The Mom Crowd

Do you have a craft specialty?

I don’t really have one except cooking–unless you call picking up and rearranging toys on a daily basis a craft. I recently took up knitting because here in our seminarian community it seems like everyone knits. Not that I am the kind of person that does something just because everyone else is doing it! It is just that I have a goal: I want to learn how to knit wool diaper covers (for cloth diapers). What better way to learn than to be surrounded by lots of other people that do! Wool diaper covers are great because they are water resistant, antibacterial and antimicrobial, they breathe, help prevent diaper rash, and don’t need to be washed as often as other cloth diaper covers. But they are expensive. Wool diaper covers are anywhere between $25-40+ and you need at least 2 of them to switch between during the day or night. I will also need a few different sizes as the baby grows which means I could easily spend a fortune over $100.

When I found out that it only costs about $6 to buy the yarn yourself and knit a diaper cover I was ecstatic! I thought, “Hey! I’m a smart lady, surely I can figure this out!” I love the idea of picking out some fun colors of yarn to knit with. I had a friend come by and get me started on the basics of knitting and purling and then I was left to my own devices. Well, I then decided that whoever invented knitting was someone wanting to torture people by making them feel stupid a genius.

Knitting is kind of hard. It is definitely an art! I know that many of our grandmothers know how to knit and somewhere along the way knitting became something only for old ladies. Knitting is an art that is coming back into style. If you go to the craft store, or even Target for that matter you can find little cutesy kits for knitting cool, funky scarves.

I found some free wool soaker patterns online and started following the directions to make them. I also found out that my desire to be perfect right away at everything new I try is a little unrealistic. Apparently I need some more help. I went to the half-price book store last night to see if they had Knitting for Dummies and perhaps one other intro to knitting book. I found all kinds of interesting books for knitting. I saw a book on how to knit clothes for punks, for babies, for kitchy items, pillows, sweaters and the like.

I have some practice yarn and right now have been practicing when I get a chance. Now that I have the very, very basics down of knitting and purling I am finding that the motions of knitting are relaxing. I can easily see how people get hooked on knitting. No pun intended.

I like thinking about how I will feel when I finish making the diaper soaker–although at times I wonder if Graham will be out of diapers by the time I figure it all out. There is something satisfying at making things with your own hands and providing for your family–and saving a bundle of money!

I have learned that you need a few things to start knitting:

1) A friend who knows how to knit because it is hard to learn everything from a book

2) A book to refer to for a picture how-to and any other questions

3) Knitting needles

4) Yarn

5) Patience

In case you are interested in learning how to knit here are some helpful links:

www.knittinghelp.com

www.knitpicks.com

www.knittingpatterncentral.com

Do you all have any crafts that you are good at or learning how to do?