Photos

When 10 knitters meet for "knit night" in the small space of Full Thread Ahead, a Los Altos yarn store, an instantaneous reaction much like a chemistry experiment takes place. The individuals who calmly enter the room take on a new energy, occasionally colliding either accidentally or in hugging. They sometimes disperse, only to join again in a circle as if pulled by invisible, internal magnetism.

A boisterous, chatty buzz emanates as the women touch on subjects as diverse as aging parents, family and professional life, stress, health, local crime and, of course, knitting.

"Knit nights are social enough that when I do the toes on this pair of socks, I won't do them here," said Palo Alto resident Deborah Bennett, her knitting needles whipping through multicolored yarn.

Bennett amusedly eyed the commotion caused by Robi Feliz Ledeanu, an animated woman wearing a silken headscarf and stirring up full-body, belly-heaving laughter -- and a few dropped stitches -- among the knitters.

Between giving advice and neck massages, Ledeanu knit a mohair and single-ply wool shrug.

"I've been working on it for two years," she said, laughingly, of the shrug.

Sewing and weaving are usually done solo. In contrast, knitting is an activity frequently shared with others. Though Louise Spangler of Los Altos yarn store Uncommon Threads traces the popularity of knitting back hundreds of years, she is quick to point out things are different nowadays.

"Knitting has always gone in and out of favor, since Colonial times, but there had never been a spark like after 9/11. As far as people getting together as a group and the phenomenon of knitting as a group, it really took off with 9/11," she said.

"People wanted to stay home, wanted to do something with their hands," she said, adding many knitters initially seeking stress relief "got hooked" over the last five years.

Locally, the resurgence of knitting has been noted by knitters like Irene Lee, a Mountain View resident since 1983.

"You know, the yarn stores started closing. But the last four or five years, more have been coming back," she said.

The Craft Yarn Council of America reports yarn sales nationally have risen since 2002. The group found participation in knitting increased in the 25-34 age category, among youth under 18, and among those 55-64. According to the council, lively yarn sales relate to knitting's popularity among celebrities like Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, as well as the emergence of new "fashion fibers." Its 2005 research showed a continuing, upward trend in the number of knitters and of completed projects per knitter per year.

Local knitters say their hobby satisfies their creative desires and enables them to teach and learn new skills, give charitably and meet with others who may be similar or different from them.

"Knitting is addictive," said Palo Alto resident Teddie Guenzer, a member of the Stanford Knit Wits who was working on a pair of mint-green gloves recently.

"You can take [your knitting] with you. You can do it anywhere. And, you see the results faster," she said, comparing knitting to other hobbies like handweaving.

Meeting in local social gatherings helps knitters learn about the latest patterns and fibers.

"The yarns are so beautiful now; every season there is something new," Spangler of Uncommon Threads said.

Lee was enthusiastic about the vivid, new fibers she found at Uncommon Threads during an open-knitting night, one of which -- a warm, multi-colored German yarn -- she was using to make her first-ever sock.

"It's always something I've wanted to try. It's not as hard as I've been led to believe," she said, receiving help from two friends.

Hollis Bischoff, owner of Full Thread Ahead, reflected on the hobby as knitters clustered on couches and chairs around her.

"People here don't consider themselves artisans, but you look around and see what they're producing and it is art," she said. "Look at Amy [Kay's] afghan."

Bischoff gestured towards the rich pink-and-brown baby blanket Kay described as "chocolate-covered cherries."

"Even if something is from a pattern -- you interpret the pattern, change colors, yarn, the size. You make it a one-of-a-kind," Bischoff added.

Knitters develop their artistic abilities by learning new skills at local get-togethers.

Teaching plays a central role in Stanford's Knit Wits' weekly gatherings, said Gina Wein, a Los Altos resident.

"We taught people to knit right here. Others are very accomplished. It's really fun to see what everyone is working on and get inspired by what they're doing and the yarns they're using," she said.

Knit Wit Susan Phillips Moskowitz enjoys teaching so much that she brought her knitting lessons to knitters worldwide through the online forum YouTube. Her three short lessons, filmed by Palo Alto eighth grader Ethan Hausser, have garnered more than 80,000 hits so far. With grateful knitters like "kathye1" calling Moskowitz's videos "the most helpful and understandable" on YouTube, Moskowitz says she feels "like a star."

In addition to the joys of creating, learning and teaching, many knitters delight in using their skills to benefit others.

Rita Lou, who belongs to a knitting group that meets at Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto, knits scarves, hats and socks for the Community Breast Health Project, together with other group members. The health nonprofit distributes the knit goods in "comfort kits" to women with breast cancer.

"I have nobody to make hats for. My children and grandchildren are all grown up now, so they don't need my knitting. I like to come here, volunteer and do things for others," Lou said.

Retired physician Diana Gu, a Lytton Gardens resident, learned to knit around age 8 but was too busy to knit during her working years. Since her retirement, she has taken up her knitting needles again.

Through years of experience treating patients, Gu learned how to help women with cancer feel better.

"When I knit, I think of what the patient needs. Soft and warm is better for the patients," she said.

Like the Lytton Gardens knitters, the Full Threads Ahead group has rallied against breast cancer, supporting the annual Relay for Life fundraiser at Los Altos High School.

"Some walk at the event, but we knit. We spend all night knitting hats for cancer patients," Christiane Johnson of Mountain View said of the 24-hour event.

Megan Olson, a Full Threads Ahead group member, knits teddy bears for the Mother Bear Project, an organization distributing toy bears to children impacted by the global AIDS epidemic.

Occasionally, other knitters in Olson's circle join the cause, as when Johnson came to knit night bearing a 10-inch-tall stuffed animal.

"Tonight I came to give Megan my bear," she said.

In spite of their different backgrounds -- Swiss-born Johnson grew up thousands of miles from American-born Olson -- the two women enjoy sharing common values. It's a common occurrence at knit nights.

"Outside of knitting we're very diverse. We have very different social views, very different political views. Knitting knits us together," Bischoff said. Given the knitters' comfort sharing with one another, Republicans as well as Democrats have occasionally spoken up, raising lively discussions about the United States' political future, she said.

Esther Rubin of Palo Alto said she attends open knitting night at Uncommon Threads because "you gather here with people that you wouldn't normally connect with in your daily life, people of all kinds. You get to see each other. It's relaxing," she said.

In addition to bridging social and political divides, knitting groups close generational gaps. Recently, Knit Wit Maggie McLoughlin brought along visitors to the Knit Wits' lunchtime knitting session, including her mother, Zee Henderson, her daughter, Anne Wounan, and her two grandchildren, Sarah and Jack.

Elementary school student Sarah deftly worked on her maroon "knit one, purl one" scarf, joining in the conversation -- and occasionally recruiting the assistance of the more-experienced knitters around her.

"This group is so much fun," Knit Wit Cynthia Moreno said. "It's the perfect amount of time, and there are knitters of all levels. You see really neat things."