Clarks Summit knitting group helps those in need
Dec. 27—Every week, a group of women in Clarks Summit picks up their knitting needles and yarn to create items to help those in need.
Caring Hands, comprising 16 to 20 women, has been meeting regularly at the Abington Community Library since 2007, making articles of clothing from donated materials to give away, including hats, mittens, scarves, baby items, afghans and lap robes.
The items have been donated to St. Joseph's Center and Allied Services Hospice Center, both in Scranton, and Hematology and Oncology Associates of Northeastern Pennsylvania in Dunmore, as well as St. Anthony's Haven, United Neighborhood Centers and Catholic Social Services, all based in Scranton.
They also knit plastic mats, which are given to homeless individuals to put sleeping bags on.
The mats, which the group has been making for four years, are made of plarn, or plastic yarn, cut from plastic bags, which are cut, knotted together and rolled into a ball. Retired library Director Leah Rudolph brought the idea to the group from her friend Loretta Heffernan, who makes them for homeless veterans.
It takes 20 hours to cut the bags, 10 hours to crochet one mat and between 600 and 700 bags to make one mat, each of which are about 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, she said. The group has given away more than 300 mats in four years.
Rudolph, of Clarks Summit, said they have received many plastic bags from the community since the project started. Rudolph has hosted several workshops throughout Lackawanna County on making mats and hopes to do more next year.
"It touches people as a way to recycle plastic bags and help someone less fortunate," Rudolph said.
The mats, which are given to Keystone Mission and the Center for Community Resources, both in Scranton, provide insulation for the people using them, and they're easy to clean and lightweight, she said.
Clients there have been grateful for them. Rudolph recalled a homeless man asked her for one two years ago while she was unloading mats at Keystone Mission.
"He took one, smiled and walked away," she said. "It made me feel good knowing someone wanted one."
In addition to the plastic mats, Rudolph likes making hats and mittens. This month, the group gave a bunch of hats to Covenant Presbyterian Church, which distributed them to elementary school-age children in the Scranton School District.
Gail Kish, also a member since 2007, enjoys making hats and afghans. Over the years, the retired secretary estimates she has made hundreds of them for cancer patients.
"A hat I can make in 45 minutes and an afghan can be done in two to three weeks, depending on how big and detailed it is," she said, adding she prefers bright and cheerful colors for her items.
Although most of the group knows how to knit, member Sharleen Martin of Clarks Summit said they help new people. The group won't turn anyone away and accepts donations.
Martin said they've received feedback over the years, like cards signed by Allied Services Hospice Center staff and $50 to purchase supplies from a man receiving treatment at Hematology and Oncology Associates.
"It feels good to help someone," she said.
Helping the community isn't the only thing Kish and Rudolph like about the group. They also enjoy their camaraderie.
"We get together and have a good time," Kish said. "It's a good two hours."
The women share patterns as well as recipes, she said. Through the group, Kish said she has accumulated three large notebooks of patterns.
Last week, Kish shared a hat pattern with another member, who used it to make one of her own.
Rudolph described her fellow knitters as wonderful and "salt of the earth."
"They are there for the purpose of using their talents to help those less fortunate," she said.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9100 ext. 5365;
@Cleespot on Twitter.