A small group of knitters meeting at the Morgan Hill library
will either leave you in stitches or help you improve them,
depending on what the mood is. What began as a passion for knitting
has grown into a Tuesday night social gathering attracting people,
including several boys, of all ages and skill levels from as far
away as Palo Alto.
A small group of knitters meeting at the Morgan Hill library will either leave you in stitches or help you improve them, depending on what the mood is.
What began as a passion for knitting has grown into a Tuesday night social gathering attracting people, including several boys, of all ages and skill levels from as far away as Palo Alto.
The group began two-and-a-half years ago when Dianne Meek and Rachelle Musser wanted a place where people could spend time with other knitters to learn the craft.
“We wanted a place to share our ideas and share what we learned with each other,” Meek said.
Turnout can be as few as six people, but often balloons to almost 40. And people don’t always knit: some crochet, do needle point or cross stitch.
No matter how many show up, everyone always has a good time. The conversations often change as fast as style of stitches in a pattern and usually are accompanied by roars of laughter.
And when the group grows to more than 30, they’re often told to keep the noise down as it infiltrates the rest of the library.
When the knitters first started meeting, they didn’t always have their room in the back of the library.
Library policy says the meeting room has to be available to as many people as possible. So about once a month, they had to meet in the main area of the library. And the talkative nature of the group, not to mention the laughter, resulted in more than one icy glare and “hush” from local librarians.
The Morgan Hill Library, however, decided the group provided an activity the community could enjoy, and gave the knitters a room on a permanent basis for free.
“The library donated the room to us,” Musser said. “And it’s free. Instead of having to pay $5. It never was hard for 20 people to come up with five bucks, but we were always ‘OK, does anyone have a nickel?’”
The knitting group was well received, but not everyone could make it on a Tuesday night, Musser said. As a result, a group began to meet Thursday nights. Musser said on occasion, members of the Thursday group will poke their heads in for a visit.
The atmosphere is positive. Everyone makes jokes and pokes fun at each other, but never in a mean-spirited fashion.
The knitters give each other pointers and figure out where someone made a mistake in their project.
Elsi Stock, who heard about the group while sitting in a dentist’s office, is the resident expert. Her more than 60 years of knitting experience has given her a keen eye for detail.
“She can look at something and almost immediately tell you where you went wrong,” Musser said. “She can look at patterns (in books) and see where the mistakes are.”
But Stock is modest and freely admits, despite her years of experience and knowledge, she still makes a few mistakes.
“I still rip out a lot,” Stock said referring to undoing stitches she made.
Stock mostly knits sweaters for her family and her designs are often quite intricate. For her grandson one year, she made a sweater with a dinosaur that popped out.
Stock has made other projects that meld colors together, a task which she said is not the easiest to do, but she likes it.
“It’s like a crossword puzzle,” Stock said. “Every row is different.”
While Stock is one of the older members of the group, there are a few young participants drawn to the hobby.
Sydney Main and Teddi Calv, cousins from Palo Alto, are junior high students who come with Calv’s mother, who works with Meek.
Both girls, who are only a year apart in age, said they have become obsessed with knitting.
“I have a friend who wants a hat and I have another friend who wants me to make her socks,” Calv said.
Calv said hats and socks are a little advanced for her now and she would rather stick to accessories such as scarves and belts.
Meek said newcomers are always welcome and they are willing to teach them how to knit.
“We are trying to get as many people hooked as possible,” Meek said.
And for all the fun they’re having, the knitters said the weekly meetings are a good way to take a step back from their busy routines.
“It’s nice to get away and just knit,” Musser said. “I like the feel of the yarn, I like the colors; it’s like therapy.”
For more information, call Dianne Meek at 427-1039 or Rachelle Musser at 776-0451.
