I knit over the weekend, but there are discernible changes in the poncho or in the Kersti ribby raglan. I'm just up to the raglan decreases, but haven't started them yet, And, I've finished with the 2nd color in the poncho. 15 more rows, and I add in the fourth color. I'm unsure if I'm liking it... I'll get pictures soon and solicit some opinions.
Today, though, I'd like to talk a bit about another knitting relative. One who just started knitting. My mom! She had been talking for months about learning how. A couple weeks back, we sat down for a first knitting lesson. Now, I knit continental. I've never quite figured out English style. As my mom was getting the hang of knitting, she set the knitting down for a minute, picked it up and started throwing with her other hand. Perfectly. It turns out that she had learned as a child from her mother (the same grandmother who tried to teach me as a child). She had gotten amazingly frustrated because her mom would only let her knit dishcloths - which she felt were ugly and useless. So she stopped. For 40 years.
She would have picked up knitting again much more smoothly if I hadn't tried to teach her continental style - since the yarn is wrapped opposite in the two styles, she was getting confused. But, all she had to do was ignore what I had tried to tell her and she was fine. Now, she's working on a scarf out of Jocelyn's Fiber Farm's Silk 'n Ewe yarn in the Ocean colorway. Its been marinating in my stash for quite a while. I love it, but since my mom fell in love with it, and I can always order more... she gets it. The scarf is a pretty simple pattern - 5 ridges garter stitch, then keep the end 5 stitches on each side garter, with the middle in stocking stitch. Then, last 10 rows in garter stitch. The yarn is so pretty she doesn't need to do more. And, its a good first project.
Does anyone reading this knit English? Have you done the knitted on cast on (or the cable cast on)? The one where you start with a slip stitch, knit one stitch into that stitch and put the new stitch back on the left needle - repeat? Does it work as well English style as it does continental? I taught my mom long tail cast on not knowing if the other cast on would work (I taught Sabrina the knit-on cast on... its so simple, and is a cleaner cast on than the e-wrap cast on)
The only real problem she was having (after straightening out the wrap confusion) was when she'd switch between knit and purl she would sometimes add a stitch. That only took paying a bit of attention on my and my daughter's part. My mom wasn't moving the yarn to the opposite side of the fabric before starting the stitch, so she'd add a yarnover. Easy to fix. She's having fun!
In other news, I got a great present from Nathania today - new duckies!!! Thanks Nathania! They're going to my collection tomorrow. (right after their photo shoot)
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