St. Cyprian Crafters make a difference for many

DAVE GORGON

About 13 years ago, Anne Gilhool of Riverview suggested to Sister Anne, a nun at St. Cyprian Catholic Church, that they start a knitting group in the parish.

“I said, ‘I knit and I would like to knit with other people,’” Gilhool recalled. “She said ‘no.’ Six months later, someone donated 100 skeins of yarn.”

And the St. Cyprian Crafters were born.

Today, 40 women who knit, sew and crochet are making a difference and bringing joy to people and groups in the Downriver area. Their creations range from neonatal hats for tiny infants to blankets for wheelchair-bound veterans and senior citizens.

The crafters meet from 10 to 11:45 a.m. Thursdays at the social hall at St. Cyprian in Riverview. Besides infant caps and blankets, they create hats and scarves for people of all ages, baby items, quilts, dish cloths, adult bibs and even stuffed toys – whatever the need is that day, Gilhool said.

“Everyone has their own special gift and talent,” Gilhool said. “When I challenged the ladies two months ago to make toys for Easter, they responded by making 191 bunnies.”

About 30 of the bunnies were donated to the Wyandotte Soup Kitchen to distribute to “guests” and their families who visit weekly for food.

Others went to food pantry clients at St. Cyprian, Downriver for Veterans, children in shelters and others in need, said Southgate resident Deborah Knight, who crochets and sews and is always on the lookout for those in need of the crafters’ talents.

Gilhool, a retired school teacher, called Knight “a real go-getter in finding clients.” “I would say we made about 2,700 things last year,” Gilhool said. “I’m a firm believer that we don’t make anything to sit on our shelves. I want it to go and be used by people right away.”

“Linus-type blankets” and duffle bags have gone to the Downriver Foster Closet in Southgate,” Gilhool said. Hats and scarves have gone to hospitals. Bibs went to special needs children in Wyandotte.

“There is just a whole variety of things,” she said. “Some people will make the same things over and over and over again, like hats or baby blankets. They’ll say, ‘this is what I like to do.’

Other people make all kinds of things.” Knight, who crochets and sews, said the crafters enjoy making a difference. She created gathered skirts to donate to the group Dresses for Africa, which provides dresses needed by young girls to attend school in Africa.

“Being part of this group gives you purpose,” the former banker said. “You think you’re sending positive energy into the world. You only can do so much with one person, but collectively look at what you can do.”

Darlene Swift, the wife of Riverview Mayor Andrew Swift, said she learned how to knit just before she retired from the Ford Motor Co. She joined the crafters when the group started.

“Everybody in there has a good attitude,” she said. “This is a time to get together and socialize. It’s a good group. We bring in more people all the time.

“If you get stuck, someone is always there to help. You learn new techniques. It keeps your fingers nimble. It keeps you active and you’re helping someone in need. It’s bringing a smile to somebody’s face. When we make something that goes to somebody in need, many times we get thank-you cards back so we know it’s appreciated.”

Wyandotte resident Sarah Pettigrew, who runs the soup kitchen, said the bunnies were just what her group needed.

“We are distributing Easter goodie bags to our guests so they can fill Easter baskets for their children, and the adorable bunnies that the St. Cyprian group shared will really make the bags extra special,” she said. “I think some of don’t realize that some people don’t have loved ones who make handmade items for them and these types of gifts continue to cheer you when you’re feeling down. It’s an honor to pass these beautiful gifts along on behalf of the St. Cyprian Crafters.”

Tiffanie Plackowski, preschool director of the Early Childhood Learning Center in the Riverview Community School District, praised Gilhool and her volunteer group, saying the “crafting ladies generously and fastidiously hand-made scarves and hats for the pre-K students” for the fourth year in a row. The recipients are 4- and 5-year-olds.

“Every year,” Plackowski said, “the teachers are grateful and the students are thrilled.” Nothing seems to get the crafters off course. Knight said during the COVID-19 pandemic, crafters got their vaccines and wore masks while meeting in Gilhool’s backyard. During a recent three-hour power failure, Knight made more than a dozen hats with an Easter Bunny on top.

Knight said you’re never too young or too old to learn how to knit, sew or crochet. She taught her daughter Stephanie how to crochet when she was 9 years old. Now a copywriter, Stephanie makes lap blankets that are given to veterans and those in hospice care.

Her 78-year-old aunt, Barbara Chernick, who is living at American House in Southgate, made 150 hats using a circular loom last year.

Gilhool said she wanted to start the crafter group after her daughter said she participating in “Knitting for Peace” while attending the University of Michigan and her son gave her a book on the topic.

“The writing was on the wall, so to speak,” she said.

Volunteers can craft from home, but being present for weekly meetings at the church creates many opportunities for socialization among the members. Gilhool said they get together for potluck lunches a couple times a year and exchange news when a grandchild is born and when relatives pass away.

“We’ve been happy with each other and sad with each other,” she said. “I’d say about a third of our members are widows.”

Gilhool said anyone interested in helping the cause can join the St. Cyprian Crafters. “You just walk in,” she said. “You don’t have to be Catholic or a parish member. If you don’t know how, we can teach you.”

St. Cyprian is located at 13249 Pennsylvania Road in Riverview.