There are quite a few clubs in the high school. One that combines creativity and fun is the Knitting Club, run by Mrs. Lori Oldham. She says, “We used to have a crochet and knitting club, and I have wanted to bring it back for a while, but COVID got in the way of doing that.”  But recently, there was a resurgence of interest in knitting and crocheting, likely due to Mrs. Papo running a knitting and crocheting workshop in Howitt.  So they had a Google Form asking who would be interested in taking part in the club; they had about forty responses from people who were interested in going. Most of the participants were at different skill levels, some are beginners and some are very well experienced. For example, some of the students know  Amigurumi, a Japanese term for creating  crocheting three dimensional figures. Often, they are widely referred to as Plushies. 

So are there any benefits to enjoying these activities? Well, according to Mrs. Oldham, “There are a ton of benefits to learning how to knit or crochet. Yarn crafting reduces stress and anxiety.  It improves focus and concentration. It actually improves math and reading skills, and it develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”It can even improve your hand-eye coordination. You can also feel a sense of confidence and accomplishment when you complete a knitting project

What else will they do? Well as for future events and projects, they plan on contributing to the Warm up America charity,  which takes donations of small knitted and crocheted squares and turns them into large blankets for those who need blankets; all you would need to do is knit or crochet a square, thus making it easy to contribute to the cause. There is also the possibility of getting involved in the #hatnohate, which is an anti-bullying campaign that knits blue hats and donates them to people so they can spread awareness of the problem. The Knitting Club may also donate hats to Chemocaps, an organization that gives hats to Cancer patients that have lost their hair to Chemotherapy. 

Between the fun, the benefits, and the good causes, it’s worth giving the Knitting Club a try. So contact Mrs. Oldham, come on down to a meeting, and enjoy knitting with some friends.

* photo via Google Images under the Creative Commons license