The Cast

I have been knitting a scarf for over 2 years. I know one stitch and I know it well. I brought the scarf to school because an amazing teacher I know knits with her students and I wanted to emulate that teacher. She told me that the kids just teach one another and it’s a lot of fun. During the first week of school I brought the homeroom out for extra recess and I did some knitting while they frolicked, which is probably not a good idea in terms of liability issues, but I didn’t think of that until later. A sixer told me she would bring in her knitting too and I urged her to do so. Dreams of the grand knitting circle we would soon have filled me with glee. We decided to set up shop at a picnic table at recess on Thursdays. Two Thursdays ago, I worked on my scarf and the sixer sat next to me glumly because she couldn’t remember how to cast on. I told her I could not cast on and that I only knew one stitch, but I would ask Teen Daughter to cast on for her and return her knitting the next day. I heard from some other kids that they might want to learn to knit, so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought needles and yarn for six knitters. Teen Daughter started off a few rows on each set of needles. 8 girls showed up for the knitting session on Thursday. Two said they knew how to knit, but they were total liars. And the rest could not learn worth a damn. After 20 minutes of me trying to help, recess was over and I had a tote bag of bare needles that need recasting. I didn’t get to knit at all, so that was a bit of a drag. As the kids filtered in after recess, many told me they plan to come in next Thursday. I told them that I suck at teaching knitting, but they’ll probably show up anyway. I have a habit of thinking I can do things I can’t. I’m curious about this knitting predicament. Maybe my dream of the knitting classroom will come true if I just keep trying. And teen daughter keeps recasting.