Hats, Hats, Hats and Celebration

Today was a festive day at the HSC. In preparation for the holidays, there was a big party in the Day Center and awesome music outside. So the place was bustling with people and temporary joy. Our hats definitely added to the mood. A new 13 Friday-er, Linda showed up with 26 hats - yes 26!! She and her husband knit hats for charity, and so she was generous to bring many of those for today's 13 Friday session. And, I might add, she finished number 27 while visiting today!! Other wonderful contributions abounded today from Bobbie, a Telerana Guild member, Louise with Will Bruder Studio, Kelsey W., a fibers grad at ASU, and of course from our sweet and consistent knitters - Susan and Cattryn; and I had a couple to add to the group today too. So our grand total of hats today - 38!!

Also knitting with us today was Kate and Meghan - and Kate - we did not get a shot of your hat before it traveled away with Jay - rats! - first shot I've missed. Meghan was making a hat from her handmade yarn that she makes out of old knit shirts.  And Peter Bugg came down, but we were inside doing our morning workshop with the ladies of W.O.W. So sorry to have missed you, Peter!!

All and all - it was a good day.

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Linda

Ann

Ann

Bobbie

Bobbie

Bobbie

Bobbie

Cattryn

Kelsey

Susan

Susan

Our hat line with some recipients in the distance.

Hats on 12/3 and 12/10

Here is a collection of hats from both 12/3/10 and 12/10/10. Cattryn's are included on her own blog post. To date - 35 hats have been made!

Meghan

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Lisa

Our makeshift display which promptly disappeared when we went in to teach our workshop. We need to be smarter next time.

Ruth Ann

Well, I've met a master crocheter - her name is Ruth Ann. She came to our session this past Friday. Ruth has obvious problems. She is relegated to a motorized wheelchair which is packed to the brim with her things. She explained through her repetitive speech pattern that she is here because she cannot find a place to live that she can afford with her disability payments because . . . the doors are not wide enough in most places to accommodate her wheelchair. Being a motorized one, it is about 4-6" too wide for the standard door jam. Now, there could surely be more issues with Ruth, you might guess this from her way of expressing herself. But in some ways, she was so excited to just be ABLE to express herself, she couldn't help but stumble over herself trying to speak.

The one thing about Ruth is that she has been crocheting since she was a girl - so she always carries a crochet needle with her. But in checking into the sleeping room at CASS, it seems it was confiscated - could be used as a weapon. So her one solace, the one thing that she can still do was taken away.  To those of us who knit or crochet - it is painful to hear this.

So it is no surprise that she showed up at our workshop on Friday - and boy can she crochet!! I hope we see Ruth next week.

Catching Up

Meghan with Mai - talking about crochet

I'm so behind in posting such an important group of photos from our W.O.W. knitting and crochet workshop! We've actually had 3 sessions now - these images being from our second class on 12/3.

Teaching is rewarding, lots of these women may have crocheted before, but not since childhood. The one frustration is that often we work with someone one week and the following week, they aren't in class.

We hope that as time goes by, there will be continuity in some of the participants in the class.

With not having a way for the ladies to practice between sessions, it is difficult to maintain a connection from class to class.

Still, after class, I stayed on campus a bit to knit my own work and was able to give Marilyn, and a new friend, Ruth (who I will write about separately) their yarn and needles back and they actually worked out on the lawn for a while. 

In truth, though, the ladies like it better inside the classroom. At first I thought, "Come on, we'll sit outside, why won't you?" But it didn't take me long to realize that this room is an escape for the women. A quiet, warm place to be together, away from the realities of the crowd outside. No profanities, no yelling, no heavy conversations. Just a place away to feel the yarn between their fingers and hear Tillie constantly building them up, telling them they are beautiful, they are worthy.

I need Miss Tillie during my day sometimes too.

Greta teaching Marilyn to crochet

Marilyn feels so excited about her progress!

Celeste and Jeanne getting the hang of crochet.

So Many Choices

Not sure who got this hat... but it's very warm!

I brought my mother to our second teaching day. She worked with Maryann who ended up crocheting a good 5 inches of scarf in a really nice shade of light blue. Maryann had walked into the Art room with one of the hats I’d knitted at home that week… I had tried out a new pattern where the combination of knits and purls knitted in the round created a pretty cool spiral effect. She seemed really excited by the hat, but so was the woman working with Susan and by the end of the meeting I noticed Sarah was wearing the hat. I was a bit surprised and asked Maryann what had happened. She said, “I believe I must have chosen that hat for her.” Graciousness: that’s what came to mind. Her words and actions were pure graciousness. I’m going to try to knit her another one and I hope she’ll be at the next meeting.

The woman I’d worked with the week before wasn’t in attendance and my first thought was that the fears that had been dogging me had been confirmed. It's not an easy thing to do... learning to knit or crochet. And I'm discovering it's not an easy skill to teach. I left our first W.O.W. meeting on 11/26 worried that I/we might have scared the women away with this new activity. The woman I’d worked with had told me it was her first time attending W.O.W. and I was really worried the frustration she seemed to be feeling trying to get the stitches from one needle to the other would translate into frustration with the entire W.O.W. support process. When I didn’t see her among the faces sitting around the tables on December 3rd, I was sure I’d scared her off. But Ms. Tilllie was thrilled that we were back. She told us that the women had had a wonderful time and couldn’t stop talking about what they’d learned. I noticed that many of the faces were new to me yet at least four were from the week before. I was sorry to see that Rose wasn’t there. I had sat with her for a short while the week before and we’d talked about knitting and where she was from and what she did enjoy doing. She told me she likes to quilt and was working on a denim/jeans quilt. I asked if she needed material. She said there were always enough jeans in the donation parcels but that she could use some batting. I’d brought some with me to this meeting… and I’ll keep bringing it in case she reappears.

It is difficult for the women to attend W.O.W. meetings regularly and Ms. Tilllie enthused over each and every woman present, greeting each by name and taking coffee orders. The women fill out a form at each meeting. Sections range from the familiar ‘NAME' and ‘DOB’, to the more abstract ‘BARRIERS’. That’s the section that seemed to stump Amanda, my new student who had worked with Meghan the week before. I spent the first few minutes of the meeting approaching women and asking if they’d like to learn to crochet or knit. It was refreshing to realize they had a choice and some didn’t want to learn either and were content to just be at the meeting while others found pleasure in considering the options and choosing from the great selection of yarns Ann had brought. Amanda had forgotten her bag of supplies from the week before and picked out a dark blue yarn and a crochet hook to make a scarf for her boyfriend. She struggled to hold the yarn and the needle and was moved to tears and/or laughter each time she formed a stitch. She’d hold up her sample to show Ms. Tilllie or one of the other women and they’d yell back their support and sometimes come over to see her work. She shared a lot about her life – most of the stories very personal and painful.

There is never enough room to write about all the amazing moments at each of these gatherings at CASS. (Well, there is enough room but it would mean writing pages and pages of text.) I’m grateful for every one of these moments and am looking forward to more people choosing to join us at Ann’s 13Fridays. Come on down!!!

Cattryn

Bright and Fuzzy

Wiley guarding my knitting chair...

Knitting hats is a total blast. First, you search through your pile of knitting books for the perfect hat pattern. Or maybe you go on-line or you check out the patterns Ann has sent you. Then you begin to dig through your ever-expanding stash of neglected yarn for the perfect color, the perfect softness, the perfect feel and maybe you add a second yarn and in this pairing a more sublime yarn is created. You pull out the right sized 16” circular needles and cast on a specific number of stitches and are careful not to twist any as you join the round and knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, and a hat begins to grow. You imagine the delight of the recipient of this hand-knitted hat. Who wouldn’t want a bright pink, fuzzy, soft hat to ward off the winter chill?

I was really happy to receive Ann’s invitation to participate in this project. I enjoy knitting and, in the distant past, have sent blankets and sweaters and hats to various goodwill organizations. This would be the first time, though, that I would be knitting for someone I might actually meet.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on my first visit. I did know that I wanted to arrive with a completed hat. I wanted to knit a hat that was bright and fuzzy and warm. I was sure that was what someone living at the shelter, or visiting from the streets, would want. It was what I thought I would want. But I wasn’t living in a shelter or on the streets. I really couldn’t know and so I arrived on my first visit with my friend Susan and found out bright and fuzzy was not what was wanted.

Driving down 12^th Ave. from Washington St. we passed many people walking towards the front of CASS. Several carried dark knapsacks or duffel bags or plastic bags. Some held blankets. All were walking towards the entry gate. We eventually made it through the gates, parked, and found Ann and her daughter on a bench behind a tree graced with several completed hats. I placed my pink fuzzy hat on one of the branches and then Susan and I made our way to some boulder ‘seats’ and pulled out our knitting supplies. I was glad for Susan’s company.

A man, holding a red rose, was lying on the fake turf not far from our seats. A woman sat beside him. Some of the residents/visitors gathered in pairs or small groups. Others found places to sit or lie on their own. A man sat silently on a boulder near us. After about 15 minutes he got up and walked away and James arrived to take his place. James wore ear-buds and was listening to a news channel. He began talking about the killing that had occurred that morning. A woman had shot a taxi driver and the police were attempting to find her at some apartment complex. Several people in the area spoke with him on this topic and he seemed very comfortable sharing his views and opinions about the matter. And then he started to talk to Susan and me, commenting on our knitting and telling us that he used to make crocheted beer can hats. His mother had taught him. He told us he had just dropped in to the center to wait for ‘his girl’ who worked there. He mentioned this several times during our visit. I was never really sure if he lived at the shelter or on the streets or elsewhere. We learned that he always listened to news stations and had a bunch of fresh batteries (and vitamins) in his backpack. He said he used to write jingles for advertisements on the radio. He took a fancy to the hat I was knitting and asked if it had already been claimed. I told him it was his as soon as I completed it. He said the colors reminded him of a tie he used to have. James told us about many aspects of the center. He said if a resident or visitor had a sore tooth, they could put their name on a list at the dental clinic and their name would be called at some point during the day so they could receive treatment. The same thing held true for the health clinic. At around 11:30 we noticed a line forming and James told us it was the line for lunch. He invited us to join him and extolled the food pointing out that the staff also ate the lunches there because it is so good. I told him we’d pass this time and that I wanted to complete his hat. Most of the talk revolved around the work James had done or was doing. He claimed he was working with young people with histories of drug use. He was pro-marijuana and against what he considered to be hard drugs. He did smoke and told us it was the one thing he just couldn’t quit. Most of his talk was calm and playful until he began talking about President Obama. He said things have only gotten worse since he took office, that President Obama hasn’t completed a single task since he took office. I told James I was making the hat for him and if he really wanted it he needed to get off the Obama-bashing. He laughed and then agreed, said he really didn’t think it was okay to bad-mouth anyone in the extreme. James returned from lunch and introduced us to a woman who was with him. They sat off to the back of the center and when I finished his hat, I took it over to the two of them and he seemed very pleased as he put it on.

Several times during James’ visit, I glanced over to the ‘gifting’ tree and noticed pink and fuzzy was still there – all alone. After he walked off I noticed several female voices coming from a seating area near us. A woman spoke loudly to one of the other women. “Anytime you need to use my phone you just ask me. It’s okay.” Her tone was clear and enthusiastic and then I heard a woman yell towards Susan and me, “You’re crocheting. I used to crochet. What are you making?” And I told her we were knitting and that we were making hats for whoever might want one and wouldn’t she love a bright and fuzzy hat… that fuzzy hat over there, on the tree. And she said, “Nah, I already have a hat in my backpack. I don’t need another one.” I told her she could take it and give it to someone else and she said, “I could take it for my daughter!” She wandered over to the tree and that’s how my next visit became a little different from the first. This woman, who at last found a recipient for brighy and fuzzy, was a member of W.O.W. and introduced Ann to Ms Tilllie. Ms Tilllie of the wonderfully big and enthusiastic voice!

PS The residents seem most drawn to hats of subtle color and elegant patterns. I've kept that in mind while knitting my last three hats. But I still have some bright and fuzzy yarn left and just know I'm going to have to use it!!!