The last days of our Spring break were filled with projects. A3 decided to start knitting again, I was working on multiple knitting projects and the house was a buzz with the energy of concentrated hand work. This energy grabbed onto our youngest crafter to be and A4, my youngest son, recently seven, decided he wanted to learn how to knit too. All my other children learned to knit at his age at the Waldorf school and when we were homeschooling. We have been so busy driving back and forth to sports, school and after school activities that, I will reluctantly admit, I have been re-miss in my handwork instruction with A4. The time had come and we actually had some spare moments to sit on the porch swing and teach him the preliminaries.
A3 was thrilled and recounted her experience learning the "magic" knot and finger knitting. It was bitter sweet watching his chubby little fingers trying their hardest to figure out how to grab the yarn to make it come out right. I marveled at how quickly he went from awkward to competency stringing "magic" knot after "magic" knot. A3 helped him "check" that he did it right by pulling all of them out, pop, pop, pop, all down the line.
Then it was on to the work of finger knitting. That kept him busy for the rest of the day. He claimed one of my old small project bags as his own, made long chains of finger knitting, and finally fell asleep with his bag in his hand, full of his work of the day.
The craziness of school and sports has started again. It might be summer before we have a chance to make knitting needles and dye his yarn for his first project, but I know it will come, and the last of my knitters will join the ranks of children who know the pleasure of making something useful with their own hands.
Very sweet post Amy! How adorable is he???? :)
Posted by: Maria Ziomek | April 30, 2010 at 01:36 PM