Although she had never picked up a knitting needle before in her life, Pravin Rasul felt a Knitathon was the perfect way to get started.
Joining about 20 other knitters at her Chestermere establishment, Waiting Room Cafe, Rasul managed to finish a pair of baby toques during the charity event. Of course, she did get some instructional help, as the more experienced volunteers put together a large tub of scarves, mittens, gloves and cowls, which will be donated to Chestermere’s homeless population.
“The ladies here are professionals,” said Rasul about the marathon knit session that took place April 1. “I thought it would be a big challenge for me. I love it so far. I’m going to keep doing it. I’m going to find different things to do like scarves and blankets.
“This isn’t a one-time thing. This is something we plan on continuing. We’re starting with small things right now and we will move to bigger things such as blankets and sweaters.”
Chestermere realtor Karen Gonzales came up with the idea for the Knitathon and it drew immediate interest. Even the MLA for Chestermere-Rocky View, Leela Sharon Aheer, spent a good portion of her Saturday visiting and knitting.
Between a provided lunch and round after round of coffees, the women shared plenty of laughs while working their fast fingers to create some colourful pieces that should be of great use to whoever needs them.
“There’s no better way to spend a Saturday,” said volunteer Melony Frei.
Many of the group regularly get together Thursdays at Waiting Room Cafe for a 5 to 7 p.m. knitting session, but this one went from 9:30 a.m. till around 4 p.m. Some knitters dropped in for a few hours, while others picked their favourite spot in the cafe and worked throughout.
Volunteer Julie Tubby, who wants to do another Knitathon in the fall, figures this session is on par with her regular knitting days. Ten-hour marathons are the norm for her, she says, and she recently went on a 10-day road trip streak where she finished off a sweater for her husband in seven of them.
“Then I redid it because it wasn’t quite right,” Tubby said with a laugh.
While most of the toques and mitts won’t be needed desperately in spring and summer, the group feels this is a good starting point for should become a regular get together.
“We had a blast,” Rasul said. “The ladies were not only meeting each other but having fun.”
