A has been very involved with picking projects, experiments, books and trips this fall. We have been reviewing different types of handwork and craft projects he could do, and he has tried different yarn crafts with limited success. This week we found a clover wonder knitter - which is basically a fancy spinning knitting nancy, and...success!
A loves knitting with this. He selected a nice olive bamboo yarn and has been cranking out feet of tubes.
The size is manageable by small hands and the spinning top is good because it doesn't require too much finger work to operate. It is pretty simple and yet produces nice even stitches. He has really been enjoying doing this - he has wanted to work on this at night before going to sleep, while in the car, and even during the day. I think the repetition and focus with the reward of the tube coming out the bottom makes you want to just keep going, and going!
He wants to have this sewn into a hat and a wristlet when he is done! Fun! This seems like a great intro to knitting tool for small hands. And it is nice that it relaxes him and he enjoys just sitting and knitting away! :)
19 comments:
wonderful! that is something j would absolutely adore spending time on. i'm going to start loking for one those fancy knitting things today.
you find the best stuff!
I remember using one of these when I was younger. Fun!!
I really like the bamboo yarn, and the color.
so cool...i love that A has an interest in yarn art. it takes some patience...but i am sure A will have much success!
Love that color!
That does look fun and the color of that yarn is gorgeous! It's going to make a beautiful hat.
We used to have yards of this all over the house. the girls actually made a jump rope from three long tubes braided together. They also sewed it into lots of little rugs. I think there's a book out there with ideas of things to make out of "corking" as they called it (I think). My girls also did this with woolen yarn and then felted it down into bracelets.
My kids love to do this! They make strings, roll them into doll rugs, and just have them around. We have "knitting nancys" that look like mushrooms--probably from Magic Cabin or something, bought years ago.
A looks he's concentrating hard!
Lisa
Ooh! Where did you find this? I've been looking for something similar - like a Nifty Knitter - for my son! He watches me crochet and has talked about making his own scarf and hat, but he can't quite get the hang of a crochet hook. I thought something like this would be perfect!
That is really cool. I love the yarn.
Good job, A!
Yes, where did you get it? It looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing, Denise. Blessings.
I used to have one of those when I was a kid - I loved it!
Have you tried teaching him to finger-knit? You get a looser, wider tube that way. It might be interesting to have tubes of different "consistency" to them.
This brought a smile to my face as I read it because it felt so familiar. My daughter has suddenly discovered that she loves to finger knit and is constantly asking me to "look how long it is now". I think it's a great activity for kids.
I've been thinking about getting a knitting nancy for my son, because he's always wanting to learn to knit like mama does, but he's too young still. I loved finger knitting when I was a girl--I somehow taught myself how to do it, and made yards of Christmas colored stuff that my aunt still uses as garlands to this day!
tennzen-We found this at Hobby Lobby, but we also saw one shortly after that at JoAnns.
We have tried a few other things over the past several months - finger knitting and the wood mushroom - but they both just frustrated him. This was the only thing so far that he can manage and stop/start easily. I'm sure it all depends on the kid, but this has been the best so far. We will probably re-visit the finger knitting and wooden nancy again in a few months - see if he is ready! ;)
Your boys are totally cool! What a great thing to teach them to do. I'll bet it makes a strong rope too for all kinds of kid-type uses!
that's great that there are only 3 pegs on your knitting thingy. The one i have has 5 or 6 and it was tedious enough for me, let alone trying to get my little guy interested in it.
Hi Denise.. My kids loved making these knitted tubes too.. We used an old wooden spool with some nails hammered in at intervals and a crochet hook... couldn't find actual tools like this to buy in the store.. but now probably the other thing is that there are probably no wooden spools in the stores anymore.. As the world gos.. Your little guy looks like he is really enjoying himself.. great Fun!!!
You teach them well!!!
love your blog - i've read it for a few months now! i linked to it from my post today about unschooling at www.larksongknits.com
thank you for being such an inspiration to our family.
How sweet! Brings back great memories of making our own at home with wooden spools and small nails, and then using a nifty wooden mushroom-shaped knitter with Tess when she was small. Every kid should have one of these!
Oh what fun! Both my daughter and I would love to learn to knit. Any recommendations for books, dvd's, etc that we should use? Personally I am such a visual learner...I love to find someone local to teach me and then I can teach her~
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