Published in the Asbury Park Press 05/29/04
IN THE LOOP
ANDREA CLURFELD/STAFF WRITER
Renee Novello leaned in for inspection as Lina Bey waited for the verdict.
"That's it," Novello said, "now go through and over. That's it!"
Bey's fat needles followed her slender fingers, both of which were turning vibrantly colored yarns into scarves with a not-so-secret message. Novello, a Rumson resident and ob-gyn on the teaching faculty at Monmouth Medical Center, and Bey, who lives in Oceanport and works for legendary photographer Steven Meisel, were two of several dozen women Tuesday night to stage a knit-in organized by A Stitch Fore T.I.M.E. and the Two Rivers Antiques and Garden Tour for the benefit of the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center Foundation, Long Branch.
"Pull it through and slip the stitch off," Novello advised Mandy Kennedy, Rumson. "These yarns are very forgiving."
Kennedy looked up from her handiwork and smiled broadly. "I learned to knit when I was 6 from my grandma, but I haven't touched it since. So, yes, I'm a new knitter tonight."
Experts and novices clicked as one at Margot Goldberg's home in Rumson for the knit-in, with experienced hands stopping to encourage newcomers to the craft. All had a common goal: To knit a scarf that would bring awareness to breast cancer, a scarf that would be sold, said Rose Marie Baret of A Stitch Fore T.I.M.E., and all of its proceeds handed over to the Breast Center.
"That's every penny," said Baret, of Little Silver.
Each woman participating in the knit-in purchased for $40 a complete scarf kit from Wooly Monmouth, a 10-day-old shop in Red Bank owned by knitting maven Dori Kershner. "Are you doing OK?" Kershner asked Jacqueline Whitelaw of Fair Haven, another first-time knitter. "It's looking good."
Whitelaw grinned. She was but a mere 30 minutes into her scarf and inches ahead of the game.
"You want to do something with your hands," Whitelaw said, "and the idea of doing something creative is very appealing. The cause is what drew me and other members of my book club."
Indeed, the transition from written yarn to knitted yarn was spun by hostess Goldberg and Tracy Turi, also of Rumson, who cooked up the idea to involve area book clubs in the knit-in. Theresa Caracappa of Rumson, who works at the Oceanic Free Library and teaches knitting in a course offered there, was a natural to support the cause - and new knitters.
"She's the queen," Novello said. "Theresa's the best knitter."
Caracappa shrugged off the title, but never took her eyes off Fran Kaufman's sunset-colored yarns. "Go around and through," she told the Lakewood resident. "This is Fran's first time, and there are quite a few women here who have never knit before," Caracappa said. "I've knit my whole life."
Nancy Laird of Rumson is another devout knitter. Next to her sat her teenage daughters, Elizabeth and Emily, who were twisting skinny threads into waves of pattern; all chatted with neighbor and chum Stephanie Picone.
Laird, wearing a pale taupe cardigan of her own creation, admitted that she knits "all the time - all my free time. I knit instead of cooking and cleaning."
Laughter erupts. But Picone gets serious.
"Knitting is a pleasure," she said. "It's relaxation, it's meeting new people, it's something to show for your work, it's an accomplishment. And tonight, it's for a wonderful cause." That's why Sharon Lee of Red Bank, who's running for Borough Council there, and Lisa DePaulis of Rumson, were untangling yarn and letting their needles fly.
"I'm here for the Wilentz Center," Lee said, as her knitting mate nodded.
"And you thought Rumson was a sleepy town," DePaulis said.
Baret and another A Stitch Fore T.I.M.E. member, Audrey Boglioli of Long Branch, put together the knit-in's breast awareness scarf kits as part of the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Breast Center.
"We buy the yarns and get together once a week to knit," Baret said. Everything the group makes goes on sale at the Deal Country Club, where administrative assistant Lorraine Boos oversees the sales and donations. "We consider it women helping women."
Last year, the group raised $5,000 for the Breast Center, Boglioli said. This year, with the knit-in supplementing A Stitch Fore T.I.M.E.'s efforts, the goal is to raise even more. Folks interested in supporting the Breast Center and advancing the cause of breast cancer awareness can purchase the frothy-textured, gaily-colored scarves, which sell for $65 to $95, at the Deal Country Club; call Boos at (732) 531-1190 for details.
A Stitch Fore T.I.M.E. also will be selling scarves tomorrow at the Art in the Park festival in West End, Long Branch, as well as during the Monmouth Beach House Tour on June 4 and at the Two Rivers Antiques and Garden Tour June 11 through 13.
Meanwhile, Jane Pattwell and Laurie Potter, both of Rumson, saw their knitting skills advance as the knit-in wore on.
"I'm looking to learn something I can do while I talk," Pattwell joked, while Potter added: "Jane and I are definitely catching up while we give to a good cause."
Stephanie Picone, who knit for a number of years, then stopped, decided to take it up again and wind thread around needles for the knit-in.
"I have to admit," she said, "I'm hooked!"
