April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
IN STITCHES
Mrs. Hook's sewing groups have woven lives together for decades
And at St. Michael's parish in Troy, the woman who founded the "Crafty Ladies" and the other two groups is in attendance every Wednesday morning as knitters and crocheters settle down to work.
Carol Hook started sewing as a pre-teen when her mother's cousin showed her how to knit, and she's never stopped. Each time her husband, Deacon Neil Hook, was transferred to a new parish in the Albany Diocese, Mrs. Hook simply began a sewing group there -- and all the groups have continued to thrive, even after she moved on. The first group, at All Saints, has existed since about 1995, when the parish was known as St. Margaret Mary's. (It merged with Holy Cross in 2009 to become All Saints parish.)
Something from nothing
"I like making something out of nothing," Mrs. Hook told The Evangelist, "and everything we make is given to the poor."
Many items made by the Crafty Ladies are given to the Roarke Center in Troy and CoNSERNS-U in Rensselaer, which serve people in need. Lap robes go to parishioners in area hospitals via Deacon Bob Sweeney, director of pastoral care at St. Michael's.
At this time of year, the Crafty Ladies are working on baby items for a "baby shower" held every May at St. Michael's to help young mothers and infants through Catholic Charities' Community Maternity Services.
Pat Williams, the lone crocheter among the knitters in the group, says she especially loves making baby sweaters and blankets -- "and Carol's wonderful. I always hug her and say, 'I love you, Carol!'"
Sewing is "relaxing," said Mrs. Hook. "Once you learn how to do it, it catches on. People have different ideas and make different things."
All the group members agree that stitching together is better than working on items by themselves, although they do bring items home to finish them. Mrs. Hook said she can finish a scarf in a couple of days by working on it with the group and then while she's watching TV at home.
Happy together
But "it's much more enjoyable to see the projects people are working on," said Dolores Long, and "it's nice to have somebody take the reins" to start a sewing group.
Mrs. Long is actually a parishioner of St. Jude the Apostle Church in Wynantskill, but she came to Mass at St. Michael's with her grandchildren and ended up joining the Crafty Ladies when parish life director Sister Kate Arseneau, CSJ, asked: "Do you knit?" and told her about the group.
"It's satisfying to be able to talk to others and say, 'Did you see this pattern?'" Mrs. Hook noted. When beginners come, "they can sit near somebody that will explain" when a new seamstress gets tangled up in stitches. "We get one or two new people every season."
Being in the Crafty Ladies also sparks commitment to projects: Ms. Williams admitted that, "If I was going to do [crocheting] at home, I wouldn't sit from 9:30 to 12" to finish an item.
Besides, the women said, there is a great need for the handmade items. "I make scarves; I make mittens for the little ones" with a string on each pair to thread through the sleeves of the child's coat so they can't be lost, said Mrs. Hook. For parents struggling to pay the bills, "none of those things are cheap. They go out as fast as we can make them."
She's already working on winter scarves: "We stockpile them, but it won't be long before they're needed." In six decades of knitting, Mrs. Hook couldn't think of a single item she's kept for herself. [[In-content Ad]]
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