A new knitter...and some new needles

We have a new knitter in the family. Violet's great-grammy would be so proud of this seven-year-old.

When Violet visited us one weekend in late August, I showed her how to do the knit stitch only. That seemed to be enough for a learner to tackle before moving on to more complicated maneuvers with knitting needles.

Well, she went home and devoted herself to mastering the knit stitch. Her mom gave her lots of support by purchasing additional needles for her and by, herself, learning to cast-on for Violet's benefit.

Violet visited us again last weekend, bringing along her knitting needles and yarn. We sat down for another lesson. This time I showed her how to purl, knit two together, do a yarn over, and cast off. She loved seeing an actual pattern emerging as she knit one row, purled the next, knit 2 together followed by a yarn-over across the next row, and purled the fourth row. I also showed her how to read a very simple knitting pattern and how to keep track, with a pencil, of the rows being completed.

She caught on immediately. In fact, when she got up early Saturday morning, she immediately tackled her current project. I said to her, "Violet, Are you knitting?"

"No," she replied, "I'm purling."

Such a stickler for details!

She worked steadily on this four-row repeat the entire weekend.

Later on Saturday the three of us decided to go to the Montsweag Flea Market for one last visit before it closes for the season.

I wasn't terribly excited to go, because I find the Sunday vendors to be more interesting than the Saturday vendors, but I agreed to go, and Violet was excited to tag along with us.

Lo and behold, I struck it rich: a set of Boye Interchangeable Needles, new in their case, for $4. I couldn't believe it. I almost felt guilty taking them home for a mere $4. Boye Interchangeables retail for anywhere between $60 and $90.

Once we got home, Violet immediately looked through my yarn stash, selected a partial skein of purple yarn, helped herself to my new purple size 4 Boye Interchangeables, and asked me to cast on 25 stitches for her. She said she'll work on this new project the next time she visits us.

I didn't have the heart to tell her one chooses one's needles by their size, not by their color. That lesson will hold off for awhile.