My knitting lessons at Wool and Grace

Aside from wanting a pregnancy body pillow, Enzo (my 4.5yo) hasn't been able to come up with anything that he really wants for Christmas. So when he came home from school a few weeks ago raving about his friend's "scarf that doesn't even need to be wrapped" (an infinity scarf) and requested that I make him one just like it, I knew I had to give it a shot. I've always wanted to take knitting lessons and what better time than the present?

I reached out to Wool and Grace in Summit for a private lesson because it was December 4 and a crash course was necessary by that point. They fit me into their schedule and I even brought Enzo in to pick out his yarn. They were so patient with him, showing him where he should choose from for his novice knitter and he was so excited to participate. Every day leading up to my lesson he asked me if "today's the day" and every day since my lesson he's asked me "are you knitting my scarf every night when I go to sleep?" (Side note: I'm not, I'm dealing with his crazy brother most nights.)

The lesson itself was an hour long and Margot was an amazing teacher. She was patient, knowledgeable, encouraging, and she is obviously a pro knitter. She picked out the needles I needed for my yarn, explained the most reasonable and quickest method to actually get this done in time, and set everything up for me by casting on. There are two different stitches in knitting and for this project I'm sticking with just one stitch throughout - nothing fancy yet! So she taught me that stitch, hovered over me until I got it, and then fixed a bunch of mistakes I made while I was there.

Our lesson started before the shop was opened but once it opened and people started trickling in (there was a class that began right when ours ended), I almost couldn't believe the scene. This knitting shop is one of the most hoppin' spots in town. They seem to speak their own language. Every time someone new walked in wearing a new sweater or hat (they apparently all knit all their own clothes), the people in the shop would say something like "OH! Is that the new Doocot pattern with the mango wool?" (I'm getting this very wrong but just wait and see - I'll be a pro at their language in just a few months). My expectations for myself are clearly too high but I'm hoping they'll accept me in as a novice knitter who just likes to admire their talent and then maybe I'll be able to get to their level in like 50 years.

I got home and immediately kept knitting because I knew if I didn't immediately get more practice I would forget. I finished my entire ball of yarn in just 4 sessions of knitting, less than an hour each, and I am actually shocked at how easy it was! Don't get me wrong - I realize I didn't do the hardest parts which are casting on, finishing, and fixing the many many mistakes throughout the piece - but still it's exciting to see an almost-finished product already!

Shockingly, you can't see all the holes in the scarf that need to be fixed but I promise they're there.

My next steps are to buy another ball of yarn and make this a little bigger so he has more room to wrap it, which will require returning to Wool and Grace and having them do all that for me. They've promised to also help me fix all my mistakes (again, there are many many) and do the actual finishing of the piece which is way beyond what I'm capable of yet. They haven't even asked me to tell Enzo that I only did the easy parts of the knitting which is great because he's gonna think I'm a total rock star but also unfortunate because he's already asked me to knit him a new cardigan and I think that's probably 15 years in the future.

If you want to learn to knit, definitely check out Wool and Grace! I plan to take an actual class really soon so I can learn all the crucial elements and don't have to run to the store every time I want to start or finish a project. I think my next project will be a hat for myself!