Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Just amazed!

Pretty nice garter stitch huh! Very even tension too!

garter

Trust me, there is a reason why it is amazing and something I never thought I would see!
Garter
Lion Brand Chunky Woolease in Grass
Size 11 Straights
Cast on Mother's Day 2009
Finished June 1, 2009
Mom's proud!
A very proud Mother-in-law with her first knitting project! Can you believe her tension!! Those even stitches. Shhh...yes she knows that she started out with 20 stitches and is such an overachiever in the increase department, she ended up with like..um..30 or more. Not too many holes and she's learned how those extra stitches happened. My hubby was like 2 when she last knit anything.

Ok, so now for the story behind this! Mom's watched me craft from afar all the 23 yrs I've been married to her son. She's done a few things, but she prefers keeping up with her house and gardening. That is until a few years ago when she broke her ankle getting out of her too tall bed. 3 operations later and we think this one is going to be the best one.

So, a few weeks before Mother's Day, when she knew she would have to be non-weight bearing for more than 6 weeks, I asked her jokingly, do you want to learn to knit (I ask all family members who say they are bored...she's the only one whose taken me up on it). Eeek, I was a bit worried, but I didn't need to be.

Guess what she got for Mother's Day, a skein of yarn and needles. I cast on 20 stitches and showed her the way. There were a few froggings and dropped stitches, but what amazed me the most is her tension, I mean don't you agree!

As we all know, our first knitting project isn't the prettiest, but she's pretty proud of her scarf aka shoulder warmer. Before I left her tonite, I cast on her next project (in alpaca), an 18 stitch scarf for her. I showed her purling, but she's happy with garter for now. Next project is a dishcloth and some purling.

As for my Father-in-law, he couldn't thank me enough, it keeps her busy so he can have a bit of a break in the entertaining department ;)

Now as long as she doesn't try to sneak some of my stash, we'll get along just fine!

15 comments:

Lynn said...

Congrats to your MIL!! She did a fantastic job! Yes, that's the problem of teaching other family members to knit, the stash needs to be guarded!

Lindsay said...

Good for her!! I wish my mom still knit/crocheted. It's always an achievement to bring someone new into the word of yarn. Hehe...but yeah, guard that stash!

Anonymous said...

She looks so happy and proud! She did a fantastic job and I'm sure she meant to add all those stitches - she's designed a lovely sharf (shawl/scarf).

Bezzie said...

Too cool!!! I offered to teach my dad to knit after he had his stroke--no such luck!

And now I'm wondering what the injury rate is on those too-tall beds? I always thought they looked dangerous!

Jo said...

Overachiever - I love it!

chemgrrl said...

Go MIL! She'll be designing shawls and trying to score Wollmeise next.

Poops said...

Good job!

Now what she needs is a fabulous shawl pin so that she can wrap and fasten it at the shoulder and show off her asymmetrical design feature!

weezalana said...

Whoo hoo, you brought another to the dark side! Soon they will all be ours! ;)

Carol said...

better hide your stash BEFORE she learns what the good stuff is....

Marissa said...

Good lord, woman- you turned her on to alpaca this soon???!!! What are you thinking?? Cashmere is only just around the corner, and then ...like the rest of us, she will be a fiber addict, and start adding luxurious yarny goodness to a stash...ooooooh, I see your plan now!
Well, she's on her way to being a great knitter. Look at the enthusiasm on her face in that photo! She's hooked!

turtlegirl76 said...

Hey! That looks like my first scarf! Well done! Everyone needs a scarf shaped like Tennessee. It's just an homage is all. =)

Renna said...

That is such a neat story! Not that your mil required sugery, but that you got to teach her to knit, and now you have a partner in crime..I mean knit. ;-Þ

Sandra said...

Instead of MIL giving you some advice and secrets about knitting - you are teaching her! You know what they say - it is never to late to learn something new!

IrishGirlieKnits said...

How awesome is that! I just love her scarf! Seriously, that tension is great!! yay!!!

tiennie said...

She's doing great!!!