“Teach me how to do that.”
These are the words that hobbyists love to hear.
Super Sis uttered them after watching me knit on my latest Super Secret Project after Thanksgiving dinner.
Oh.
My.
Word.
I couldn’t run to my bedroom fast enough to retrieve a skein of yarn and needles.
I also grabbed THE book from which I learned how to knit…
She’d indicated that she’d like to make a cloth, which is why I pulled out the Peaches and Cream.
I grabbed a set of wooden needles and cast on the necessary stitches. I didn’t want her to lose hope completely…casting on can be challenging for new knitters who don’t understand how stitches are constructed.
We then proceeded to have a little lesson.
I showed her the knit stitch first, let her watch me knit a few as I explained the process, and then had her give it a go.
She.
Did.
Well.
Actually, she was a natural, although holding the yarn and needles was a little awkward for her.
I assured her that we all feel that way at first.
After knitting one row, I taught her how to purl.
I figured this stitch would blow her mind…moving the yarn in front of the needles…basically doing the knit stitch backward.
She surprised me by saying that she actually LIKED the purl stitch better!
Who does that?
I watched her purl one row and took a look at her work.
It was pretty good.
On to the pattern, which is a basic checkerboard type…knits alternating with purls.
I wondered how she’d make the adjustment between the two stitches on the same row.
She did MARVELOUSLY!
However, by the second row of the pattern, I could see her furrowing her brow in concentration.
She needed to stop. She was trying to remember how to execute the stitches along with how to count.
I took another look at her work…
It was actually quite good. The stitches were even, and they were also loose enough on the needle that she’d be able to continue without using muscle power to get the right needle into the stitches. New knitters are notorious for knitting way too tightly.
Throughout the process of watching her learn, I marveled at how quickly she was taking to the knitting.
I remembered, though, when we were young children and we “knit.” Someone somewhere had showed us how to do the knit and purl stitches, but they never gave us patterns, so we just knit endlessly until we tired…never learning how to bind off.
I also just discovered another reason why Super Sis and I seem to be naturals at knitting. My French cousin (who am I kidding…all of my cousins are French) posted on my FB wall that our grandmother used to knit all of the time.
I don’t remember. In fact, I only recall visiting my grandmother twice. She lived in Canada, and the trip was expensive.
So, it would appear that the talent for knitting runs in the family.
Look out Chicky. One day, you may find yourself uttering the six magic words.
I’ll be waiting…needles and yarn in hand.
AuburnChick's Adventures 
Very exciting 🙂
Way to jump into action when those words were uttered! 😀
Indeed, all of your cousins are French Canadians and you have loads of them!! 😀 I’ll try to find pictures of Grand-Maman knitting.