Courtesy Maliza Lang
Senior English major, Monica Brown, and junior elementary education major, Aly Fawcett, started The Friday Night Knitting Club last fall.
“There’s this really vibrant community of knitters in their twenties and thirties that are already active in groups and I think it hasn’t spread to college campuses and it should,” Brown said. “There’s so many amazing things that we can do.”
Within the past seven months of its formation, the club has a total of 10 members and has a goal of expanding.
“For a good close-knit community, fifteen to twenty,” Brown said, no pun intended.
Students don’t need to be advanced in knitting or crocheting to join.
In fact, these women would love to teach anyone who’s interested in having fun while learning a new craft. Fawcett recognizes that most people think knitting is strictly for an older generation. However, she and Brown want to take away the stereotype.
“(The club) doesn’t have to be one thousand ugly sweaters,” Brown said.
Their advisor, Kim Carter-Kram, a French professor, just picked up knitting this summer.
She’s come a long way, the members said, and comes to meetings when she’s available.
Brown has been knitting since middle school when she was taught by her mom who spins her own yarn. Fawcett, who knits left-handed, began just a year ago and learned from books that her grandmother gave her. Combined, these three sources have a varied background which can cater to all members.
“(It’s) meditative, creative and brings people together,” Brown said.
Fawcett added the club got its name from a book by Kate Jacobs entitled “The Friday Night Knitting Club.”
“(In the book) these women get together and share life experiences over knitting that’s what I pictured our club being… becoming a little family,” Fawcett said.
The women also are looking forward to doing charity work.
“Chemo caps (caps for individuals undergoing chemo therapy) or something along those lines,” Brown said.
The club is currently exploring many avenues to give back. This will be another benefit to the members and an exciting way to get involved with the community.
There will be an event the club is promoting along with the office of Health Services called the Knit-A-Thon. It will focus around how knitting can provide stress relief and create solid sleeping patterns.
“It sounds like knitting is so boring it will put you to sleep. No,” Brown said jokingly.
This will take place on Thursday, March 7 in the SUB Atrium from 6-10 p.m.
The club has been advertising across campus through word-of-mouth and had a booth at the most recent Organization Fair. Brown and Fawcett encourage students to go to their Facebook Page, The Friday Night
Knitting Club.
New members are also welcome to come to weekly club meetings on Fridays in the SUB Get (IN)volved Center at noon.
