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Wool gathering in Coon Rapids

Richard Sennott, Star Tribune

Barb Carlson of Spring Lake Park and Elizabeth Langford of Blaine join the other “KnitWits” every Tuesday afternoon at the Culver’s in Coon Rapids.

A group of devoted knitters and crocheters have fun and help others with their donated creations.

By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune

Last update: January 6, 2009 - 4:58 PM

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KNITWITS

1:30-3 p.m. Tuesdays, at Culver's restaurant, 611 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids.

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Every Tuesday afternoon, the center tables at the Coon Rapids Culver's restaurant fill with ladies who swap yarn, patterns and stories, as they create hats, mittens, scarves and goodwill.

This month, the KnitWits, as they call themselves, are celebrating. January marks the sixth year they've been meeting, and they've passed the landmark of 10,000 knitted and crocheted creations donated to local hospitals and shelters, as well as Iowa flood victims and soldiers in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The women say that it feels good to give, and to share the time with friends, old and new.

Last week, the Culver's dining room buzzed with the women's chatter, and the occasional clink of needles on a tabletop.

The tables were cluttered with the women's drinks (on the house), and a rainbow of yarn skeins waiting to be made into chemo caps, handbags, toys, cast covers and more. Organizer Yvonne Eyer said there's a pile in her garage.

"When that gets full and my trunk is full and my back seat, of my car, then I distribute," she said.

On this day, 30 women and one man (he didn't knit) had braved snowy roads to join their KnitWits cohorts.

"I look forward to coming to this," said Barb Larson of Ham Lake, who was knitting a scarf to match a roll-brim child's hat she already had completed. "I reserve Tuesdays."

Neighbor Yvette Pawlyszn, working on a baby blanket, agreed.

"My kids know, no babysitting on Tuesdays," she said.

The decorated Christmas tree, the falling snow outside, and owner Jim Hannay circulating with a coffee pot in each hand lent the gathering a festive air.

While women call to each other from table to table, inquiring about patterns and family members, they also say they tend to gravitate to the same tables -- even the same chairs -- with each visit.

Their knitting friends listen differently than even the best-intentioned husbands, they say.

"It's not just needlework," said Carol Peck of Coon Rapids. "It's therapy."

She and her tablemates, Lovie Hermsen of Blaine and Dorothy Frich of Spring Lake Park, also go to the YMCA together. Make new friends and keep the old ones, is Hermsen's motto. The KnitWits, she said, offer a reason for friends to get together regularly.

Still, the women say they've had to simplify their KnitWits projects because the chatting makes counting stitches a challenge.

"Those two always bring things they have to count," said Sharon DeLacey of Coon Rapids, gesturing to the women across from her.

"They do a lot of ripping [out of stitches]," she added, laughing.

Some of the friendships span generations. Barb Carlson's granddaughter Madalynn, who turned 9 on Monday, comes often with her grandma. Madalynn has formed a special bond with KnitWit Joanne Mady of Coon Rapids, who shares M&M sundaes with her (Madalynn eats the M&Ms; Mady gets the custard) and fixes her dropped stitches.

Owner Hannay surveyed the group.

"That's the true definition of joy," he said, gesturing toward the laughing women. "When you give out of the goodness of your heart and expect nothing back. ... It's nice that they come on Tuesdays. You can always count on your Tuesdays to be all right."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409

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