By MAGGIE ANDERSON
February 3, 2006

Do you remember Grandma sitting by the fire knitting mittens for everyone and their brothers? Did you have an aunt that crocheted anything for anybody? When you think back to your childhood, are your memories filled with the gentle clacking of knitting needles, the many bright colors of yarn sliding through old, patient fingers, twirling into scarves, hats and gloves to warm your life?

I have these memories because I am old. And I was taught to knit and crochet by my grandmother and her sisters. These skills were considered an important part of being a woman, something that “back in the day” was needed to warm the family.

Today, if you want a sweater, mittens, or a scarf, all that is needed is a trip to the local department store. What was once a necessary skill is now considered a hobby, something that a few people do to while away the time on their hands.

Here at Belmont Abbey a few students came to the library seeking this fading art. Students expressed a desire to make something useful, to make something about which they could say, with pride, “I made it myself.”

Vickie Jenkins and I were honored to be asked to share our knowledge of knitting and crocheting with the students of Belmont Abbey. We now have a club that meets once a week, on Wednesday afternoons at 1 p.m. in the Benedictine room. The Crochet/Knitting Club is a lot like sitting next to the fire with Grandma, learning to make bright, colorful, warm clothes.

Instead of giving the things we make to our immediate families, we give them to our brothers and sisters of the world. We give hats, and scarves to families in need financially. We give the blankets (quilts) we make to warm the homeless sleeping in the streets. Our last project was crocheting Christmas stockings, filling them with candy and such, then giving them to S.O.C.K.S. (Serving Our Community with Kindness in Springwood) to distribute to poor children to warm their holidays. This semester we are making hats and scarves for underprivileged children in addition to our regular projects.

Have you ever wanted to learn this fading art of knitting and/or crocheting? Have you ever wanted to do something to increase the worth of the world? Are you looking for a fun and easy way of earning your community hours? Come and join us. We will teach you to knit, we will teach you to crochet, and we will share our skills, our time and our love of what is fast becoming a lost art.