We've Been Busy

Ian met DD Chris at the craft fair on Sunday and brought Alexia home to spend a couple of days with us. She attends year-round school and is currently off track. This is a whole generation who won't understand "off track" as we do. I heard many voices conducting many conversations before bedtime and checked on the state of play - no shortage of imagination.
Alexia is so easy to have here, although I must say baking a batch of cookies each day could use some rethinking. All cookies went home with her. She loves to watch a movie on my laptop under the dining room table and it gives me a break. This weekend she wanted to learn to make origami boxes, knit and spin. Yikes!
We did try the knitting this morning and while she did very well, her hands are tiny so it ended up being three-handed knitting. Her attention never strayed but her hands need to grow I think. To be continued. We tried spinning after lunch.
She can barely reach the treadles and she absolutely loved it. I started with Shetland but the staple length was too long so went to Merino. She did pretty well with it but wasn't getting the why of what her hands were doing - and then suddenly her hands made an instinctive move and she changed from the direction that I use and put her left hand in front as the guide and her right hand to feed the fiber.
I'd reach in when the fiber drew apart and reconnect it and then say - back to your hands - treadle, treadle, treadle, and she'd be back at it. Treadle, treadle, treadle was my constant line - she'd get so excited that she'd forget, and pull her feet off the treadles and draw her knees up - lots of laughing. Treadle, treadle, treadle.

It was awesome. I am so excited at how well she did. We were both wearing down and suddenly her hands got it - the right hand started pulling back with loosely held fiber and the right hand guided it onto the bobbin. She's a natural! I am exhausted and can't wait to do it again.