Don’t Get In the Way of a Girl and Her Scarf

Getting back to work after a few days’ vacation is never easy. I’ve had barely enough time to meet my daily deadlines, never mind enjoy the luxury of blogging (or reading, writing, or knitting).

Just prior to our camping trip to Hopeville Pond State Park in my hometown of Griswold, Connecticut, The Girl and I went to Joann’s mostly just to browse. Well, we came upon a clearance bin, and some fluffy, pink yarn that could not be overlooked by a 7-year-old girl who loves fluffy pink things was begging to be bought for the bargain price of 50 cents per ball. So when she looked up at me and declared that she wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon learning how to knit (my previous attempts beginning at the age of 5 were complete disasters—not because she couldn’t do it, but because she insisted that she knew everything there was about knitting and did not need my help…even after the yarn became a tangled, knotted mess that eventually had to be cut and thrown away!) how could I resist?

After finding a set of short, plastic straight needles with a whopping price tag of 97 cents and getting a 40% discount on the most expensive item (which happened to be those needles), we walked out with a learn-to-knit kit that cost me less than $2. Who could ask for more?

It’s not surprising that The Girl chose a novelty yarn for her first knitting project. (It’s Patons Twister, colorway "Pink Power") Knowing how stubborn she is and anticipating that she’d shrug off any attempts for me to help her, I laid down some ground rules. I would cast on the stitches for her, teach her the knit stitch, and when she finished the scarf, I would bind off the stitches for her as well. If, after mastering the knit stitch, she wanted to learn more, I’d invest the time to teach her the purl stitch and how to cast on and bind off…and amazingly, she agreed without argument.

She picked up the motions very quickly, and after a few hours of practice over a period of two days using some cheap-o acrylic, she insisted it was time to knit her scarf. I was worried about the fact that the yarn is actually two yarns twisted together, but other than asking me to help here and there because two extra stitches made their way on the needles, she’s been doing great. At 7, she already has a bag stash, and she chose one to be her knitting bag for the 6-hour car ride to Connecticut. She was so excited about bringing a knitting project with her, and she said many times, “Mommy, I never knew knitting could be so much fun!” (Given that I’ve already managed to turn her into a bookworm, my husband just rolled his eyes and said, “She’s definitely a carbon-copy of her mother!” Now we just need to have another kid who would give anything to sit with Dad and watch the Red Sox and Patriots, and we’ll be all set!)

She’s knit a good six to eight inches or more of the scarf already. She hasn’t knit much since coming home, mostly because she received tons of birthday gifts from the family during our stay and has so many new things to keep her occupied. I have no pictures right now, but she’s assured me that I can post one here when the scarf is finished.

I’m so proud.

Here's some pictures from the party we had at our campsite, courtesy of my dear friend, Sarah.

**Photos Copyright 2007 Sarah Hollenbeck**