Guerrilla Knitting

While Meemaw’s at a pre-skydiving bong party or cooling down from a skateboarding race, here are some indoor sports for you, Gen Z.

BY GWEN THOMPSON

I’ m an avid crafter,” says Elizabeth Leino, 30, of Waldoboro. “Primarily sewing, quilting, crochet, latchhook, and embroidery, but I also enjoy crosswords, puzzles, and board games Weaving is on my bucket list.”

According to solitairebliss.com, 45 percent of Americans under 40 pursue at least one granny hobby.

“I probably have the youngest clientele of any knitting shop in the area,” says Lisa Anderson Plourd of Knitting Nook, a yarn shop and cafe in South Portland. “My customers’ average age is 25.”

“I want to learn the whole process, from carding raw wool to spinning dyeing yarn,” says Chelsey Chambers, 28, of Durham. “Once I have space for a garden, I want to get into canning and preserving food, and I re ally want to get into woodworking some point.”

It’s probably no coincidence that granny hobbies are most popular among young adults in Vermont, Maine, and tana. “I start pulling out the knitting basket with the rst fall chill,” says So a Voltin, 34, of Harpswell.

“Some projects are de nitely seasonal,” Leino says. “I don’t nd myself crocheting when it’s hot out, because you get too sweaty being all covered in blankets.”

NECESSITY, THE GRANDMOTHER OF RELAXATION

My family is full of cra y people and all sorts of handy folks,” Leino says. “Between the two of them, my parents can make or x almost anything, and they came from people who could do the same. I’m lucky enough to be able to do these granny hobbies for fun instead of out of necessity.”

As “the whole self-sustainability movement has continued to expand, a result of that is people exploring granny hobbies,” teen, to seek out alternative clothing and styles to express myself. e quality and charm of old stu is unique to old stu .”

Chambers says. “If I want something to hold spices, and store-bought racks don’t t my needs, I can create something of my own that does.”

If it doesn’t, that’s just part of the process. “Knitting’s my favorite thing to do before bed to unwind at the end of the day,” says Voltin, a real-estate agent. “ e rst sweater I knit is a hideous sack, but I love the second and wear it to work.”