I loved finger knitting as a child, and my sister and I would turn out festive garlands of blue and orange acrylic. I can't remember us ever doing a thing with these. It was definitely an example of the process being more important than the product. I think we might have unraveled them and reused the yarn; it seems like we did more finger knitting than the yarn supply would otherwise have allowed.
I did some more finger knitting a few years back, when I was teaching kids to knit and crochet at the library where I worked. I would start them off with finger knitting, and most caught right on ... except one little girl who couldn't get the hang of lifting off the loops, and would end up cutting off the circulation to her fingers. She just kept wrapping and wrapping. I have bright pieces of finger knitting attached to all of my luggage, to make it easy to spot at the airport.
So I sat Big Sister on my lap, and we began. I started with her using all four fingers, but she said it was too tight, and quickly became distracted (must run in the family) by Baby Brother and the dog, who were both interested in why we were sitting on the floor. Then I decided to try it with just one finger -- finger crocheting, if you will. She liked that, and produced a piece about an inch and a half long. Then she said she was finished, but that she "will knit some more tomorrow." So I cut off the piece she had made (pink, naturally), tied it off, and strung a button on it for her. She's very proud of the bracelet she made:
I have promised to teach her to knit when she turns four. When that day rolls around, it will be interesting to see whose patience runs out first.
Oh, and the five minutes of Ravelry? Didn't happen.
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