Knitters know special gifts are well received
Tangled Threads ladies at Howell senior center love to help people feel good
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Fran Musico (l) and Martha Meli work on their projects during a meeting of the Tangled Threads class at the Howell Senior Center. The women in the class knit and crochet items for members of the community and for people in more than 17 organizations.

Gerry George had no idea how her simple question — “Can I help some ladies learn to crochet?” — would impact the lives of so many people in such a positive way.

George, 75, posed that question to Carol Zur, Howell’s director of senior services, in 2002. George was skilled in knitting and crocheting, among various other crafts, and thought it would be nice to pass that knowledge along to others who might want to learn.

She eventually began giving classes at the Howell Senior Center. George said she asked Zur for some space so she could teach those who were asking to learn. The classes, which started out with between 10 and 12 people, were so well received that George decided it might be a good thing to work on projects that would allow the crafters to use their skills to help members of the community.

That thought and a large amount of yarn blossomed into the Tangled Threads class, which started in 2003 and now includes between 35 and 40 women. The ladies knit and crochet items for members of the community and for people in more than 17 organizations.

“Once the class got larger, the ladies wanted to do something to give something back” to the community, Zur explained.

Through the creative efforts of the women, patients at area nursing homes receive items such as afghans and lap robes. Students at local schools receive ponchos, hats and scarves. Infants at area facilities receive baby blankets. The United Way of Monmouth County and patients at Edison Hospice and Meridian Hospice are also on the receiving end of the group’s handmade gifts.

In addition to items they make for homebound seniors in Howell, the women craft items for any hospitalized member of the senior citizens program.

With plenty of manpower to do the job, the women have only one need: enough yarn to keep up with their amazing output of gifts and goodwill.

Most of the yarn and supplies used by the Tangled Threads class are donated, according to Zur, who said the community has been extremely supportive of this effort. And because the ladies are becoming so adept at spinning their yarn on knitting and crochet needles, they need more to keep up with all of the projects planned for the days and weeks ahead. There is no slow time for this group of ladies who donate their time and talent to bring a bit of joy and warmth to those who need it.

“These women are amazing,” Zur said. “This program has been so successful. They knit and crochet all of these beautiful things.”

The projects are delivered to the agencies by members of the class or sometimes, if the destinations are out of the area, by Howell police officers who volunteer to take the items to their destinations.

Each hand-crafted item goes to the recipient with a signature card that says it came from the Tangled Threads class of Howell.

“We receive beautiful thank you notes,” Zur said. “It makes us all feel so good when we see how much people enjoy these crafted items.”

The ladies in the class have been asked to participate in intergenerational programs at the Griebling School and the Ardena School. The women take their skills and try to pass it on to the younger set who, Zur said, seem to love the idea.

“It is so moving to see these ladies work,” Zur said, “and everyone in the community benefits, not just the recipients, these ladies benefit, too. It’s such a positive thing.”

The Tangled Threads class is open to anyone over the age of 60 whether they know how to knit or crochet or not. If they know how to knit or to crochet they will be able work on projects quicker. If they don’t they will learn quickly with the help of George and her assistants, Nancy Apgar, Gladys Cragg and Carolyn Kiefer.

George calls the ladies in the class “my angels.” She said the work is all worth it when she hears Zur read the thank you letters, especially those that come from children.

“They write to us and tell us that they hug the shawls and ponchos we make them. Those letters are so special,” George said, adding that she can never replace the feeling she gets when she is helping women learn to knit and to crochet.

“They are all my angels,” she repeated.

“Who would have ever thought it would have blossomed into something like this?” Zur asked. “You just get so caught up in it. It’s really heartwarming to see.”