Thursday, March 3, 2011

knitting class.

I've recently begun taking up knitting. Now, mind you, I've never knitted in my entire life. When I was seven, my grandmother taught me how to crochet. I was always fascinated by the way she made my dolls dresses, and I wanted to learn how to do that too. I never made dresses, but my little pixie self would sit there for hours making blankets and scarves. My mother, grandmother, and doctors were happy because the art of crochet helped my tightened hands, frozen with cerebral palsy, to loosen. Soon however, I got into bike riding and as I grew up, I forgot how to crochet. Now as an adult, I wanted to see if I could pick up a new art form. I noticed a sign at my favorite cafe advertising knitting, so I started a class last week. My teacher's name is Maggie.

Maggie began teaching knitting classes in Princeton years ago. After awhile, she didn't feel right that people had to pay high prices to learn an art form. So she began teaching on the benches in downtown Princeton and developed a huge following. Now she teaches in coffee shops for free. Her "payment" is to give her a hug when you come in and a hug when you leave. The majority of her students are like a family now.

Maggie knows that I struggle with cerebral palsy and cogitative issues, and she is an amazing, patient teacher. She began by placing her hands over my hands to just go through the exercise. Then she wrote down simple instructions so everything wouldn't be too overwhelming.

1) Through the front.
2) Cross behind.
3) Wrap
4) Tuck
5) Pop off

I finally began knitting rows, although Maggie would start a new row when I reached the end. These were the results:



My only question is how on earth do you start a new row? I've been watching youtube videos to try and figure out how. I suppose if I don't get it, I could ask her next week, but so far I'm really enjoying my accomplishments. And on top of everything else, my hands definitely feel much better than last week.

4 comments:

  1. Cool! I need to learn that too. I would love to make some hats.

    I see your new Honolulu weather bar!!! SO awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heh. Awesome indeed. ;) I can't wait to feel that weather. I'm still trying to figure out what "vog" is. It's actually mentioned in the weather reports. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like you're doing well! I taught myself to knit a few years ago from watching YouTube videos, but I never made anything more complicated than a mini-purse or dishcloth. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mini purse sounds awesome to me right about now! :) Thanks for reading!

    ReplyDelete