Pins, Needles, and Rub-a-Dub

How did you use your allowance?

My hard-earned, coveted money wasn't easy to part with. Still, when I was 13, I took my allowance and went to the 5&10 store and bought a pair of knitting needles, a skein of yarn, and a pamphlet on how to knit, and I dove in. The first two projects in the booklet were 1) a headband (to learn the knit stitch) and 2) a triangular headscarf (to learn how to add and subtract stitches as well as use the purl stitch. I persevered as the only information I had for the knitting process was that pamphlet. My first scarf looked like it had embedded Morris Code secret messages because of all the errors and dropped stitches. Still, I was becoming proficient at this craft when I finished the scarf. My mom didn't knit, and neither grandmother knitted. However, my great-grandmother did crochet. Her beautiful lace crochet table runners and tablecloth (which I still have) bolstered my resolve to learn a craft. Side note: I did try my hand at crochet, but I did not enjoy it like knitting.

Not to be deterred, my next project was a Fisherman Knit Afghan. I've never been one to not jump fully in. I went to the 5&10 store and bought a pattern for the afghan and as many skeins of yarn as I could afford. Every time I got more money, I would buy more yarn for my afghan. I was mortified at one point (this was taking almost a year because a) I was using a size 8 needle and b) I had to save up enough money to buy more yarn) when I bought two skeins of yarn, and they were from a different dye lot! A section of my beautiful knitted project was slightly off-color. The afghan was white. Who'd have thought that there could be various shades of white! But I learned the value of dye lots. When I finished, I gave it to my grandmother. When she died, my mother got it. When she died, it came back to me. I now have a fisherman-knit afghan that I made as a young teen. It's ratty as well used, but I got it back over 50 years after I made it.

So, what does this have to do with our grandkids, you may ask…A few years ago, we visited two of our grandbabies. I brought some wool bats (I have a sheep farm, and that’s another story) and bars of soap. I taught my grandbabies to make felt-covered soap. They had so much fun, and so did their mother! After we finished that, I showed them how to make felted coasters they could give their parents as presents. It was quite a fun day.

My oldest granddaughter just turned 13. She spends time on you-tube watching videos of making crafts, and she is interested in crafting though she hasn’t jumped in to do any. To encourage this, I bought her a needle felting kit on her birthday this week to make a cute, felted penguin. I'm sorry I can't be there to help her, but there are instructions and you-tube video on how to construct the needle-felted penguin. With Facetime, we should be able to connect so I can watch her build a felted penguin. And who knows. She may give it to me as a present. My daughter will get it when I pass away and eventually pass it back to my granddaughter. The latter will keep it in memory of her mother and me, her grandmother.

You don’t have to be a knitter/felter/crafter. Your grandchildren will benefit from learning tactile skills if you open that world to them. It teaches focus, perseverance, and working towards success after a project. I have granddaughters, but grandsons s enjoy learning tactile skills. A first cousin taught himself to knit. He was a football player for a significant university and would spend his downtime on the sideline, knitting. He found it very calming. A friend of mine, a university professor, relaxes making small felt dogs. His collection of various breeds is impressive. He says he loves to work with his hands to create something unique and enjoys the feel of wool.  

Not every child will become an ardent knitter, felter, or crafter, but exploring the value of working with their hands on things they hadn't considered is priceless.

Looking for some ideas? Take your grandchildren to a craft festival. Let them see the beauty of handmade items and participate in activities. Many of these festivals let children get hands-on experience in spinning wool, weaving a blanket, and making felted things. They will put their phones down because they can do something that doesn’t require tapping on their phones to find a you-tube video.

Let’s get the next generation creating things…what are some of your fun ideas for your grandchildren?