Not just passing time

Sore backs. Stiff fingers. Failing vision. These women don’t let aging get in the way of their art. The Crochet Club is a Wednesday ritual at Winslow Court retirement community.

In five years, they’ve made more than 2,300 baby blankets, mostly for needy newborns at local hospitals.

The seven members loop about $150 in yarn a month into soft, washable blankets. One woman makes hats.

Gathered around a formal dining table at the East San Miguel Street facility, their hands stay busy as do their minds.

They talk. They laugh. They brag about old age.

“I’m 91,” says Louise Topping.

“I’m 91,” says Helen Kawula.

The nonagenarians compare birth dates. Topping was a 1916 baby.

“I was born in 1915,” Kawula says.

Elizabeth Preiss patiently hears them out. “I was born in 1911,” she states without missing a stitch.

Onto the next topic:

Men.

There aren’t any in the club.

Could fellas join?

“If they’re good,” says Preiss.

“Wouldn’t bother me,” adds Topping.

The dissenters have a common thread: husbands.

The club is gals’ time out for Alberta Illian, Estelyn Van Nattan and Betty Jean Gernand. The trio has 195 years of wedded bliss combined.

The open door slows hallway traffic. Female residents peek in to admire the handiwork. Guys admire the chocolate cheesecake.

This club definitely has kitchen connections.

The founder is Winslow Court chef Ursula Simon, who shares the love of needlework.

“It’s a get-together to relax. We talk a little bit about the past. Everybody brings something,” Simon says.

They put personal touches into making each blanket unique.

“A couple of times we made matching blankets, and one time we went to the hospital and that same day they had twins born,” Simon says.

Club members sometimes go with Simon to deliver the blankets to Memorial Hospital.

A highlight is seeing the babies.

“It has been so long ago that ours were so small,” says Gernand, 86, the youngest member and the rebel — she knits.

The blankets are selectively given to newborns in need.

“We love to get the blankets,” says Sara Lee, hospital perinatal care manager. “They are the only supplier right now.”

The seasoned stitchers wish more children would learn the craft.

“It’s a better pastime than a lot of this TV,” says Topping.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com

TO HELP

- To donate 4-ply acrylic yarn, call Winslow Court, 597-1700.

- To donate items to Memorial Hospital, call volunteer services, 365-5298. Hospital donations must come from smoke-free settings.