Luke McGrath: Every Tuesday at the Northern Onondaga Public Library in Cicero, a small army of knitters gather known as the NOPL Knitters to socialize and work on their projects. Library Manager Jill Youngs says the 20 or so women bring a lot of energy and excitement to the library.
Jill Youngs: They’re a lot of fun to have on a Tuesday morning, we also have story hours going so this place really jumps on Tuesday, especially with them laughing.
McGrath: Amidst all that laughter is a constant work flow as this group of women knit at a speed that is truly unbelievable.
Youngs: Yes they are ongoing year long, they always have something going on where you know… because they knit so crazy… crazy.
McGrath: And the group uses that craziness for a good cause, they commit a big portion of their time to donating to different organizations.
McGrath: Well the NOPL knitters are hard at work making scarves to be donated to the Red Scarf Foundation, making hats and mittens that are going to go to the rescue mission and making lap blankets that will be donated to veterans and of course knocking off some of their holiday to do lists and clearly they’re pretty good at what they do.
Rosemary Nawvine: I’ve learned a lot from this class, even though I’ve been knitting for a long time, I’ve never made animals, I’ve never knitted a car or a dog or crocheted a dragon and I’m doing all that now, making crazy things and scarves and socks.
McGrath: Because of Rosemary’s advanced knitting skills she can pretty much put together an entire outfit.
Nawvine: Yeah I made this some time ago, I made my sweater probably ten years ago and my socks are pretty good.
McGrath: But don’t worry, if you don’ t know how to knit, the No-pul Knitters are more than happy to show you the ropes… or yarn in this instance.
Barbara Toly: Try it because it’s fun, it’s portable, once you learn… there’s like five basic stitches you have to know and then you have an opportunity to make just about anything you can think of…. and it’s not as difficult as it looks.”
McGrath: So grab some sticks and some yarn and start knitting… and if you run into some trouble along the way… the NOPL Knitters will be waiting for you.
Reporting in Cicero, New York. Luke McGrath, N-C-C News.
By Luke McGrath CICERO, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) in Cicero boasts an impressive group of knitters that gather every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The group of about 20 women gather to socialize, help one another and teach beginners the ins and outs of knitting. Aside from the Tuesday group, there are knitters that meet at other NOPL libraries on different days and at different times.
The group has been together for roughly seven years and for the last handful of years the knitters have participated in Foster Care to Success’s Red Scarf Project, according to Library Manager Jill Youngs.
The program is set up for foster care children in college, as a part of a Valentine’s Day care package they receive a red scarf among other things as a reminder that people are thinking of them, according to the programs website.
But the NOPL Knitters don’t stop there, they also make hats and mittens that are donated to the Rescue Mission Alliance. They make lap blankets that are donated to veterans. The knitters also have a pre-me program where the knitters make small hats for infants and children. Finally, the knitters make stuffed animals for police cars and fire trucks to if children are ever in them they have something to comfort them, according to Youngs.
The NOPL Knitters are proud of their work, they have submitted displays to the New York State Fair that have won multiple prizes, according to Youngs.
The Knitters are also set to unveil a display case in the library next week. Barbara Toly, one of the NOPL Knitters is excited to have the groups work put on display for all to see.
“Anybody that’s a library patron can see different things that the group does so we can encourage new members to come and join us,” Toly said.
