This group comes with strings attached

Several Dayton residents have formed a tightly woven group, tied together by a common thread - knitting and crocheting.

Vivian Smith, 79, moved to Dayton five years ago. As a regular to the Dayton Senior Center, Smith volunteered to start a program for others who wanted to learn the craft.

"I taught myself about 55 years ago, but I also learned from my mother and grandmother," Smith said.

"Personally, for a beginner, I would start with crocheting, it is easier and I was slow. You have to have patience to do this."

When she knitted, Smith made doilies. Lots and lots of doilies.

"It's also easier to start working with string, then go to yarn when knitting."

Joan Emanuelson, 80, knitted sweaters for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy during World War II while she was in high school.

"My grandmother and mother taught me," Emanuelson said. "My grandmother knitted, my mother did both. But we all knitted sweaters for the men in World War II. I could knit while attending school as long as it didn't interfere with my school work.

"You can make table runners and doilies, they are simple. It just depends on the pattern. I don't follow a pattern, I make them up on my own."

Emanuelson joined Smith when the group began nearly two years ago. Smith said interest in knitting and crocheting seems to be less than when she grew up, simply because of the ease of shopping.

"It is so easy to find stuff already made, people aren't interested in making their own," Smith said.

"There are no idle hands here, though, and it keeps us out of trouble. We are willing to teach anyone who comes in.

"And I would tell them not to invest in needles. We have plenty for them to use to see first if they like it. Then they can buy their own."

June Six, 80, is also from Dayton and teaches a continental style of knitting.

"It's a faster form of knitting, for me," Six said.

"To me, knitting looks prettier and softer, but crocheting is quicker."

"Yes, but it's easier to correct a missed stitch in crocheting, than a dropped stitch in knitting," added Smith.

Six said she has been knitting for about 61 years. She learned knitting by herself; her mother taught her how to crochet.

"I used to teach knitting at the high school in Holland, Mich.," Six said.

The ladies work on a variety of projects. Each of them have produced afghans, sweaters, hats, scarves, pillows and more.

"There's a commercial product out called, 'Knifty Knitter,'" Smith said. "You loop the yarn around the posts and it gives you instructions on how to make certain things. It's very simple."

Smith said that every now and then a new person will join them. Alicia Hart, 70, has been with the group on and off for a while, but voiced interest in returning so she can learn to knit.

"I really enjoy this," Hart said. "I'm still learning to crochet, but want to know how to knit, too."

The ladies usually meet on Wednesday afternoons about 12:30 p.m. Their husbands accompany them to the center and take in a game or two of pool to pass the time.

"We have a good time," Smith said. "I really enjoy these ladies' friendships."

• Contact Rhonda Costa-Landers at rcosta-landers@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1223.