You are smarter than..............

Are you smarter than......

Keep reading...this starts with knitting...A long time ago..okay 42 1/2 years ago before Doug and I were married.  I wanted to knit him a sweater and had a neat pattern that had a tree on it (Doug is a Forester)but you have to change colors to put the tree in.  I could not get it to work, my aunt crocheted not knitted so that didn't help but she said...let me call a gal I know as I bet she can help.  She did and off I went to visit a then 97 year old lady who could knit and did so beautifully.  She started by showing me a a table topper that was done with yarn that (at the time) looked more like thread to me that was an argyle pattern in about 1" squares!  At the time I knit with worsted weight thread!  I had never crocheted with anything thinner than the yarn I knit with and tatting was long in my future.  

The next thing she did was asked me to show her what I had and laughed that I used 'big' yarn so it would be a piece of cake.  We'll leave that to be seen.  She showed me the 'trick' of wrapping the thread around the thread I was working with.  She insisted I stay and knit for a bit...I did 4 more rows and got the hang of adding thread at each side of the big green tree.  It was not artistic it was more along the line of a first grader's coloring book tree but large enough to extend from the shoulder yoke to the ribbing on the sweater.  

As I left, she reached up, patted me on the shoulder and gently said "Sweetie, remember you are smarter than the yarn!"  At the time I felt I was being scolded but later I realize she was giving me a good piece of advice and I have laughed about it since...yes I AM smarter than the yarn.  I relate it to my beginning tatters when they tell me they are too 'dumb' to get the hang of it.  I change the subject and ask if they can drive a car?  Ride a bike? Type and chew gum?  Walk and talk or chew gum and walk?  If so they can learn to tat it just takes time to learn and then I tell them about the little old lady and her advice..."You are smarter than the thread."  I don't think she would mind my changing the 1 word as her thought are still there.  

Now go teach someone how to do something that is giving them trouble or read to a child or teach someone to tat.

Peace