So my oldest son’s (Andrew) girlfriend (Emily) taught the youngest kids to knit over Thanksgiving. I have to say that she has a lot more patience than I do sometimes. It is not that I did not want to teach Lance a skill like such. I did believe he had the capacity to learn it. I just did not have the consistent time to sit down and supervise said activity. Amazingly, he picked it up well as did my niece, Katlynn.
I will confess that this allowed for easy Christmas gifting for Katlynn. I could dispose of some unused yarn taking up space in my craft room that I just would not get to and frankly I just don’t like. It is perfect for young learners, however.
Lesson to be learned to all the people out there buying yarn for others: buy a gift certificate instead. Period.
My children and husband bought me tons and tons of yarn one year for Christmas. It was a kind and thoughtful gesture. It was. I loved it. I was really into knitting at the time. Then time got away and I was not so much. A lot of it has gone unused, simply sitting there taking up space. I decided while I loved the colors, I did not like working with the texture of those particular yarns so much. They were rough and scratchy. Men don’t think about these things when they buy those things.
So don’t buy yarn unless you KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT! Just take my word for it.
That is not to say that it won’t get used eventually. Supposedly there is a way to soften that particular yarn, but it seems like a bit of work. Do I want to put that much work into it?
Fortunately, for me Emily taught Lance how to knit and I have a lot of boyish colors that he can practice with so not all is lost at this point.
All that being said, these beginner knitters are going to need informational resources to further their skills past what they were shown one on one. They are going to want more.
This is not an all inclusive list. It is not complete. The books available in your area may vary as store stock their shelves differently. These are suggestions. Please look through them to find what works best for you.
I recommend for beginners:
Leisure Arts The All New Teach Yourself to Knit
Lion Brand Yarn Learn to Knit
I recommend for intermediate to advanced knitters:
Donna Kooler’s Encyclopedia of Knitting
Leisure Arts 99 Knit Stitches
The list could way more inclusive but there are so many options on my shelves that I could pull off and suggest. There are too many to choose from. There are also so many resources online to choose from. I recommend a combination of all of the above.
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