Knit, purl and donate
Published 9:00 pm Monday, February 26, 2007
SNOHOMISH – Linda Rinker and Marilyn Heuser entered a room at Christ the King Lutheran Church on Tuesday morning.
The two strangers sat on the same couch by chance. They started knitting. Rinker worked on a navy and purple cape for a chemotherapy patient, and Heuser on a green scarf.
Minutes later, they were chatting about fitness, jogging and grocery shopping like longtime friends.
“It’s the knitting,” Rinker, 64, of Lynnwood said.
“It’s the knitting together,” Heuser, 61, of Snohomish said.
About 10 women gather at the church on first and third Tuesdays to knit caps, blankets, scarves, socks and other things, said Linda Knight, church secretary. Prayer Shawls and Community Yarn Creations donates those handmade items to hospitals, shelters and other community groups.
Knight, of Snohomish, started the group in September 2006. She considers the group a branch of Community Yarn Creations, a knitting and crochet group. Nan Sarb of Lynnwood founded the nonprofit group while fighting breast cancer in January 2005.
Sarb helped Knight launch a similar group in Snohomish, Knight said.
“She’s never been able to attend one of our meetings. She always wanted to,” Knight said of Sarb.
Sarb died on Feb. 17, Knight said. Many people will remember her determination to help others.
“I felt very close to her because I admired her,” Knight said.
Community Yarn Creations has spread beyond Washington, and people began similar groups in other states, said Rinker, who knew Sarb.
“Her legacy is this organization,” Rinker said.
On Tuesday, about a dozen women spent an hour chatting, smiling and knitting at the church.
People can knit anything they want, Knight said. And the group will find a place to donate it. The Snohomish group is open to anyone, including men and those who don’t know how to knit, Knight said.
Once people pick up basic skills and rhythm, they can relax and keep knitting for a long time, she said.
“I’m addicted,” she joked. “It’s better than drinking.”
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
