Sunday, September 13, 2009

Lynne Learns To Knit!

My best blogging friend Lynne and I got back from our excellent weekend adventure in Wausau, Wisconsin earlier this evening. I have bunches of pictures to edit and post from our trip and those will be appearing soon, but the most exciting thing I have to show and tell about our weekend together is that Lynne learned to knit!! Hooray, another knitting convert added to the fold!

Here's Lynne knitting her first row. Knitting isn't easy -- especially for beginners. Can you sense Lynne's apprehension in this photo?
"Are you sure this is right, Ruthie?"


Here's a close-up......look at her go!

We spent most of Saturday outside hiking around the local parks, watching birds, taking pictures, talking and laughing. We also visited a wonderful arts & crafts festival being held at Marathon Park near our motel. In spite of our busy day, Lynne was more than ready to get back to the adventures of knit and purl. So we decided to grab an early supper and head back to our room, ready to spend the remainder of the evening knitting. We finally called it quits around 10 PM when both of us were yawning more than yakking, but I promised to teach her how to bind off first thing this morning.

And here's Lynne with her newly completed yellow rectangle! Now that's the face of a proud and happy Knitter!

Before we left our motel, Lynne cast on stitches for a green dishcloth that I know she's going to finish very soon. Way to go Lynne!! Thanks for a fun weekend and for being such an outstanding knitting student. On our next trip, maybe you can teach me hardanger, OK?


17 comments:

Kelly said...

Congratulations, Lynne! You seem to have taught her well! Looking forward to your photos.

Gaelyn said...

Sounds like a fun weekend, including the knitting. I remember how hard it was for me to learn, and then how difficult to teach as well. But once you learn, it's like riding a bike. Except I do it so rarely I always have to look in my book to cast on. Look forward to more pics of your outing.

LauraHinNJ said...

I'll teach you hardanger if you'll teach me to knit, Ruthie!

Jayne said...

Yea Lynne! Look at that beaming smile! I am sure it did not hurt that she had such a good teacher Ruthie. Glad you all had such a good weekend. :c)

KGMom said...

Yay for Ruthie for teaching.
Yay for Lynne for learning.
Yay for the yellow square! Didn't want to leave that out.
I learned to knit when I was around 6 years old--I used bobby pins that had been straightened out to make knitting needles. No kidding. Yeah, I know--you're expecting one of those "we were so poor we couldn't even afford knitting needles" stories.

Mama Pea said...

Sounds like you had a great weekend. Look forward to hearing about it and seeing pics.

Wow, Lynne, by the looks of your yellow rectangle, it looks like you've naturally got a very even tension and should have no trouble knitting all you want!

You must be a good teacher, Ruthie!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Ruthie is an EXCELLENT teacher! Thanks for your patience Ruthie.
I have put my yellow rectangle in a place of honor where I can see it (and smile)

It was such a fun, relaxing girls' weekend.
I'm glad we didn't drive off a cliff like Thelma and Louise!!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Kelly,
Lynne was a good student! She mastered all the techniques really fast.

Hi Gaelyn,
I think the hardest thing about teaching is that I've been knitting for so long I've forgotten how complicated it is for someone to learn the things that have become "automatic" for me.

It's a deal Laura (at the next birding festival we both attend!)

Hi Jayne,
Lynne did such a good job! I think part of it had to do with the fact that she's wanted to learn how to knit for a long time.

Hi Donna,
Bobby pins? Yikes! You must have had to use fairly thin yarn then too, right? I'm glad you're still knitting and now have better materials to work with.

Hi Mama Pea,
Lynne's tension was good from the very start -- even on the more difficult purl rows. She will be a good knitter because she could tell right away when something was wrong with a stitch. Now all's she needs is practice and experience.

Hi Lynne,
I hope you continue to enjoy knitting as much as I do. You've mastered the basic skills and I hope you get a chance to take some classes and continue to expand your skills, because there's so much more you can learn. But be patient with yourself and remember that I've been knitting for 40 years longer than you and I'm still learning new things too.
I'm glad our trip turned out better than Thelma & Louise too! ;-)

Deb said...

Way to go Lynne, and good teaching Ruth!

Birdsong said...

Yay, another convert! I can tell she's pleased and hooked. I am looking forward to the rest of your photos.

Meggie said...

Lynne did much better with her knitting than I. Congrats to Lynne!

Susan Gets Native said...

Awww....look, everyone.
Lynne made a.....
...yellow potholder.

:)

Glad you didn't drive off a cliff.

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Deb!

Hi Birdsong,
It's always nice to have such a willing student. Lynne caught on fast and she has a local yarn shop, so if she runs into any problems, help is not far away!

Hi Meggie,
Knitting isn't easy and I'm pretty sure you have some excellent talents in other areas.

Hey Susan, if you think that yellow square is great, wait until you see the green dishcloth that Lynne's going to be finishing soon!

Mary said...

Yay! You two lucky gals had a great time. Wish I were there. I'd like to knit again, too. Lost my needles a long time ago.

RuthieJ said...

I wish you had been there too Mare! Your name came up more than once. And I have knitting needles to spare in case you ever feel the urge to start knitting again!

Heidi said...

I can picture it now... Lynne up on the balcony next summer at Hasty Brook knitting and watching the birds.

Now, I will get to reading the next posts :)

RuthieJ said...

Hey Heidi, that's what it's all about! I've lost track of the numbers of hours I spend sitting at the dining room with a cup of coffee and my knitting while watching birds.