Saturday, April 7, 2007

Ready to Start Sahara

My KnitPicks replacement needles came in the mail on Monday. I'm going to try to swatch for the Sahara soon, but I haven't decided if I want to finish Green Gable before I actually start another project. I've taken the sleeves off the needles and just finished one of them (so I can see how it looks the next time I try it on). I'm sure it will go much faster now since I only have 180 stitches going.

We've had a huge cool off weather wise and will be having temps in the mid to upper twenties for the next few nights. Guess it's a good thing I've been busy knitting and haven't had time to plant anything yet. I'm trying to decide if I'll actually have a garden this year. Maybe just tomatoes. H has decided that he loves cucumbers now. He even tried some lettuce and said he liked it. He's always loved veggies and fruits, but those are two things that he's never liked. Guess turning 4 changes things (he keeps telling me he can do "XXXX" now that he's four.) He knows his ABC's, can count to 50 (he still misses 15 sometimes) and can spell and write his first name.

Does anyone have any suggestions for teaching kids to knit? My neighbor's daughter is 5 and she wants to learn. I've got yarn and needles for her, but need a little help on the best way to approach this. I've had some adults that have trouble with a slip knot for the long tail cast on (I pulled up a video link for the LTCO and they didn't use a slip knot. Was I taught something weird?)

I had 4 kids in the house (4 mo, 1 yo, and 2 4 yos) for part of the day yesterday. I'm hoping the two little ones take coinciding naps again (2 hours Tuesday, but the littlest slept for 3 hours.) I was able to clean up the house a bit, start laundry and still had some time to knit.

Jenn

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Just sit with the 5 yr old and let them watch. Use an e-wrap cast on, easier for them to learn, but watch that first knit row. Tends to be too loose or too tight depending on the tension when casting on. Most of all just go through the motions and repeat the rhyme, In the front door, around the back, out the window, off jumps Jack. You can imagine which motions this goes to.

Marigold said...

IMO, most kids can handle a slip knot. They like to play with the yarn, and it's a useful thing to learn.

knitspot anne said...

i usually teach kids by putting some stitches on the needle for them, and getting them started with the knit stitch. that seems to keep them busy and allow them success right away when they start to see fabric coming off the needle. then, in the second lesson, i show them how to cast off (they love this!), and teach them to cast on some stitches of their own. it seems to work well; they really want to KNIT in the first lesson and sometimes will get bogged down in cast-on, which can be discouraging.

Jenn said...

Thanks for the tips! I knew there was a rhyme, but I couldn't remember it. We've made plans to get together once school is out and give it a shot. We'll try both ways and see which she has an easier time with.