The Knits Big Thing

Written by Linda Palacios

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 05:35

The Knits Big Thing
Fashionistas everywhere don their knitted cold-weather fashions — scarves, sweaters, you name it. Read how one local shop offers women a place to create looks that are "sew" fashionable.

Knitting has been stereotyped as a "grandma" activity, but a recent wave of knitting interests has included women of all ages and styles — fashionistas included. And Knitwits, a contemporary yarn shop in Crescent Springs, Ky., offers classes, clubs and all the supplies to satisfy your need to knit.

For the beginner, Knitwit Co-owner Janet Haney offers private sessions to teach the two stitches, knitting and purling. Each stitch deserves its own lesson, but at $30 each for a two-hour one-on-one tutorial with a 10 percent discount on all supplies, your pocketbook won't be complaining. In each of the sessions, Haney will teach more than just the stitch. You will learn about common mistakes and how to fix them and about the different materials used in knitting.

Once you've learned the two stitches, you have to follow the old saying: "Practice makes perfect." And that's where the clubs come in. Knitwits' knitting clubs offer a social component and a support group all in one. Club members and participants feed off each other to push the limits of creativity and style.

Both the Lunch Bunch and Peaches & Creme Sunday clubs work well for beginners. No annual membership fee is required, and participants just pay $5 when they come, like all of the other club meetings. The Lunch Bunch meets Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This club offers a place for knitters to come together, no matter their project or skill level. Co-owner Junko Nakada recommends that beginning knitters roughly follow a progression from a scarf to a hat to a bag to a baby sweater to a sweater.

The Peaches & Creme Sunday club meets Sundays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. This particular club works with a specific material made of cotton. "It makes a fabulous dishcloth or spa cloth or wash cloth, whatever you want to call it, and in a small project like that, that is a real easy way to be adventuresome in your knitting and learn all kinds of new techniques," Haney says.

Knitwits also offers two clubs for those with a more advanced interest in knitting. Both the Sweater Club and the Sock Club require an annual fee for membership, but their respective $30 and $25 fees provide members with a 10 percent discount on Knitwits products throughout the year.

Beyond their adult clubs, Knitwits offers a Kids Club (Wednesdays) and a Kids for Charity Club (Fridays), which allows children to lend a hand by making chemo caps for patients at Children's Hospital. Adults can take part in charity knitting as well with Scarf it Up, an organization geared toward making winter wear for the less fortunate.

For club participants and other knitters alike, Knitwits offers an extensive selection of yarn, pattern books and other resources to help the knitter in us all. These resources include the latest editions of Vogue Knitting, which provide patterns for the latest styles to hit the runways. "It's not just your Grandma's knitting anymore," Haney says.

For more information about Knitwits, check out the store for yourself at 620 Buttermilk Pike, head to the Web site at KnitwitsYarnShop.com or call (859) 341-2423.

PHOTO CREDITS
Photographer: Neysa Ruhl Photography
Models: Junko Nakada and Janet Haney
Location: The McAlpin

Linda Palacios -
	Linda Palacios is the editor of Cincy Chic. Send her an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .Read More >>

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