A Year in the Making
Before I get into today’s post, I just want to point out that one of you, probably today or perhaps tomorrow, is going to leave the 20,000th comment. Amazing! And there will, of course, be a special prize for the 20,000th commenter.
Okay, onward.
Those of you who have been around for a while will remember that Hannah started a dish cloth last year around this time. If you need a refresher, the post can be found here.
Guess when she finished the dish cloth? Last night. And she wouldn’t have finished it then except that I got on her case about having my favorite pair of Lantern Moon needles for a whole year.
So, I taught her to cast off and now it’s done. Perhaps not the finest effort but done is better than perfect.
We had a little chat about knitting while she was casting off. Apparently, she still hates it. She finds it stressful and figures that it’s not worth stressing herself out just to make me happy. I pointed out that we could knit together in the evenings and that if she kept at it she’d get much better. But she said no, she was done with knitting.
And yet, when I sarcastically asked her what she wanted to knit next, she picked up my copy of http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Pretty-Kris-Percival/dp/0811835332/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196294432&sr=8-1 and started thumbing through it. Next thing I know, she announces that she is going to make “a bunch” of book marks for her friends and then when she finishes those she is going to make the super-long ribbed scarf.
All by Christmas.
I didn’t ask her if she meant this Christmas or next Christmas.
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Love her youthful optimism! I say, go for it, Hannah!
20,000! Congrats! That’s a whole lotta commentin’ 😉 Hannah is my hero! I thought I took my time! Some day, she’ll be cranking out cabled sweaters and socks like nobody’s business. No stress for her, you taught her well 🙂
I recognize that sort of can-do optimism.
Ha-ha! Go, Hannah, go!
Congratulations on 20,000 comments! Wow!
My daughter feels the same way about crochet and she is the one that begged to be taught. Ahhh well maybe she will pick up the sticks when she is older. I can only hope.
Teenagers! Gotta love em . They have the rest of their lives to be boringly consistent.I bet she becomes her dorm’s knitting guru a few years from now.
I had to bribe my daughter with a beer and a trip to starbucks to get her to try out some yarn. And the little minx made as small an effort as she could, then announced nope, she hated it can we go get the beer? Hope Hannah has fun with the bookmarks and gets the scarf done in time!
Lucky!! I can hardly get my 17 yr old daughter to look at yarn! She had your Lantern Moons for a year??!!? OMG!!! I bet that was a hard one for you!
Carole – this made me chuckle! Watch out, you may be helping finish some Christmas knitting!!
🙂 Congrats also on the 20,000th comment!!
Gale hit the nail on the head. The thing about kids…they do grow up.
Hannah’s wash cloth is lovely! I’m sure she’ll have no trouble having the bookmarks done by Christmas. Her Mom can help her;)
I love first efforts!! Be sure to tuck this away. I’m betting some day she’s a real expert. Congrats to Hannah!!
Ahh, you are wise and tactful not to ask her which Christmas. Nice dishcloth and kudos for getting your Lantern Moons back.
My fifteen year old has couple of FOs to her name. I would like her to understand and experience the same enjoyment and relaxation I get out of knitting but I don’t think it is to be. Anything that she has to spend time on and get done reminds her too much of homework and she has enough of that.
Wow, 20,000 is a lot. Congratuations.
Good for her!! You know, I taught myself to knit using dishcloth cotton – and later when I knit my first wool I found it was so much easier!! I don’t recommend cotton for a new knitter – it’s too hard to work with. Maybe if she tries a different yarn she’ll enjoy it more. 🙂
Wow. All by Christmas. This should be interesting!
I like that gal’s thinking…about the same way I approach sending Christmas cards..LOL. I was just saying that I’d already bought mine – three years ago! If I get them out some time this decade, I’ll be doing good!
Meanwhile, nice dishcloth, Oh, and I figure I’m not in too much of a rush to share my love of knitting with my kids or my sister’s kids. I figure that so far, once my kids like something that I do, there’s much less of it for ME. Just think of Hannah’s current disdain as a way for you to have nore control over your stash….
Just wait – she’ll pick it up again approaching her 30s and then you can knit together! Does she spin at all?
Hannah sounds just like my daughter! I can’t tell you how many UFO’s are in her room. She bought more yarn at WEBS last weekend to make a felted bag. Let’s see if she finishes this one!
They will LOVE knitting one day – dammit!
Hey- at least she finished something! That is more than I can say for my boys who both tried knitting. Funny how the things we love don’t all ways turn out to be the things our children do. Time will tell-
hahaha its a start! She’ll get more patient as she goes along!
You let her keep Lantern Moon needles for a whole year! Are you mad??
wooden needles and kitchen cotton? maybe that’s why she hates knitting so much.
but despite her disgust, she’s certainly one who is willing to put her feelings aside to make gifts for her friends. and her friends won’t even realize how much she’s suffered for them.
My mother only knits dishcloths. She’s made about 400 of them. She says she hates knitting too.
She may not like it now, but she’ll come around. And in about 10 years when she starts to feel real stress everyday, she’ll relish it as her only outlet! Like me! 🙂
Congrats on 20,000!
You’ve taught her a skill that she will come to enjoy as she gets older. I remember being that kid who said they found knitting stressful too 🙂
Hmmm… perhaps this knitting thing is genetic after all? 😉
WOW! Don’t ya just love kids! They continually bring smiles to our faces. My daughter was like that also and now she is a beautiful 29 year old mother who is starting to sew and KNIT! There is hope!
20K. Wow. Just wow.
I remember first starting to knit and looking down at my crappy…thing- I won’t even call it a scarf- and thinking, “This sucks. Who would ever want to spend their time doing this?”
Yeah, almost 5 years later and I can’t put it down.
lol
Grace says she doesn’t like to knit too. She has started a couple projects and finished 0. It will come.
Heh, she certainly SOUNDS like a knitter! How funny!
That’s pretty funny! At least she’s not asserting that she’ll knit a ribby cardi or something.
Well that cinches it, she’s a knitter, she just doesn’t know it yet!
Sounds like you are already doing all the right things. Just make the supplies available to her and let her take her time.
My daughter has been making me a hat for over a year now. She gets distracted easily and asks to start something new (wonder where she gets that from LOL!). I let her – how can I not when I have quite a few WIPs myself.
oooooooH, I wanna win….congratulations to both you and Hannah! My daughter has yet to bind off her hat (she’s using a knitting loom), started a year ago!
Hmmm – I’m thinking it might be next Christmas. 😉 My daughter tried knitting and disliked it, too. I had the same image of the two of us knitting together at night. Maybe some day…
Hannah – nice job! Maybe I’ll finish something today too.
Carole – good parenting means never asking a question you don’t already know the answer to! Good for you too!
That is so great that she is willing to give it a go again. I hope she soon learns to relax with it not let it stress her. Heck it is only two stitches, a knit and a purl.
Hugs!!!
Hey, at least it’s a goal.
Sounds like she enjoys knitting just a bit more than she will admit to you. But, this time give her a set of needles to use that you won’t mind missing for a while…just in case.
lol…well I certainly love her optimism 🙂
Hannah sounds exactly like my 14yo dd who CAN knit but most of the time won’t. She’s had one of my Addi Turbo’s for 9 months now. I hope with the cold weather, she’ll decide to knit a lot soon.
BTW, love the CPH.
Nice Matters. That’s why I’ve nominated you for the award. Please click through to my blog for the details. 🙂
Ah, if she’s created a queue then she is already converted, whether she knows it or not. Good for her on her first FO!
Hannah may find it stressful right now, but the seed has been planted and someday it will begin to grow. THEN she will be ready to start knitting.
It took my seed a long time to sprout but it finally did this year.
I’m 52.
She may surprise you. Either way, she’s still a gorgeous child and I know you’re very proud.
Well, it appears she already has the knitter’s ability to completely underestimate the amount of time it takes to knit something for Christmas! ;o)
Congrats Hannah! My daughter finished her first scarf over Thanksgiving- she started at her first knitting class in July. Knit in Brown Sheep- she promptly called it scratchy and wasn’t sure about it!. Not to be out done, her little sister has almost finished hers as well- just needs to learn how to cast off and weave in ends!
Sounds like my stepdaughter – she was totally into having me teach her to knit, then she gave up on it, then she told me she was making a scarf. I can’t keep up with it. Congrats on the 20,000! Wow!
One day she’ll be cranking out Shetland shawls. 😉
It’s true. Knitting sucks. I hate every single thing about it, and as soon as I finish that stole, votive sleeves, the two sweaters, three pairs of socks and two lacy wraps I have in progress or on my queue I’m totally quitting.