There's Still Time To Make These

Little Sister's teacher gift.

The Christmas crunch is fully upon us. We drove down last week to watch the little girls perform in their school variety show. So much fun to see them, dressed in poodle skirts, sing and dance with three friends to Rocking Around The Christmas Tree! They were so good that they were the opening act. Makes a grandmother proud.

Because Baby Girl told me she lost her little knitting tool, I took them new ones when we visited. Little Sister got one this time, too. She had never used one. But after the show and after dinner at their house, they were not going to let us leave until we knitted something. It was getting late and we still had a drive to Jessica's house ahead of us. But I gave them a super quick lesson. 

I'm an experienced grandmother who has been down this craft road before. I had a plan and came prepared. The Wonder Knitter only makes a knitted tube. (Knitters call that "I-cord.") I had the brilliant idea that they could make little wreaths for Christmas. I made a bag for each child that contained a skein of yarn already set up on the Wonder Knitter. When I handed them the bags, we were ready to go. I showed them how to make the stitches and in a very few minutes, Little Sister had made two green wreaths. I did the finishing since we were short on time. Before we left, Baby Girl had finished one, too, for her kindergarten teacher.

When you finish knitting (6 inches, more or less—we had several sizes of wreaths), you'll have a long yarn tail on each end. Tie them together, making several knots so it isn't going to come undone. Clip the ends and tie a red ribbon bow over the join. Voilà! A perfect teacher gift. The girls each took one to their homeroom teachers the next morning and other teachers asked, "Will you make me one, too?"

Wonder Knitter: How to start, how to knit, and how to finish 

This happy project took a not-so-happy turn just hours after we got back to the farm. I had a tearful FaceTime session with Little Sister, who tried to make another teacher gift by herself. When she took the knitting off the spool, something went wrong and she ended up unraveling her precious work. Baby Girl explained, "It just kept shrinking, Mimi!" We'd only had time for a 30-second explanation of how to end the knitting. And that wasn't enough.

I told them both that it takes time to learn anything new and that there are always some boo-boos along the way until you master a new skill. You start over and try again. And again. I will see them again next week and we can have a better lesson than the very quick session on the busy night of the variety show. But in the meantime, this video will help. It might explain it better than I did, anyway.

I found the Wonder Knitter at Hobby Lobby. They cost about $9. If you have a 40% off coupon, the cost is closer to $5.  Those coupons are available most weeks online or on their app. If you are shopping at Hobby Lobby, they also sell small skeins of yarn in many colors. I think they are priced around  $1.00. (I should have looked closer at the label before I threw them away.) Then I bought a spool of red grosgrain ribbon to finish the wreaths. I like grosgrain because both sides are the same. Makes it easier to tie the bows. (Grosgrain ribbon has a ribbed finish as opposed to satin ribbon that is shiny on one side and dull on the other.)

This is a terrific project for kids. Our two little ones are ages 5 and 9. The youngest needs a little help getting started and maybe ending it. But the knitting part is well within her ability. And I'll be honest—when I was showing them how to make the stitches, I didn't want to hand the knitting spool back to them. The process is very relaxing. I have only done the very simplest projects, but I saw on Google that you can make beaded jewelry, too. I am not ready for that yet.

From the book, Too Much TV, by Stan & Jan Berenstain.

If you have never heard of spool knitting, know that it has been around for a very long time. I had one as a child and knitted a rug for my dollhouse like Sister Bear is doing here. (Wind the knitted tube in to a coil and stitch it together on the back.) I used a wooden spool with four nails in the top. (Link shows how to make one.) Not fancy but it worked. The Wonder Knitter, however, is much more user friendly. If you are an Amazon shopper the Wonder Knitter can be ordered from there, too.

You may think this is too much during this busy time. Or, you may be the opposite and need something to keep the kids occupied during the holidays. But it's a great craft when the time is right. Baby Girl used hers back in the spring and made bracelets and necklaces for herself and her dolls. Just a knitted tubes, long and short, tied together. She was thrilled with her "designs." It's a great way to help little ones become makers.