Little Red Haired Girl Turns 8

...and I finished her mittens and headband just in time! Of course, I had to look up kitchener stitch in Knitting Rules; until I read that description, I always found kitchener to be a strange, intuitive, and mostly unsuccessful adventure into the dark arts. Now its more of a foray into mysticism with clear directions. Thanks Harlot!

The Little Red Haired Girl is our god daughter and she is really something. So sophisticated! Full of energy, and full of surprises. She spends dinner and the night with us at least once a week, and sometimes comes for weekends if her mom is away. We've known her since she was in utero, and, unbelievably, now she's a whopping 8 years old! Wow.








Here she is modeling her new warm things. She has been begging me to make her mittens for months now; maybe even years. But she was growing so fast! But still...what kind of auntie denies a loved one hand spun hand knit warm things? And this child can appreciate the finer things in life. She prefers her gifts hand made, and won't have any trouble taking care of them. When she could barely walk she could hold a hand blown glass thing in her little hand gently and admire it.

Do you see that purple and pink item in her hair? Do you? Because this is a miracle!




I have offered to teach this child to finger knit several times over the past few months...in fact, ever since I read about it on Knitty, and printed out instructions. But she showed, if possible, LESS than no interest. So imagine my surprise when she showed up last week from school, plopped down on the couch, and I snapped this photo. Just amazing. She knits fast, and with lots of concentration, and frighteningly tight considering that yarn is around her fingers! And unlike the Knitty instructions which result in a strip four stitches wide, the method her friends have taught her results in I-cord. I'll have to have her show me how she does it!