By Nadia Stuewer and the Lowertown Knitters
Looking for a safe space to meet neighbours and learn a new skill for free? Since last October, on Sundays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm, a group of knitters and other fibre arts enthusiasts have been maintaining an informal drop-in at the Routhier Community Centre on Guigues Avenue, to practice their craft while sipping tea and making friends. Beginning knitters and crocheters are most welcome. There is a stash of yarn and some needles, and many decades of collective needlecraft knowledge awaiting anyone who wants to learn.
This multigenerational, bilingual, and mixed-gender group is creating a variety of projects. A couple of young boys, who come when they’re not playing soccer, made a knitted snake and arm bands. Our most senior member enjoys knitting dishcloths, making matching scrubbies out of tulle, and has recently been inspired to bring along some unfinished socks. Completing unfinished projects that have been sitting around for some years – even over a decade – is a theme. Others are working on sweaters, coffee cup warmers, scarves, and a spring wreath (pictured). The regulars enjoy watching the labours of love take shape from one week to the next.
Despite the high level of knowledge in the group, there is always more to learn. Members have taught each other things like how to make a pompom to top a hat, how to mend seemingly unfixable holes, new ways to cast on and off, where to find good deals on wool, and how to use a bobbin lace cushion, a lace-making tool inherited from a grandmother. One member had the cushion and another knew how to use it, and shared the required bobbins and an instruction book.
At our last meeting, we discussed how some of us had been taught that if you make a mistake in your knitting, you must always go back to fix it, no matter how much you have to unravel. Knitting is like life, and if you make a mistake, you can be off-kilter until you correct it. However, we all agreed that we preferred a different philosophy. The unofficial motto of the group has become, “If you make a mistake often enough, it becomes a design.” A mistake emphasizes the artisanal nature of the item. Some knitters deliberately make the same mistake in every piece, so that it becomes a personal trademark.
Sharing entertaining stories of how life used to be in Lowertown, as well as harder stories of overcoming anxiety and leaving abusive relationships, the needleworkers of Lowertown are knitting up a sense of accomplishment in their work. Self-esteem is tangled up in the work they do, work they are proud to call their own.
One person says she “comes for the cookies,” but I think it is safe to say that the group is now self-sustaining because people feel the value of gathering together in Lowertown with neighbours. Come join us!
