Knit (and crochet) group has serious purpose, a lot of fun

MOSES LAKE — The Pray, Knit, Sip, Chat group at the Immanuel Lutheran Church meets for serious, prayerful business. Its members meet three Mondays a month to knit prayer shawls for people in need, especially people undergoing medical treatment that causes them to get cold. Now some of them are branching out into mittens and hats for children and for the homeless.

So who knew a serious project could be so much fun?

At least the participants have fun. “We do. We really do,” said Susan Hickok.

“Who would want to come if it wasn’t fun?” said Judy Burns.

“We chat,” Hickok said. “And laugh. We laugh quite a bit.”

“Good medicine,” Burns said.

Volunteers knit the shawls, “Or crochet,’ Hickok said, as she added citrus-colored yarn to a crocheted work in progress. Across the table Burns was adding rows to a crochet pattern called Granny Square.

Volunteers knit or crochet shawls which are donated to people who are fighting illness or injury, to caregivers of people working through illness or injury, and to people just in need. “I’m the recipient of one,” Hickok said. Volunteers gave one to her dad when he was fighting cancer, and one to her mom. Jeanne Klockers made her first prayer shawl for a friend fighting ovarian cancer and breast cancer at the same time.

“You can just feel the love,” Hickok said.

The Immanuel Lutheran group was formed in January 2015, after some quilts and prayer shawls were donated to the church and blessed during a church service. “This little girl in the congregation named Isabella came up to me and said, ‘I can do that. I want to do that,’” Burns said. Isabella got the adults thinking, and Immanuel Lutheran member Kathy Clough organized the knitting-crochet group, Burns said.

The knitters-crocheters meet the second and fourth Mondays at the church, 1020 South A St. They also get together the third Monday at a local business, usually the Starbucks on Stratford.

The shawls they produce are given to patients, caregivers and people in need throughout the community, and even further afield. Klockers sent one to a young friend in Texas who had lost a brother. Another went to Larson Heights fourth-grader fighting cancer.

Participants are always experimenting and trying new yarns, they said. “I get bored, so I change it every time,” Klockers said. Amanda Miller said she taught herself to crochet when she was home with a newborn baby and a toddler. “When crochet became too routine and boring, I took up knitting,” she said. “For me personally, I like a challenge.”

Inspiration comes from all over. “Sometimes it’s just a color that inspires me, (or) a new stitch,” Miller said. Klockers got an idea for a shawl from a relative working on a project in a new yarn.

Some of the yarn they buy. “I haggle and watch the sales,” Burns said.

Like all good crafters, the knitters and crocheters might have a few supplies at home. Klockers said she had some extra yarn around the house. “I have a large -”

“You have a stash,” Burns said. And yes, the participants raid their personal stashes. “We accept donations of yarn,” Klockers said, although their storage space is limited.

And the knitters (and crocheters) chat. They trade knitting and crochet patterns; “I just stole one from Susan,” said Lou Rhea Crapson. They trade knitting tips, stories about children and grandchildren, leads on cool yarns.

They tell stories of pioneer Moses Lake, “dirt streets, wooden sidewalks. It was quite a place,” Burns said. On a recent Monday, Burns and non-knitting friend Vicki Groff were telling stories about old Moses Lake, the two leaders of a quilting club who made quilts for charity and got into a ferocious competition, the lady whose husband built a special memorial in her honor after she died. Old Moses Lake had a housing development where McCosh Park now stands, they remembered.

Meetings are 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the two Mondays the group meets at the church, and 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the third Monday. Any and all knitters and crocheters are welcome to join. “All skill levels are welcome,” Miller said, from beginners to the most experienced.