Thursday, January 17, 2013

What the kids have been up to

I've tried to teach the kids to knit several times, and it hasn't really taken with either of them. I think the manual dexterity required is a bit beyond them, although I know that kids their age (and younger) certainly can learn to knit. And they both can manage, but it is slow and difficult and not their favorite thing. So shortly before we moved to Bangalore I decided to try crochet instead. I'd actually learned to crochet before I learned to knit myself, but at this point I've forgotten pretty much everything except making a chain and single crochet. Still, I figured that was enough to be getting on with.

Zion wasn't much interested but Liel was, mostly because she had gotten a crochet jewelry kit for her birthday and already knew how to make a chain, and enjoyed doing so. She decided to start out with a hat, and worked on it a bit before we left. It was much easier going for her than knitting!

Once in India I realized, as her hat failed to grow, that I'd actually forgotten how to single crochet too. So we frogged her work and I used the handy internet to re-learn that stitch and teach her. After that things progressed much faster! But Liel had lost interest in a hat and wanted to make a skirt for Fluffy instead. Over time she decided that the skirt should be a dress.

The dress isn't finished yet, but as of today Fluffy is the proud owner of a hand crocheted skirt! I realized it would be easy to put ruffles at the bottom, and Liel was delighted with the suggestion (and, she told me, proud that I thought she could handle something like ruffles).

Doesn't Fluffy look fantastic? 


And aren't the ruffles an excellent touch?


Liel has big plans for the rest of the dress, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, Zion been pondering the age-old riddle from Alice in Wonderland: Why is a raven like a writing desk? This morning he told me that he thought he knew.

"Well mama, ravens usually know lots of things, especially stories. So if you sat at a writing desk and wrote a lot of stories and things, and then put everything you wrote into the desk, then the desk would know lots of stories and things, and then it would be like a raven."


2 comments:

Jo said...

I think Liel's "skirt" (that will soon be a dress) for Fluffy is terrific! Good for her!
Zion's thoughts about the riddle are stunning! He is brilliant! Really.

FxMedChiro said...

I'm thinking that Fluffy is looking, or feeling more my age. Skirt is cute, no doubt!

Nice connection - raven to desk!