The Knitter’s Guild

THEmakers

creative awareness | arts & culture | makers’ movement

The Knitters Guild of Incline Village

KNITTING TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY

BY KAYLA ANDERSON

Knitters Guild | 1-3 p.m. | Wednesdays | St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church | Incline Village, Nev.

Those who showed up to knit and get things ready for the Winter Warmth & Wellness event were, from left, Yangqin Zhao, Laurel Underseth, Carol Coughlin, Barbara Nutting, Jamie Sidells, Dianne Berglund, Mary Mosher-Armstrong and Millie Szerman. | Kayla Anderson

At St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Incline Village, Nev. on a snowy afternoon, members of The Knitters Guild of Incline Village filtered in and out of its library, pulling yarn and handmade goods out of the closet to donate to the annual Winter Warmth & Wellness community event. I stopped to admire the beautifully knitted and crocheted beanies, scarves, mittens, blankets and sweaters, to touch the soft wool and admire the artisanship. This group has been together for 20 years; they meet informally every Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. to knit, crochet, give each other advice and make warm clothing and accessories for underserved community members. Several hundred items are made and donated to nonprofits throughout the year, such as blankets and lapghans that go to Tahoe Forest Hospital and the senior apartments in Truckee, layettes for newborns and warm clothing to the Eddy House in Reno. The guild takes donated yarn and knitting supplies and turns them into soft caps for those undergoing chemotherapy treatment at Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center and warm hats for elementary school children. They donate to silent auctions, knit doggy sweaters for Pet Network and give purple hats to the National Shaken Baby Campaign. Everything is donated to them — the yarn, the needles, et cetera — and in turn the members spin them into usable items that go back to the community in an endless karmic cycle. Peggy Harrison started this group in 2002 and met with fellow knitters at

the church on an informal weekly basis to share patterns and knit together. The guild grew and soon they began donating their blankets and warm clothing to those in the North Lake Tahoe and Incline Village area. Although Harrison moved to Reno a few years ago and is not quite as active, the guild has picked up so much momentum that it continues to meet regularly since there are always people who need warm and cozy wearables especially when the temperatures start to drop. Karen Barney has become the main organizer. “It started with just a handful of gals who liked to knit and several members of the group belong to the church,” says longtime member Millie Szerman. She explained this as the group took everything out and organized it; separating out booties, caps, and mittens to go to the Sierra Community House or items ready to be deployed to the Winter Warmth & Wellness event. As a crocheter, Szerman became involved with the guild when she started a sweater for herself, but she ran out of yarn mid-project. She looked all over town but couldn’t find what she needed to finish the sweater when someone told her about The Knitters Guild of Incline Village. Szerman went to an event and there was the color and texture of yarn she was looking for in the closet. There are no dues to join the guild, everyone is welcome. There are some people who come just in the summer or some who can’t attend meetings but still donate their knitted work. On that winter day, members from Tahoe City, Tahoe Vista and Truckee were there — and some drove from Reno and Sparks. “Usually everyone brings their projects with them and when something’s finished then we do like a little show and tell. Everyone comes from all walks of life,” she said, pointing to a member who makes cute beanies. She showed me one of her signature items, a cap with a green stem on it like a pumpkin top. A lot of times yarn just shows up or an unfinished item that needs to be completed or redone. “We do a lot of scarves and hats and blankets and we sit here and socialize; that’s what we do, and then we give away stuff every time there’s a need,” she said. After I left the affable and generous group, I went home and started knitting, something I hadn’t done (ironically) since the pandemic. And when I came close to finishing a scarf, I realized that it wasn’t quite long enough — and I didn’t have more yarn. Fortunately, I knew just where to go to find more. | tahoeepiscopal.org, knitters@tahoeepiscopal.org n

“We do a lot of scarves and hats and blankets and we sit here and socialize; that’s what we do — and then we give away stuff every time there’s a need.” – Millie Szerman

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Paul Hamill

TRUCKEE FILM SELECTED FOR AWARD

What started out as an ode to one man’s hometown has become a film that’s a finalist in this year’s Film Stream Awards Festival. “A Love Letter to Truckee” is a 3-minute visual expression by Truckee local filmmaker and photographer Paul Hamill, who filmed and edited the video and collaborated with Scott Mortimore in crafting a script. The video highlights the year-round recreational opportunities in the Truckee area and illustrates why it is so easy to fall in love with the town.

Film Stream Film Festival is from Dec. 29 to 30 at Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe. | paulhamillphotography.

NEW BOOK EXPLORES AREA’S ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY

“Environmental History of Lake Tahoe” by David C. Antonucci tells the story of people and the environment and their reciprocal influences on Lake Tahoe.

Native peoples, pioneers and early visitors conformed to the environment’s

demands and existed in harmony with their surroundings. By 1860, loggers, hoteliers, ranchers, developers and tourists started to impose their demands on Tahoe’s resources, forever changing it for the generations to come. Resource exploitation for personal benefit later collided with and became subordinate to preservation and appreciation of natural resources.

This book follows the evolution of environmental change at Lake Tahoe as seen through the eyes of those who caused it and those who sought to prevent it. The book is available at bookstores and on Amazon.com. ‘SKI PATROL PUPS’ RELEASED

Local author Megan Butcher and illustrator Megan Jost have released a new children’s book, “Ski Patrol Pups,” inspired by Walter, the ski patrol dog that served with Collin Butcher at Alpine Meadows. The story shares his first day on the job as he learns what it takes to be a Ski Patrol Pup.

“He lived an adventurous life and was a true professional at his job, but he always remembered life was about having fun while doing what you love. He was always up for a powder day at the resort or romping around in the snow with his best buds at work,” according to the book’s website. Walter died in 2020.

A portion of the book proceeds will support the Alpine Avalanche Rescue Foundation. The book is available at Palisades Tahoe, Word After Word in Truckee and online. | skipatrolpups.com QUILT HONORS MISSING, MURDERED

Sierra Native Alliance’s Youth Leadership group created a quilt in honor of murdered and missing indigenous women (MMIW), which is on display at Truckee Donner Community Rec Center until February 2023.

Inspired by the symbol of the Red Dress, the quilt squares honor the

Sierra Native Alliance beauty and strength of indigenous women affected by violence and brings awareness to an epidemic that has been invisible to mainstream media. The three figures in the center represent the heartbreaking statistic that more than 1 in 3 Native girls and women have been sexually assaulted. In addition, May 5 has been set aside as national MMIW Remembrance Day. | tdrpd.org, sierranativealliance.org

Tahoe Transformations Community Exhibit

Gatekeepers Museum, Tahoe City, Wed.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., northtahoemuseums.org

At Home: Functional Art in Lake Tahoe Cabins

Gatekeepers Museum, Tahoe City, through April,

Wed.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., northtahoemuseums.org

Sierra Native Alliance MMIW Quilt Exhibit

Truckee Donner Recreation & Park District, Truckee,

Dec. 14-28, 8 a.m., (530) 582-7720, tdrpd.org

Fantastic Planet Virtual Art Faire

Melhop Gallery 7077, Zephyr Cove, Dec. 14-28, 10 a.m., melhopgallery.com

Holly Arts Exhibit

North Tahoe Art Center, Kings Beach, Dec. 14-28, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., (530) 581-2787, northtahoearts.org

Holiday Market

South Lake Brewing Company, South Lake Tahoe,

Dec. 17, 12-5 p.m., southlakebeer.com

Artsy Holidays Party

North Tahoe Arts Center, Kings Beach, Dec. 17, 1-4 p.m.

11th Annual Holiday Reception

Gallery Keoki, Olympic Valley, Dec. 28, 5 p.m., (530) 414-8500, gallerykeoki.com

Public Tour

Truckee Roundhouse Makerspace, Truckee, Saturdays, 1 p.m., (530) 582-4007, truckeeroundhouse.org

Fiber Art Friday

South Lake Tahoe Library, South Lake Tahoe, Fridays, 1 p.m., (530) 573-3185, eldoradolibrary.org