Sunday Times 2
Seniors cast on for festive cheer
Thirty pairs of seasoned hands have woven the shawls, shrugs and other clothing and household items that will go on sale at the Mount Lavinia Hotel on December7 and 8. The year-end sale is the acme of activities of Knit&Chat, a seniors knitting group that have met through the year to create these lovely lace and embroidery products. Ranging from 60 to 90 years old, they are excited at the prospect of showing off their handiwork.“It has been an eventful year,” says Sujatha Samarajiwa, or Suji as she is fondly called, founder of the group.“Thursday mornings, our weekly meeting day,is full of fun, laughter and creativity. This is a celebration of all those meetings.”
Knit&Chat is an offshoot of YAH (Young at Heart), a seniors social group set up by the Methodist Church of Mount Lavinia Board of Social Responsibility to assist seniors of all communities lead a healthy social life.
Knit&Chat has been exhibiting their handiwork for about seven years. Their first exhibition venue was the Methodist Church hall. In 2008, Knit&Chat moved their venue to Mount Lavina Hotel where it is now an annual date on the events calendar.
Word of Knit&Chat has been spreading. In October, Suji and another member Noeline went live on Rupavahini’s Nugasevana programme for a 15-minute demonstration on how to knit a beanie using a small circular loom. “Following the Rupavahini programme, there have been calls from around the island inquiring whether the group could conduct knitting lessons. Many were from retirees suffering from loneliness. There were calls from Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Nuwara Eliya and Welimada. A man called from Nuwara Eliya to say he had learned the craft from his mother and the programme had brought back memories. Another caller offered to get looms down for the group at a very low price. There was even a call from 93-year-old Marcia, a Sri Lankan now living in the USA, who wanted to help by sending looms for the knitters.There was a tearful call from Central Sri Lanka where a woman expressed her extreme loneliness and wanted to learn to knit to keep herself occupied.
Knit&Chat welcomes senior citizens to their fold.They hope to inspire other churches and institutions to form similar senior interest groups that will enable the elderly to enjoy the “carefree years” of their lives.
The Knit&Chat Christmas Sale will be held at the Mount Lavinia Hotel on December 7-8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.