Kids sure say the funniest things. Usually exactly what is on their mind. I just had a visit with my family last weekend and had a funny conversation with my almost-four-year-old neice.
"What are you DOING, Aunt Cassie?"
"I'm knitting."
"WHY are you knitting?"
"Because thats what I do for fun."
"Can I knit too?"
"I'll teach you to knit when you're a big BIG girl."
She then picked up my ball of handpainted yarn and turned it all around in her little hands for a few seconds.
"Am I a big BIG girl yet?"
"No, honey, not yet."
Then she plopped down beside me and mimed knitting with a pair of imaginary knitting needles.
"Look, Aunt Cassie, I'M KNITTING!!!"
We usually have that same conversation every time I see her. Once she has good hand-eye coordination and can manage to sit still for more than two minutes, I'll turn her to the dark side and recruit a new knitter.
Over the years I've participated in several spinning demonstrations at fairs and festivals. I've gotten a lot of funny, strange and downright rude comments (mostly from the parents, not the kids) but there are inevitably a list of questions that the kids ask over and over.
"Where is the part Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on?"
"That looks soft, CAN I FEEL THAT?" (while looking at my big basket of fiber)
"Look, Mommy, she's MAKING STRING!"
And then the little boys always want to stick their little fingers in the flyer while its spinning around. Why? Why??? Then my husband tried to stick his finger into the flyer while it was spinning and I asked him WHY??? "Uh, I don't know" was his reply. I guess he thought it would be cool to get his fingers impaled on those little brass hooks.
Then there are the strange and rude comments I've gotten from the adults:
"I'll bet you have to be a girl to do that."
"Wow, I thought that was a dead art"
"Did you know you can get yarn at Walmart for $5?" which also goes hand in hand with (while watching knitters make socks) "Did you know you can buy a whole package of socks at Walmart?"
"Look, she's sewing!" (sorry, you can't sew on a spinning wheel).
"Wow you must have a lot of spare time in your life." I have just as much spare time as anyone else, I just don't spend it sitting on my butt watching TV.
Its too bad that most people don't appreciate the art of making things from scratch anymore. I'll just have to recruit all the kids I know into the fiber arts and have them grow up appreciating the ability to create useful and beautiful things.
