should I add to spoil her? 

Happy Creating!

Knitting With Nieces

Five years ago, I gifted my first two nieces matching sweaters. Niece number 1 then learned the knit stitch, which I chronicled here. Today, we did a quick review and then went straight to a lace pattern.

Very little conferring was needed, even to interpret the lace pattern. She just learned the symbols and asked an occasional question about the execution of a stitch. Slowly but surely she made her way through the pattern. The purl stitch; so much patience needed! Whew!

We used the snowflake part of the Snowflake
Sweater pattern by Tin Can Knits.

Let's show some serious appreciation for the fact that she used relatively tiny needles (size 3) and DK weight yarn.  The stitches are so even and look professional.What an amazing crafty young lady!

The evening could not end without a quick lesson on blocking, the most important part in the finishing process.

I can't stop blogging without bragging about my niece one more time. Check out these lovely place tags she made for our festive holiday dinner. She even painted the faces on the button to make it look like a snowman. She is My People!

Knitting Lessons

Before the knit reveal parade begins, I want to share a few shots of last night's knitting lesson. Niece #1 is now 8 years old and known as one of the "crafty cousins." We attempted some knitting over summer vacation last year, which was very uncoordinated, but fun.

First, we reviewed the basics with her hands on mine. We had a nice mantra of "in, around, through, off" going to remember how to make each stitch.

After a surprisingly short time, she was able to take over without my help.

Before the evening was over, we were both working independently on our own projects. Can't wait to see what she comes up with in a few years!