A Love Of Knitting Is Being Shared

Across The Generations

By Nancy K. Crevier

To some of the women, she is “The Knitting Whisperer.” To others, “The Goddess of Knitting.” Whatever they call her, the women who are part of the weekly knitting group that meets at Mocha Coffee House on Glen Road in Sandy Hook are indebted to Maggie Mahony for her enthusiastic energy and knitting knowledge that she so willingly shares with them.

Some of the eight or so women who gather at the coffee house are experienced knitters, while others never knew a dropped stitch from a counted stitch before last fall.

The group, initially made up of other knitters in Ms Mahoney’s circle of friends, started meeting more than a year ago in each other’s homes. Eventually they decided to give each other a break from hosting the get-togethers and found a new meeting spot at Mocha. The group has seen members come and go as their schedules have changed, but Ms Mahoney remains a constant.

A knitter since she was 10 years old, Ms Mahony is the most experienced in the group. She moves from one new knitter to another, offering instruction here, suggestions there, and always answering the many questions tossed her way. It costs nothing to belong to the knitting group, except the yarn and needles.

“When someone new joins,” says Ms Mahony, “I usually sent them to A Stitch in Time in Bethel to get set up with what they need.” The group has taken field trips, though, as far as Granby to visit other yarn shops. “It’s really fun to see all of the yarns and knitting accessories the stores have,” she says.

When Jackie Himmelfarb, a member of the knitting klätch, talked up the gathering to her walking group this past September, they walked right into a new Friday morning habit. Louise Howell had knit as a child, and at Ms Himmelfarb’s urging, has picked it up again with renewed interest. Diane Johnson and Sandra Brazo, on the other hand, had never worked with yarn and needles before, nor had Shannon Vanderheiden, who recently joined with her friend, Jen D’Amico. With guidance from Ms Himmelfarb and Ms Mahoney, scarves of all colors and sizes have rolled off of their new needles.

Ms Johnson has knit three scarves since joining the knitters. She is full of praise for her instructors, particularly Ms Mahoney.

“She can come and knit an entire mitten in one session,” she brags about her friend. “And the sweater she is working on is magnificent.”

Hovering over the inexperienced hands of Ms D’Amico, Ms Mahony shrugs off the glowing commendation with a laugh, saying, “It’s just so much fun.” As proud as a mother hen, she points to the first completed row hanging off Ms D’Amico’s needle and says, “Look at what she has done. Isn’t that great?”

“Maggie is just a natural cheerleader,” says another knitter, Jordana Bloom. “I didn’t think, with four kids, that I would have time, but I joined in November and we have just been having a good time.” She brings her three youngest children with her each Friday, and on this day, after subduing them with treats and setting them up at the game table, she pulls her newest effort out of a bag and seeks out Ms Mahony’s advice. Ms Bloom’s first project, a sea-green scarf of the softest yarn, is draped about her neck as they confer about what is going right and wrong with the pattern.

“The pattern isn’t quite right, is it?” Ms Mahony asks, but assures the novice knitter, “That’s okay. We’ll just undo it up to here.” Ms Bloom agrees and laughs, “I just rip stuff out and do it again. It’s the best way to learn.”

“Everybody starts with a scarf. But once you get going,” Ms Mahony explains, “you often have two or three projects going. Sometimes you hit an impasse, or sometimes you just get bored with one and go on to another.”

Particularly if you are working on a complex pattern that requires intense concentration and a lot of counting, says Ms Himmelfarb, a break is needed to keep this hobby relaxing. Ms Himmelfarb usually works on a scarf while she visits, but at home she knits more complex shawls and pocketbooks. The pocketbooks are knit of wool yarn, which is then “felted” in the washing machine. Attractive and unusual handles can then be added to the creations, she says, which she gives away as gifts throughout the year.

Most of the knitted creations, up to now, are given out as gifts. Ms Himmelfarb and Ms Mahony, however, have donated scarves to the Family Counseling Center for fundraising, and hope to do more charity work as the group becomes more experienced.

A natural-born teacher, Ms Mahony, who is also an educational assistant at Hawley Elementary School, never tires of guiding newcomers to the craft through their trials and errors. Not only does she share her skills with her adult friends, but this mother of three teenagers said Yes without hesitation when she was asked to teach an after-school knitting class at Hawley. So every Friday afternoon, she meets with eight students there, including one first grade boy, to instruct them in what she hopes will become a lifelong hobby.

Her talent with yarn and needle and willingness to aid anyone in need is legendary among her friends. She chuckles and admits that she is responsible for “drive-by knitting. Some of my friends leave sweaters to be repaired in their mailboxes. I grab them, fix them, and return them to their mailboxes.”

Her pleasure in providing this service to her pals is clear. There is no sense of duty or vexation in the tone of her voice.

While the moms knit and network, babies and toddlers munch on snacks, play board games, and look at books quietly at nearby tables. The hour and a half goes by swiftly, with lots of chatter and the steady clicking of knitting needles.

There is more going on here than simply learning a new skill. These women are knitting the bonds of friendship as tightly as any thread they weave about the needles. As Ms Bloom says, “It’s really awesome.”