by Cody Iddings & Jennifer Simenson
November 19, 2007

Relaxing music, yarn and needles set the mood for PLNU students to knit and socialize in the Piano Lounge at Nicholson Commons’ first “Learn to Knit.”
The event was held last Tuesday with 25 students in attendance, a third of whom were male, and knitting instructor junior Amy Berkhoudt leading the group.

“Hadley Wood was supposed to be teaching, but she threw her back out,” said Kasey Zapatka, part of the Nicholson Commons staff that organized the event.

Berkhoudt was taught to knit by her sister and has been knitting for about five years.

“I was nervous. I have never taught knitting before, and I don’t know the proper terms,” said Berkhoudt, who moved from group to group throughout the night, making sure that people were moving forward in their knitting venture.

“I think that this event was a great idea,” said senior Jennifer Clemens, a first-time knitter working away with some bright yellow yarn. “I am a live-in nurse to an avid knitter. I definitely need this as a source of relaxation.”

Though most of the crowd seemed to be knitting the ever-popular scarf, there was a couch of people crocheting, working on projects of their own. Matt Alcorn, a Commons staff member who cannot knit but has been crocheting for three years, was serving as instructor to Bobby Mack, who was new to the needlework.

As the event moved on, the new knitters were obviously stress-free, enjoying refreshments and conversation. Once everyone got a hold of the basics, the famed relaxation of knitting set in.

Sabrina Nealy, a freshman who has been knitting for a year and a half now, enjoyed herself at the event as she knit with bright blue yarn.

“I taught myself,” said Nealy. “Once you get it, it is so much fun.”
She was also helping a lot of the first-time knitters, including Zapatka, who was sticking his tongue out in frustration.

“I like learning things that are not ordinary knowledge,” said Zapatka.

Candice Silvas, who is in charge of the Nicholson Commons crew, said she was planning on doing the event last year, but it never worked out.

“This is just a little intimate event,” she said. “But don’t be expecting to knit a wedding gown.”

Sophomore Logan Johnson completed a custom-knitted beanie by the end of the evening and described knitting as an easy way to pass time.
Many knit not just for the final product, such as beanies or scarves, but for the process of doing it.

“I would recommend it for everyone,” said Nealy. “It forces you to relax … and it’s a fun way for everyone to interact in an odd way.”