KNITTING DURING COVID: ‘Nothing short of heaven’
When The Avondhu met the dedicated North Cork Knitters this week, one of the most apparent things is the craic that is to be had in the group - secondary to that is the ability to know your purl from your garter!
A lockdown project started by Pauline O’Grady Noonan in Mallow, the North Cork Knitters added a Mitchelstown cohort of stitchers to the gang, and in the early months of restrictions got to grips with Zoom and settled in on a Monday evening to stitch and bitch (or gossip, vent, laugh - whatever you want to call it). She told those assembled that the weekly meetings were ‘ nothing short of heaven’ to break up the tedium of lockdown.
The late Martina Meaney, from Ballindangan, eager to join the group enlisted her friend Pauline Byrne, who told those gathered that she wouldn’t be in the group without Martina egging her on. Throughout the months the group were knitting squares, with an eye to meeting up in Autumn 2021 to combine their works into one big blanket. However, by that time, Martina would no longer be with them; she sadly passed away in July last year.
REMEMBERING MARTINA
The unveiling of the throw in Martina’s hometown of Mitchelstown is an occasion of joy, with everyone present on Tuesday full of laughter and testimony to the connections and friends they’ve made through knitting. There were tears too, with Martina’s husband John and son John Jr, present to see her legacy interwoven, quite literally, with the brightly coloured finished piece.
“It’s so important that the throw is here in Mitchelstown,” says Pauline Byrne, gesturing to the piece hanging up in Mitchelstown Library. “Some of those squares are her’s. I don’t know which ones - I hardly know my own! - but part of her is here.”
John recalls how on Mondays, the night of the weekly Zoom knitting meeting, they at home would be told to ‘hush up’ so Martina could catch up with the group. Unable to attend the funeral due to Covid, the group knitted a bunch of flowers for her family, now housed in a special case in their home.
‘YOU’D BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU LEARN’
Today, the Mitchelstown knitters meet up mostly physically on Wednesdays (one or two stay on Zoom), and join together with the Mallow crowd for a virtual meet-up on Monday evenings. Myra McGrath, living outside Ballylanders, learned about the group as she was joining the library in Mitchelstown, and happened to be checking out a book on crochet. Staff told her about the local knitters.
Elizabeth Roche from Mallow pretty much sums it up when she says, “You’d be surprised what you’d learn - and you might knit nothing!”
The group in both Mitchelstown and Mallow towns is all female - for now. Men are usually more reticent to proactively get out and join groups - but men need to talk too, and there are worst things to do of an evening than knit. And what can they expect to get out of it?
“Friendship. A laugh, which is most important! A sense of achievement, connecting. And a sense of purpose.”
Right now, the group have moved on to another worthy project, this time for the Alzheimer Units in Mallow and Mitchelstown. Pauline O’Grady Noonan says the group were a little ‘deflated’, returning to the knitting group in September after the loss of their friend, Martina.
“We started out together, but when it came to unveiling it, one of us is missing.”
ALL ABILITIES WELCOME
Now they’re putting their energy into toggle muffs - handy woolly muffs to keep the hands warm, but with decorations and items on the inside, to encourage the wearer to ‘fiddle’ and keep their hands warm and circulation moving. They’ve also filled 140 memory boxes for distribution to people with Alzheimers in Mitchelstown and Mallow, filled with Ireland’s Own, hand cream, lavender sachets - thoughtful gift boxes.
Speaking on Tuesday, Brendan Scahill, development worker with the HSE, thanked those assembled for their kind acts.
“You put so much energy into caring for others - it is a credit to you all.”
The knitting group in Mitchelstown meets in the library every Wednesday at 4pm, and meet up with the Mallow gang via Zoom on Wednesdays at 7pm. They promise that weak knitters are welcome too!
All library staff in Mitchelstown are trained to give help to anyone who needs it on the IT side of things, and are looking forward to welcoming new members to the knitters.