carnationsgalore

My daughter, Allie (almost 10), is excited about learning to knit.
We bought a diy kit from a craft store which resulted in tears
and frustration. We just couldn't make sense of the directions even
with the pictures. I found a store dedicated to knitting and
crochet nearby and took Allie over there. We met one of the owners
who happily agreed to teach Allie to knit. She even invited Allie
to join the Wed. night knitting circle after Allie got started on
her first project.

I'm excited for Allie, but feeling torn because I don't know whether
or not I should also learn to knit as support for her interest.
Truthfully, I have no interest in any type of sewing. She has other
interests that I've supported without learning myself. Will I look
strange at the knitting store reading a book? How much is enough
when we're supporting our children's interests? I did talk with
Allie but she really didn't give me a clear answer. I am thinking
she would really like me to do this with her but is afraid to ask me
because she knows I don't really like sewing. Am I wrong in
thinking this is her interest and I don't have to follow along?

Beth M.

Kelli Traaseth

***I am thinking
she would really like me to do this with her but is afraid to ask me
because she knows I don't really like sewing. Am I wrong in
thinking this is her interest and I don't have to follow along?***

Have you tried it? I know that I really don't like sewing, but crocheting and knitting have been different for me. I love both of those.

I'm not saying that I think we have to do everything our children do, but if you're willing to give it a try, maybe it won't be as bad as you think. Yet, if you have a strong aversion to it, maybe it will... <g>





Kelli~


http://ourjoyfullife.blogspot.com/

"There are no ordinary moments." Dan Millman, Peaceful Warrior




---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Rebecca Boxwell

Beth -

I do not think that you need to be a knitter in order to support your
daughter in her endeavors. Knitters tend to be very helpful, welcoming
people. Given a little effort she will be able to find other people to
show her whatever she wants to learn. If you are an unwilling
participant I think that you will actually hold her back.

Knitters are used to being the weird person in the room knitting, so
they aren't going to be phased by you reading a book.

I will mention that knitting is very different than sewing, so you may
love it if you tried it with an open mind. Or you might be interested
in trying something related to knitting - like spinning or dying yarn or
weaving.

Even if you never knit there are lots of ways to support your daughter.
Knitters love yarn. They love to be around yarn. Let her hang out in
yarn stores, attend knitting sessions. Buy her yarn, lots of yarn.
There are knitting conferences with tons of classes and huge markets. (I
just got back from one in the Bay Area.) Get her a knitting magazine,
my favorite is Interweave Knits. Help her check out
http://www.knitty.com There are a ton of knitting blogs. The newest
BIG thing in the knitting world is Ravelry.
http://www.ravelry.com/account/login Ravelry is an online world devoted
to knitting where you can network, plan projects, etc.

Hope that helps!

--Rebecca





On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:48:33 -0000, "carnationsgalore"
<addled.homemaker@...> said:
> My daughter, Allie (almost 10), is excited about learning to knit.
> We bought a diy kit from a craft store which resulted in tears
> and frustration. We just couldn't make sense of the directions even
> with the pictures. I found a store dedicated to knitting and
> crochet nearby and took Allie over there. We met one of the owners
> who happily agreed to teach Allie to knit. She even invited Allie
> to join the Wed. night knitting circle after Allie got started on
> her first project.
>
> I'm excited for Allie, but feeling torn because I don't know whether
> or not I should also learn to knit as support for her interest.
> Truthfully, I have no interest in any type of sewing. She has other
> interests that I've supported without learning myself. Will I look
> strange at the knitting store reading a book? How much is enough
> when we're supporting our children's interests? I did talk with
> Allie but she really didn't give me a clear answer. I am thinking
> she would really like me to do this with her but is afraid to ask me
> because she knows I don't really like sewing. Am I wrong in
> thinking this is her interest and I don't have to follow along?
>
> Beth M.
>

Rebecca Boxwell

Whoops, my link to Knitty was broken. Here is the correct spot:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/index.html .

--Rebecca





On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:13:03 -0800, "Rebecca Boxwell"
<rebecca@...> said:
> Beth -
>
> I do not think that you need to be a knitter in order to support your
> daughter in her endeavors. Knitters tend to be very helpful, welcoming
> people. Given a little effort she will be able to find other people to
> show her whatever she wants to learn. If you are an unwilling
> participant I think that you will actually hold her back.
>
> Knitters are used to being the weird person in the room knitting, so
> they aren't going to be phased by you reading a book.
>
> I will mention that knitting is very different than sewing, so you may
> love it if you tried it with an open mind. Or you might be interested
> in trying something related to knitting - like spinning or dying yarn or
> weaving.
>
> Even if you never knit there are lots of ways to support your daughter.
> Knitters love yarn. They love to be around yarn. Let her hang out in
> yarn stores, attend knitting sessions. Buy her yarn, lots of yarn.
> There are knitting conferences with tons of classes and huge markets. (I
> just got back from one in the Bay Area.) Get her a knitting magazine,
> my favorite is Interweave Knits. Help her check out
> http://www.knitty.com There are a ton of knitting blogs. The newest
> BIG thing in the knitting world is Ravelry.
> http://www.ravelry.com/account/login Ravelry is an online world devoted
> to knitting where you can network, plan projects, etc.
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> --Rebecca
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:48:33 -0000, "carnationsgalore"
> <addled.homemaker@...> said:
> > My daughter, Allie (almost 10), is excited about learning to knit.
> > We bought a diy kit from a craft store which resulted in tears
> > and frustration. We just couldn't make sense of the directions even
> > with the pictures. I found a store dedicated to knitting and
> > crochet nearby and took Allie over there. We met one of the owners
> > who happily agreed to teach Allie to knit. She even invited Allie
> > to join the Wed. night knitting circle after Allie got started on
> > her first project.
> >
> > I'm excited for Allie, but feeling torn because I don't know whether
> > or not I should also learn to knit as support for her interest.
> > Truthfully, I have no interest in any type of sewing. She has other
> > interests that I've supported without learning myself. Will I look
> > strange at the knitting store reading a book? How much is enough
> > when we're supporting our children's interests? I did talk with
> > Allie but she really didn't give me a clear answer. I am thinking
> > she would really like me to do this with her but is afraid to ask me
> > because she knows I don't really like sewing. Am I wrong in
> > thinking this is her interest and I don't have to follow along?
> >
> > Beth M.
> >

Sandra Dodd

-=-I'm excited for Allie, but feeling torn because I don't know whether
or not I should also learn to knit as support for her interest.
. -=-



If you've found resources and a knitting circle for her, that's
support. You can support her financially--get her all the yarn and
books she wants.

Sit at the knitting store and read a book.

-=-Truthfully, I have no interest in any type of sewing-=-

Knitting isn't sewing (said the non-knitting sewer defensively
<bwg>). If you want to refer to them both under one header, I think
"needle arts" is as close as you can come. Fiber arts MAYBE, but I
don't think of sewing as fiber arts.

Anyway, that's a technicality, but it's worth considering. I find
knitting and crochet repulsive, but I like sewing. Others are the
other way around. Some like neither. But support your daughter with
transportation, financial backing and time and space for her hobby, I
think.



Sandra

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carnationsgalore

Thanks for all the thoughtful answers. When I used the word sewing, I
did indeed mean all the types of things I've had a little experience
doing, i.e. hand sewing, machine sewing, crochet, and cross stitch.
It's been many years since I've done any of that as I really don't
like working with my hands with needles, thread, yarn, etc. :)

I am genuinely happy to help Allie follow this interest by providing
supplies, lessons and transportation. I'm also happy to know I don't
need to learn alongside her though I will definitely be a happy, moral
support for her.

Beth M.

Joanna Murphy

Hi--

I don't think whether you knit or not will necessarily prevent her from it if it is something she
is really interested in. When I was young I was taught beginning crochet by a kind caretaker
while my mother was ill. She went away but I continued to crochet--even though my mother
didn't know how. In my case I was definitely hampered by no longer having a mentor, but I
plugged away at it anyway, eventually teaching my brother who went on to make many
scarves himself.

I still crochet when the occasion demands. There have been times that it has brought me
great comfort, like freshman year in college when I crocheted a huge double-strand blanket
that saw me through. It's funny, back then I didn't even see the symbolism of making myself
a security blanket!

So good luck to your daughter. Joanna

Tina, Eric and Kierstin

My daughter is also 10 and has been knitting for the last year and a
half. We are lucky to have a kid's knitting group at our library, but
the real key to her love affair with knitting is a fantastic book
called "A First Book of Knitting for Children" by Bonnie Gosse and
Jill Allerton. My daughter took off with this book and made every
single project several times over, all on her own. In fact she even
ended up teaching me how to knit, which was a lot of fun for her,
being the "expert" and teaching me.

I think my daughter enjoys having an interest/skill that I am not
involved in. I don't think you need to do it with her.

The great thing about the book for this age is that the projects are
stuffed knitted animals... My daughter makes them and then plays with
them, they are her favorite toys. The patterns are very easy to
follow. The authors also have a second book with more patterns. I got
the book used from Amazon, and highly recommend it.
Tina

--- In [email protected], "carnationsgalore"
<addled.homemaker@...> wrote:
>
> My daughter, Allie (almost 10), is excited about learning to knit.
> We bought a diy kit from a craft store which resulted in tears
> and frustration. We just couldn't make sense of the directions
even
> with the pictures. I found a store dedicated to knitting and
> crochet nearby and took Allie over there. We met one of the owners
> who happily agreed to teach Allie to knit. She even invited Allie
> to join the Wed. night knitting circle after Allie got started on
> her first project.
>
> I'm excited for Allie, but feeling torn because I don't know
whether
> or not I should also learn to knit as support for her interest.
> Truthfully, I have no interest in any type of sewing. She has
other
> interests that I've supported without learning myself. Will I look
> strange at the knitting store reading a book? How much is enough
> when we're supporting our children's interests? I did talk with
> Allie but she really didn't give me a clear answer. I am thinking
> she would really like me to do this with her but is afraid to ask
me
> because she knows I don't really like sewing. Am I wrong in
> thinking this is her interest and I don't have to follow along?
>
> Beth M.
>

carnationsgalore

> My daughter is also 10 and has been knitting for the last year
> and a half.

Thanks Tina, I'll see if she wants that book. She had her first
knitting lesson saturday morning and it was awesome. She absolutely
loved it. She worked on knitting all day yesterday.

I have to say that it's times like that where I truly appreciate
unschooling. To see her so happy and excited about something just
makes my heart soar. I love the zest for life that unschoolers
have. I'm still trying to find it myself. I've spent my life
steeped in the old trappings that kept me down. Yesterday, I was
talking with Allie and tried to explain why I am reluctant to learn
a new skill. I grew up with a mom who didn't understand why anyone
would want to do anything difficult. Anytime I wanted to try
something that she thought was going to be difficult or too
challenging, she'd remind me that I'd probably fail and then be
depressed. She said it wasn't worth trying if the outcome would be
miserable. And I won't even go into the times I had school teachers
tell me I had no talent with the subject and suggest I switch to a
different class. Ugh! With my children, I try to focus on the
experience and not the outcome. I just want them to enjoy life to
the fullest and not be afraid of trying things. So Allie gave me a
hug and a kiss and told me she'd be happy to teach me how to knit as
she learns. I think it should be fun!

Beth M.

Sandra Dodd

-=-There have been times that it has brought me
great comfort, like freshman year in college when I crocheted a huge
double-strand blanket
that saw me through. It's funny, back then I didn't even see the
symbolism of making myself
a security blanket!-=-

This is really sweet.

I love the image of your having learned to crochet while your mother
was ill, and then using that to comfort yourself when you were first
separated from her. One of those life's threads. <bwg>



Sandra

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