They say you never forget your first time…knitting. This weekend will forever be in my memory. This special time of my life was beyond my expectation. Why do people have such a hard time talking to the kids about…knitting?
So I was inspired by the folks at Children in the Corn to try this form of loom knitting. I have never been one to have enough patience to sit down and do stuff like this so their mention of knocking out a hat in an evening was appealing. I have never heard of Knifty Knitter looms so I wandered out to our local junk retailer and bought the cheapest one they had. There are a variety of looms for making all sorts of things but I wanted to ease into this. My wife accuses me of too often jumping into things with both feet so I decided to honor her and only spend $4 on this newest hobby (if it becomes that). So, the cheapest loom that the junk retailer had was the flower loom. The package assured me that I could make all sorts of things besides flowers so I figured I was set for life. Never mind the pink loom or the purple hook. I was about to be a knitter.
What I didn’t know was that the only pattern that came with the loom was for flowers. A quick internet search turned up the only other pattern for that loom – the friendze scarf. Cool…I have a daughter…she’ll dig a friendze scarf knitted by her Dad on a pink loom. This isn’t wierd at all. Sure enough, Abigail loved the first scarf I knitted. She danced around as I worked on the first one. She sang and laughted and giggled and hung around while I worked. She even said she loved me for knitting her a scarf. She took it to school to show her friends and teacher. I really like knitting now…that’s the easiest $4 I ever spent!
I learned a few things along the way…superglue every other peg into the loom if you never plan to make flowers. The pegs are designed to pull out for flowers but are a real pain for scarves.
Work around the loom clockwise but wrap the thread around individual pegs counter clockwise. If you don’t, you’ll gnaw off your own arm and beat yourself senseless with it…trust me on this one lefty.
Single color yarn is more difficult to work with than variegated. Both are cool though.
Get more looms. My daughter liked the first two scarves but I think she is ready for something cooler and bigger now. These things are so simple to use that I will likely buy more and make more stuff. I need to wear a winter hat in the cold as I have no hair to protect my noggin. I tend to go through knit hats like I change underwear…at least once a month. Being able to knit my own in an hour or so sounds pretty good to me.
If you buy a pink loom, don’t let your son catch you using it. My boy doesn’t know why he teases me but he knows it’s funny. That’s all I will say about that.
Special times…I will never forget my first time…knitting. Now that I have done it, I can’t get enough. I want to knit all the time – in the car, watching tv, outside in the woods, while other people watch. I am a knit-o-maniac!
Whoo Hoo! Too funny. Just wait til your knitting other items besides scarves and hats (sweaters, fingerless gloves, dishcloths, etc.). My Mom loves to knit – me, I can’t pick it up for ANYTHING. And really, why should I when I have her around to knit the stuff for me?
Great job!
Kris
HA! I just noticed Abigail’s shirt says, “I’m the big brother”. Nothing like hand-me-downs!
Whoohooo!! Look at you go! I’m proud of you, my man!! 🙂 Eric just finished my hat last night. I’m going to let him make a few more hats for the kids too, cause you can never have too many (or find one when you need one). This frees me up to do the other projects on my list. Maybe you guys will have to start your own yahoo group like the one Lisa mentioned……of course it’ll have to have a really manly name…..and no pink looms allowed!! 🙂
Remember working with those seed beads for your Indian dance team outfit? Dad ended up spending hours working with those tiny beads.
I’m impressed! I just want to learn how to make a dishcloth!
Ha! That was a pretty hilarious read! I will have to try the loom. Every once in awhile I take up knitting. My daughters choose colors and dance around me excitedly and then one inch of scarf later I collapse onto the floor sure I have arthritis now and never give the project a second glance for another whole month. But with that thing you have it looks like you can crank something out in a day. Pretty impressive.
And very funny story!
Nice. Do you mind if I send my husband over? I could use a new, cozy hat……
Heck, the looms are so simple, anyone could do it…of course, I have only made a couple of scarves. I will probably buy the larger round looms this weekend so I can make hats too. Anyhow, just get one and go for it!
We planted garlic this year too! I love fresh garlic – yummy!
Blessings!
Lacy
Oh, oops. I commented on the wrong post. Oh well! I also really dig Nifty Knitters (the looms) and have a few of the large wheels myself. I made Josh a hat which he uses to go hunting because it is so woolly and warm.
I think it’s really neat that you tackle such great projects! I love your blog!
Blessings!
Lacy
I started with the Knifty Knitter looms last year and loved them! Get the 40% off JoAnn’s coupon and get the whole set of round looms. I’ve made many hats and slippers. So easy and warm. I’ve since moved on to crocheting which I love even more. I tried “real” knitting but didn’t like it. You can see some of the cool animals I’ve crocheted on my blog. If you go back on my blog about a year ago you can see the things I made on the looms.
My daughter has a set of those nifty knitters she ‘s never used…and I’m intimidated by anything sewing/knitting/crocheting. But hey, you made this look easy…maybe I’ll try this!!
Robbyn
Robbyn- I have never sewn too much before either but the looms are really easy to work with. I have no friends that sew or knit (esp since I am a guy) so I was a little out on a limb doing this but it really is easy!
It sounds like you are really enjoying the knitting! Great job on the scarf! A friend of mine came to my house last year and taught me how to knit. It was difficult at first, but I worked on it all night and all day the next day… She had given me some yarn and I was determined to make something. This is what I ended up with (bottom picture). http://bethany.preciousinfants.com/2006/12/26/how-our-christmas-weekend-went.aspx
I haven’t knitted anything since though…I probably should but I have so many other hobbies. I am looking forward to seeing what you do next.