Lynn COA knitting group members enjoy good conversation, knitting

LYNN – The women from the Lynn Council on Aging’s new knitting group have so much fun talking and laughing, they had to call it Knitting and Conversation.”We do a lot of gabbing in here,” said Marianne Pacheco, the founder and group leader. The group was established four months ago when Pacheco, who regularly knits, was joined by fellow knitters who wanted company. Now the group meets every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. with a crowd of about nine.Made up of both crocheters and knitters, the group has already knit and pearled dozens of colorful, soft blankets and afghans that they will send off to the Chelsea Soldier’s Home and the Bedford VA Hospital. With yarn that the ladies themselves have donated, they’ve made hats, scarves, sweaters and “laptops” – small blankets that are draped across the legs.”I’ve been doing this since I was seven years old,” said group member Hazel Reinholm, a widow and cancer survivor of 12 years. “This has kept me from losing my sanity.” Her sister, Ethel Force, a lifelong crocheter, has just learned how to knit this year through the group.”Some of the women live alone, so it’s a great way for them to get together,” said Pacheco.The knitting group is kept very casual. The ladies meet in a small room with tables and chairs scattered around and a big box of yarn in the middle. They sit and take out their projects and get to work, looping yarn and working the needles, either surrounded by a chatty group or quietly working on their own.Some of the women use their skills for more than just camaraderie and sanity. Maureen Beaudet sometimes turns over a profit when she takes her finished work to church sales. Between two sales she made $210 – good cash for a relaxing hobby.Anyone who’s a part of the Senior Center program can get in on the knitting action. Norma Paquette just enjoys the conversation: “My friend Marianne has been trying to teach me to knit and it hasn’t really caught on,” she said. “I don’t even pretend to knit anymore – I namely chat with everyone. Ladies get really laid back when they knit.”Though as of now the group is made up of women, they don’t object to some men joining up, too.”The only rule we have for men coming in is that they have to knit,” Paquette quipped.