The yarn flies every Tuesday when the KnitWits take over the Lakewood Library. (Photo by Rasy Ran)
World on a string
Winter is in full force, meaning you’ve probably pulled out your fuzzy socks, cozy sweaters and wool scarves to fight off the cold nip.
There was a time when all those cold-weather accoutrement were painstakingly handmade, a once-common art form that seems to be back in style. Right here in our neighborhood is a group, the cleverly titled Lakewood KnitWits, dedicated to the art and craft of knitting and crocheting — who are eager to share their creations with the community.
The Lakewood KnitWits meet every Tuesday at the Lakewood Library, the same spot where the group began, purely by happenstance. It was an icy February day back in 2003 when Mary Ann Kitchens, then-branch manager of the library, realized the drive to Plano for her new knitting class would be too treacherous. A quick search of the library turned up plenty of books, magazines and videos about knitting. The library staff “settled around a table and we spread everything out, reading the instructions aloud. It was so much fun,” recalls Kitchens. They decided together to start a weekly group dedicated to the handicraft, and opened it to the yarn-loving community.
(Photo by Rasy Ran)
Now 14 years later, the group is going strong. On a recent Tuesday, members drifted in, toting bags of yarn and needles or crochet hooks. “We’re called KnitWits, but crochet and other needlework is welcome, too,” insists Judy Meagher, part of the group for 10 years. A typical meeting brings in 20-25 folks, both male and female, of all levels of ability and ages. The youngest member ever was 8, while the oldest was 93 and had just learned to knit. There are no rules, no requirements, no officers or hierarchy. Just busy hands and shared passion.
Take 10-year-old Madeline Bogle. As a home-schooled student, she was taught to knit about a year ago during a break from her robotics practice. “I love the social part because I learn awesome techniques while talking with my friends,” she says.
Another KnitWitter at the same meeting has a tad more experience. Edie Van Steen, who was raised in Germany, has been knitting for 73 years. “I learned to knit from my grandmother. She didn’t knit to be creative. She knitted to make sweaters, socks, etc. because of need during and after the second World War.”
Paula McGinness is another regular at the meetings. She appeared at a recent gathering, wearing a sweater and hat she knitted herself, creations that garnered compliments from the other members. A relative newcomer, she moved to Dallas from Pennsylvania and immediately sought out the KnitWits. She learned about the creative collective in Vogue Knitting, a publication which is something of a sacred text for needle workers.
Those who gather each week might knit, crochet or do counted cross-stitch. Their creations span from the personal to the philanthropic. Longtime member Ann Gaspari, for example, was hard at work on a purple baby blanket, an eventual gift for her daughter’s godchild.
KnitWits are all about giving back to the community at large. But they have a soft spot for babies. Since the group formed, they have participated in an ongoing project to make hats for newborns at Parkland Hospital, stitching up to 150 each month.
“Once a year, we have a visitor from Parkland to inspire us with stories of how much they appreciate the caps and how much fun the nurses have in choosing the right cap for each baby,” says Meagher, who delivers the hats herself.
Most weeks, members walk in with hats ready to donate. Lorlee Bartos, who estimates she’s made 400 baby hats since September 2015, has a goal to produce seven per week. Last year, the group donated 1,963 hats. Their goal for 2017: 2,017. Young Madeline feels a strong connection to the caps. “My dream is to become a [neo-natal intensive care] nurse and donating caps makes me feel like I’m helping babies already,” she says.
About four years ago, the group was approached to help with an art exhibit for the Gendercide Awareness Project and has contributed knitted baby booties to the effort each year since. In a stunning and sobering display, hundreds of booties hang from walls and ceilings, each pair representing 10,000 “missing women,” who are lost to sex-selective abortion, infanticide, preventable maternal death and other causes. The KnitWits’ booties, along with booties commissioned from at-risk women overseas, are on display at the exhibit running Feb. 10-15 at Fashion Industry Gallery on Ross Avenue in the Arts District.
For the past two years, the group also has participated in random acts of kindness with Warm Up America, a program which distributes knitted and crocheted afghans, hats, scarves and clothing to those in need. Several from the Lakewood group recently took their items to areas where homeless congregate and left hats and scarves on fences and in trees, each piece with an attached note: “Made with love, take one and stay warm.”
In an homage to their home base at the library, the KnitWits have donated afghans and baskets of knitted and crocheted items to be auctioned off during library fundraisers. And maybe you’ve noticed some yarn graffiti on the library grounds and around the neighborhood? If you see a tree, fire hydrant, street sign or light pole yarn bombed with its own colorful and cozy sweater, chances are a KnitWit was at hand.
Reflecting on the spirit of the group, Van Steen says, “It has social benefit … and it encourages artistic expression. But the best thing about the KnitWits is that it provides a product for people who may need it.”
