I stopped at the library on the way to karate yesterday to pick up a couple of suspense novels I've been waiting for and browsed the knitting section just long enough to find some books to take home and drool over. I needed Creature Comforts to figure out how much yarn that chicken sweater takes....Kids Kids Kids because I've had intarsia on my mind and wanted another look at that Hiawatha sweater...and I just sort of stumbled across Nursery Rhyme Knits -- Hats, Mittens & Scarves with Kids' Favorite Verses...
I'm so totally dazzled by Kids Kids Kids and Nursery Rhyme Knits that I've forgotten everything else on my needles or planned for the future, not to mention the fact that I don't have a baby girl of my own to knit for. Leif is tiny enough I think I can get away with knitting the eyelet sweater in dark blue...I could do the bog jacket for Heath or Alex, depending on the color combination...and there has to be a way to adapt the mittens in Nursery Rhyme Knits to mommy size. Bigger yarn or extra repeats or something. There are three sets in there I'd love for myself. And a bunch for the kids.
I went to search Amazon and make sure both books were still in print, read the reviews for Kids Kids Kids and got really upset with the woman who gave the book a lousy rating because she says you'll feel so bad when your kids get the sweaters dirty.
So I should knit my kids crappy looking sweaters so it'll be okay when they get dirty? What kind of stupid logic is THAT? Not that I'm planning to knit an intarsia masterpiece, put it on my son and send him down to wallow in the creek. If I'm going to knit for the kids, I'm going to at least try to knit nice things. Because when I knit unintentionally crappy looking sweaters, they insist on wearing them out to the Knitting Guild or LYS and telling anyone who will listen who made them those crappy looking sweaters. And sweaters that you know will look crappy aren't as fun to knit as the ones you hope will look nice.
I'd been all set to buy some Softee Chunky and knit raglans for all four kids until I read her review and got all riled up. Now I don't know what I'm gonna make them. But it's going to have cables or lace or something that's intended to look good.
1 comment:
I couldn't find any cute knitting-for-kids books when my kids were little; I just fudged it, and sometimes they fit (at the time, I didn't have quite so much experience.) There's so much more out there now! And it's not like I'm from the dark ages; I'm talking maybe 10 to 15 years ago. Although, that was also when most yarn stores were closing because "nobody knits anymore." I did, though!
Just wait till I start being a grandma. I'll make up for lost kidknitting time.
Enjoy those books, and knitting for your kids in any yarn that best suits.
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