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It’s a familiar stereotype: little old ladies, seated and smiling, contentedly whirling their yarn back and forth with their knitting needles, creating something for the colder winter months to give their grandchildren at Christmas time.
Familiar, but false. And events this Saturday here in
There are famous names who have also been knitters, glamorous Oscar winner Julia Roberts and NHL goaltending legend Jacques Plante to name just a couple.
Saturday, June 9 is Worldwide Knit in Public (WWKIP) Day to reinforce that knitting is for everybody. And if you hang around Leanne Tuck and husband Alan long enough, you too could be included in that those ranks of 'everybody'.
Alan, who helps Leanne run the Knit Witz store in Bayfield Mall, earns his spouse’s praise as someone “who knows a lot about yarns,” even if he’s not so expert on patterns and such.
Last year, there were 1,125 Knit In Public events in 54 different countries. Knit Witz is the lone outlet in town for WWKIP, at least the only one in
“One of the other shops in Creemore mentioned the World Wide Knit in Public Day,” says Leanne. “I took it from there and registered.”
Leanne is originally from Sutton, but went to high school in Lindsay. She then decided to follow her daughter to
Besides their good times and their laughter, too, “Knitters should bring their own knitting, or size 6mm needles to knit the hat, if they choose to knit (to donate to) Out of the Cold.” Coffee, tea and snacks can be purchased or knitters are encouraged to bring their own.
And another of the wonderful things about Knit in Public Day is the spontaneity of it all. Leanne Tuck, giving her first WWKIP Day, gets a buzz from not knowing who’s going to turn up, how old they are or what degree of facility they have on mastering stitches or how adventurous they are with patterns.
Knit Witz, in Bayfield Mall, hosts Knit in Public Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 9. To learn more, click here.
