Knitting hands

Three Generations of knitting hands

Antics with the Menagerie have put out a random contest call for photos of knitting hands. 

Not sure what they're looking for in the quest of perfect knitting hands, but pretty sure mine aren't it!  Continental style knitters are most wanted over there. I'm definitely not. We only have the action shots. If they see anything that really catches their attention, perhaps one of us will get a call back for the hands only photo shot. Yeah...okay. NOT! 

 Top picture is Mom; she explained that her mother tried to teach her to knit when she was very young, but mom is left handed and it didn't go that well. She taught herself later in life.

 Middle picture is me. I will admit to having a funky knitting style (probably) all of my own. I've decide to blame it on the fact that a left hander taught me to knit. There is NO wrapping of yarn around fingers for me...ever. I pinch yarn between finger & thumb and it runs down into my palm, where I keep it tightly held for tension. Too tight, probably. Did I mention I knit tight? ;) I let go of the working needle completely while wrapping the yarn and then I push needles with tips of fingers while completing the stitches. Middle picture is the What NOT TO DO While Knitting example, sure to be in the next Knitting for Dummies booklet. 

 I tried teaching both my daughters the basics of knitting and Sara is currently working on what she claims will be a scarf. Around 2010. 

P.S. That yarn wrapped around Sara's finger of bottom photo is her pretending she knits that way.

 I tried teaching Stephani when she was home on a break from NY once. She thought it would be really cool if she could knit on the subway. Didn't work out all that well. (I can still hear her long ago hissing pre-teen voice, "You are such a terrible teacher!" whenever I tried to teach some craft of the moment.) 

Our conclusion of the day was this: ANYONE who knits as queer as I do, has no business teaching others how to knit. They deserve to learn from a qualified instructor. (And I should do no further damage to the knitting world. ;)