Start Them Early

I usually have small stack of fresh books around for pleasure and inspiration. Recently I checked out Morehouse Farm Merino Knits from our local library's commendable collection of fiber arts books. The author, Margrit Lohre, talks about growing "up in Switzerland where knitting was part of the school curriculum". In our world of mass production we have lost many valuable skills. We can no longer pass them down because we never learned them. Parent's have lost something that greatly affects how they and their children spend time together. This seems a tragedy and I believe that it has had undesirable effects on society. I can't change the world but I can change my world.

Our 14 year old daughter and I have spent the last decade learning some of these 'lost' skills together. She has learned knitting, crocheting (better than me), spinning, weaving, sewing, quilting and many other skills along with me. Actually, she has been knitting longer than I. She can knit a pair of socks and darn them too! I thought I would share her current project with you. She is learning to knit two socks at once on one circular needle using 2-at-a-time socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.

I am working very hard at finishing my husband's sweater, but alas, he also is in desperate need of a new pair of socks. And of course since receiving his first pair of hand knit socks he is loathe to wear a store bought pair. So our industrious daughter graciously offered to knit a pair of socks for her dad as she was anxious to learn this new technique.

Though I prefer to work exclusively with natural fibers, my husband needs a more durable blend so that we're not darning his socks within a month of coming off the needles. I ordered Yarn for Sox from WEBS. Our daughter patiently followed the author's suggestion to knit a mismatched pair of toddler socks while we waited for our sock yarn to arrive. She will need to knit another pair of mismatched socks so that we will have two matching pair.

Our yarn arrived quickly and she started knitting her Dad's socks. Having a preference for finer wools this blend felt rough to her. Hopefully the socks will last a lot longer and be worth the sore fingers in the end.

We have enjoyed the time spent learning these skills and using them together. I know I can trust her with projects that I don't have enough time for or to come up with a quick handmade gift in a pinch. She is learning skills that she will hopefully use for the rest of her life and pass on. Though she is very capable, she shows her excitement and respect for my skills by trying to lay claim to just about everything I make! Knitting has been an invaluable part of our relationship and I hope that it will continue to be.

Teach a young person to knit. A lot more than a pair of socks may come of it!