Knit Wits

I *really* tried hard to get someone else to write this blog, but no one else had the time or inclination, so it’s me again. You may remember that on our trip around the south part of the South Island we went into a wool shop. Well, the rest, as they say, is history. Everyone, well almost everyone, has been bitten by the knitting bug and we’re having a great time! This first picture shows what we’ve accomplished in the last month knitting-wise (I don't know why it's sideways!!). You’ll see a blue wool blanket (named Sylvester) that I knit for William’s birthday, a brown poncho that I knit with wool we bought in Queenstown, a striped bag knit from a pattern I fell in love with in a book from the library, and a soap holder/wash cloth set that I brought in progress from the US. But, more exciting, are the other items knit by the not-so-novice-anymore novices of the household. There are two scarves knit with wool from the Otago region, a beanie, a purse, a sunglass case, a bookmark, and a “mini”-Sylvester. If you want to know who knit what, just ask me; I don’t want to “out” anyone who might be embarrassed. The kids have done a fabulous job with all of their projects and I love how they’re now thinking of their next project.


This next photo shows a few of those works in progress and a few dreams. A couple of the kids are working on fuzzy pillows for themselves, and one is working on a “jersey” (i.e. sweater) for one of their stuffed animals. You will also see the materials for two blankets – one similar to Willliam’s but for the whole family, and one to be constructed with the wool from our Otago sheep friends. There is also a scarf in the making on which I’m learning how to knit cables and a couple of skeins of wool that I’m going to attempt socks with.



One of the cool parts of having the kids get interested in knitting is their creativity. Mark and Ben found some fishing line on the way to the bus the other day, so we’ve tried knitting with that. Interesting! Margaret wanted desperately to knit with pins (!) but that didn’t really pan out. Who knew though until she tried? I’ve borrowed a book from the library about the history of knitting in NZ. That should be a fun and educational read.