THUNDER BAY -- Back in 2011, Margaret Crozier went to the first meeting for Wit Knits, a new 55 and over program that was being put on by the City of Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Public Library.
“There were only two or three people there and a couple of days later I ran into Nancy Angus (who was with the City of Thunder Bay) and I told her that I had been to the meeting, and then she told me, ‘Oh, you can be my activator then,’” said Crozier, who served as the program's volunteer leader for eight years.
Since that time, the program has now grown to 23 members who bring their own knitting, crocheting and embroidery projects to the Mary J.L. Black Library on Thursday afternoons during the fall, winter and spring.
“The program got off to a slow start at the Brodie Library,” Crozier said. “I used to go there on some afternoon and spend an hour knitting all by myself because nobody showed up.
“When this library was finished, we moved in here. There is a lot of free parking and we have this big beautiful room to work in and it’s been wonderful.”
The main goal of Wit Knits, which is free for anyone to join, is for seniors to get out of the house and take part in a social setting.
“We have some pretty interesting conversations at times here,” Crozier said with a laugh.
Wit Knits members have also done a lot of work for the community as a group. They’ve knitted hats and blankets for the Neo Natal Unit at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, along with socks for Shelter House.
“We did things a little bit differently this past fall,” Crozier said. “Everybody just donated what they knitted to whatever cause they wanted to.”
There’s no knitting instruction provided with Wit Knits, but everyone is invited to come try it out from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays.
For more information on Wit Knits, e-mail City of Thunder Bay community program developer and senior program specialist Julie Cooke.
