JOURNALS

Here is an irresistible collection of animals to knit in soft, natural materials: ducklings, teddy bears, lambs, piglets, hedgehog, a handsome rooster, and many more.

Most of the projects can be knitted quickly and inexpensively with small odds and ends of wool, and many can be completed in an hour or two—ideal for knitters looking for ways to reduce their yarn clutter!

The step-by-step instructions for making over twenty delightful, soft, knitted animals are illustrated with beautiful color photography throughout. Knitted Animals provides a good range of projects suitable for older children with basic knitting skills; the finished designs make enchanting children's toys and gifts, decoration for the school nature or season table, and items for fairs and raffles.

"A good time for children to learn to knit is around seven years of age, when their motor skills can cope with the challenge. The child learns by imitating the adult. At the school where I work, the 14- go 15-year-old pupils are invited to team up with pupils aged 7 to 8 years. The older pupils sit the younger ones on their lap and show them how to knit. In this way, younger pupils quickly learn how to knit and at the same time form a social bond with the older ones, who are flattered by the confidence the younger children show in their abilities.

From the author's foreword:
"In learning to knit, the child also practices coordination, fine-tunes motor skills, and uses logical thinking. Modern brain researchers and neurobiologists confirm that practical abilities and cognitive skills are learned through the body: grasping things with the hands forms the basis for later grasping things with the mind, too. But quite apart from technical abilities, learning to knit also develops a child's sense of aesthetics and beauty."

Available from Steiner Books, Waldorf Books, Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore, Hawthorn Press (UK)