My sister's first ever knitting project
It was a lot harder than I was expecting to teach my sister how to knit, because I now knit continental style, rather than English (which is what I was first taught), but when I taught myself continental I already could knit, so I didn't have to learn the whole process from scratch. Rethinking them from a beginner's point of view was a bit challenging, but I think she's doing pretty well on my less than perfect instructions.
I've also been trying to pick the perfect pattern for her to knit. She's, ahem, quite into vintage, so we've been trying to find a nice vintage pattern that uses DK weight yarn (to no avail. She's actually contemplating months of 4-ply stockinette without fear in her heart, as far as I can gather).
Teaching Charlotte made me think about how pleased I am that I learned to knit young. OK, so I only knitted scarves for my first dozen or so projects (my step father, good sport that he is, continued wearing the luminous monstrosity I created especially for him for years. It's possible he still has it). When you learn a skill young, even if it's only the basics (I could only knit, purl, cast on and cast off until I was about 25) it's just so much easier to pick up and develop later. So as I sit tonight, surrounded by WIPS, I will send silent thanks to the two people who spent hours patiently teaching me and correcting my inadvertent increases/cast offs - a sadly-no-longer-with-us elderly neighbour, and my step-sister (who you might be lucky enough to be attended by should you give birth at home in a particular part of London).
You mean there are different kinds of knitting? I stand no chance ;)
Posted by: beth | 01/14/2011 at 10:32 AM
Just pick one and go with it - there's not much to choose between them, except personal preference, I think one is easier than the other if you're already a crocheter (I'm not). Don't ask me which though!
Posted by: Islay | 01/15/2011 at 02:06 AM