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Knit One, Purl Two, Laugh Out Loud<br />
8<br />
Story by ELLEN WILKOWE<br />
Photos by Karen Fucito<br />
It’s the type of lunch where the dress code is<br />
often as homemade as the meal.<br />
Servers with entrees weave their way to the<br />
tables, drinks are refreshed and a group of closeknit<br />
women in the back room break out into<br />
stitches. It’s a typical Thursday meetup in April.<br />
Everyone is simply, well, having a ball, as in a<br />
good time, as well as the ones they brought.<br />
Welcome to the Knitwits.<br />
Yes, they knit, among other textile crafts.<br />
And, yes, they are very witty, not to mention<br />
extremely charitable.<br />
They have provided felt nests for injured<br />
animals at a wildlife refuge; blankets and booties<br />
for babies (donated to baskets for tricky trays);<br />
blankets for veterans; and prayer shawls for<br />
those who are hospitalized, to name a few<br />
examples.<br />
Then there’s the just-for-me items, such as the<br />
light pink sweater worn by Christine Smith, chief<br />
knitter and mentor of the Knitwits, and also<br />
the woman responsible for stitching the group<br />
together during one of the most isolating times<br />
in recent history.<br />
“It started with four friends sitting 6 feet apart<br />
at my house during December 2020,” said the<br />
Hopatcong resident.<br />
Word-of-mouth through the lake grapevine<br />
quadrupled the group to 18, which was a bit<br />
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LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS <strong>Memorial</strong> <strong>Day</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
too close for comfort in a house. In abiding<br />
by the philosophy of have needles will travel,<br />
the women—all of them members of the Lake<br />
Hopatcong Yacht Club—went semi-public,<br />
perching themselves on the porch of the<br />
historic club building. Word kept spreading,<br />
nonmembers were added and now the group<br />
meets regularly at Patrick’s Pub.<br />
“During the [lake’s] slow season, it’s nice to<br />
support a local business,” Smith said, referring to<br />
the Hopatcong watering hole.<br />
To date, and depending on the season, the<br />
Knitwits boast between 30 to 40 members who<br />
range in experience from newbies to advanced.<br />
Some are women who wear many handmade<br />
hats—and not just knitted ones. There’s avid<br />
crocheters, spinners and needlepointers, too,<br />
among this crowd.<br />
Meet Karen Alonge of Hopatcong, one of the<br />
newest Knitwits members, except she doesn’t<br />
knit.<br />
“My thing is quilting,” she said. “I tried<br />
crocheting, but I wasn’t so into it.”<br />
She is, however, into sewing.<br />
A member of Hopatcong Seniors, Alonge<br />
found out about the Knitwits through Smith,<br />
who is also a member.<br />
“It’s a nice experience to connect with people<br />
who like doing hobbies and crafts,” Alonge said.<br />
As a widow of a Vietnam veteran and a member<br />
of the Lake Hopatcong Elks Lodge Veteran’s<br />
Committee, Alonge jumped at the opportunity<br />
James J. Leffler<br />
Realtor<br />
From left to right: Genie Wiss, Toby Nelson<br />
and Sharon Hill discuss a needlepoint project.<br />
Christine Smith working on a project. Carolyn<br />
Adams and Karen Alonge share a laugh.<br />
Dawn Roberts and Toby Nelson hold up a quilt<br />
donated to a patient at the Lyons VA Medical<br />
Center.<br />
to contribute a handmade quilt—complete<br />
with a center-panel eagle—to a recent donation<br />
for the Lyons VA Medical Center. Her blanket,<br />
and about a dozen more, were presented to<br />
Hopatcong Councilwoman Dawn Roberts, a<br />
Gold Star mom and avid veterans’ advocate who<br />
delivered them to Lyons.<br />
“These places can be clinical and cold and<br />
some of these vets are there for an extended<br />
period of time. When they receive handmade<br />
items, they know it’s made from love. They tell<br />
me it feels like a hug from a greatful nation,” said<br />
Roberts.<br />
Alonge said the blanket took her a “good<br />
couple of months,” and disclaims that she made<br />
the eagle. “It’s what we call cheater panels,” she<br />
said.<br />
Alonge is of a core group of 12 to 15 women<br />
who convene at Patrick’s Pub on Thursdays<br />
where, well, knit happens.<br />
The staff at Patrick’s arranges the tables<br />
horseshoe-style to accommodate the unusual<br />
actions of eating while knitting, or maybe<br />
knitting while eating, not to mention some light<br />
sipping.<br />
Smith is quick to crack open her phone to<br />
exhibit an impressive display of handcrafted<br />
creations that were made with love by the<br />
group.<br />
She points to a shawl expertly knitted using<br />
blue glitter yarn as a border between each<br />
triangular pattern. “I think she made this in two<br />
weeks,” Smith said, gesturing across the table to<br />
Sharon Hill.<br />
Smith is equally agape at a white-knit shirt<br />
worn by Carolyn Adams, who was quick to<br />
downplay it as a part of her wardrobe for 20<br />
years.<br />
While many wear their work, expanding their<br />
personal wardrobes is low on the priority list in<br />
this group.<br />
Almost as soon as a blanket or bootie is fresh<br />
off the needles—or in some cases, machines—<br />
the item already has an assigned home at an
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