Orrville group knits friendship with yarn
Give a Stitch, a social knitting and crocheting group in Orrville, was formed in 2021 after the pandemic ended the charity-focused Warm Up America group that had met at the Orrville Public Library since 2008.
Orrville’s Give a Stitch, a social group for those who love to knit and crochet, was started in 2021 as an offshoot of a prior group that had been meeting at the Orrville Public Library since 2008. The Warm Up America group was part of a nationwide group that was focused on motivating, training and coordinating volunteers to knit and crochet clothing and afghans for people in need.
Warm Up America came to an end during the COVID-19 pandemic, when meeting in person became a challenge. For a time the group tried to conduct meetings via Zoom, but given the nature of the group, that wasn’t very successful. From the ashes of the old group, a new group was born. That incarnation became Give a Stitch.
“Warm Up America was a charity-driven group,” said Sue Lackman, one of the coordinators of the new group. “We donated items we made to various groups such as the Pregnancy Care Center, OneEighty and the Clothing Closet at OMS. After the pandemic our new group has become more about getting together for friendship and fellowship as we knit and crochet together. We do take on some group and charity-related projects, but anyone can come to the meetings to work on an individual knit/crochet project or even just sit and talk.”
The group includes a group of women working on different projects, both knitting and crocheting, and with varied levels of experience.
Karen Goshen is an avid knitter. She learned to knit from a library book. She is a keen knitter of socks.
“I enjoy making socks and like to make socks to match my outfits,” Goshen said. “I have knitted, to date, 134 pairs of socks.”
Nichole Bower started crocheting as she enjoys working with her hands. She taught herself to crochet from a kit.
“I started crocheting by making long chains and moved on from there,” Bower said.
Peggy Edwards got her start from a library book but has learned to utilize technology in gaining skills necessary to do more complex projects.
“I will watch YouTube videos on how to do a particular project or to get ideas,” Edward said.
Sue Mosier has been knitting for many years and learned to knit from her mom. Nancy Kane, another member of the group, also learned to knit from family. In her case she learned from her aunt and her mom.
Even though Kane is an avid crocheter, she has been learning to make granny squares, which has been a special project for the group. Granny squares refer to a specific pattern used to make squares that are then sewn together to make a large afghan or blanket.
Meetings include helping one another with projects and also learning about yarn arts. One member shared how she learned about terms like “frogging,” the process of “ripping” outstitches when you make a mistake, and “tinking,” which is “knitting” backward, another way of explaining fixing mistakes in a project.
But beyond the knitting and crocheting, laughter, conversation and friendship are formed. The group meets from 10 a.m. to noon in the lower level meeting room at the Orrville Public Library on the following dates: July 3, 17 and 31; Aug. 7 and 21; Sept. 4 and 18; Oct. 2, 16 and 30; Nov. 6 and 20; and Dec. 4 and 18.
More information about the group can be found by visiting its Facebook page at GiveAStitchOrrville. All skill levels are welcome.