Community engagement, skill-building and social justice at Riverwalk Commons Knit-A-Longs

The Knit-A-Longs at Riverwalk Commons invite knitters of all skills to work on a project, teach one another and socialize.

By Emily Stewart

Riverwalk Commons is inviting knitters of all levels to come down and work on new projects.

Events known as Knit-A-Longs, where participants work on projects like a cowl or a hat, are being held every Tuesday evening in February from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Riverwalk Commons. Each Knit-A-Long costs $10 for participants and includes tea or coffee, with $5 going towards the pattern. It also gives participants a chance to socialize and chat while working on their craft.

“February is just such a sad, dark month for a lot of people. Just being able to come out for an hour after supper and just get together with other people. Whether they’re knitting or not, it’s just a place for people to go to in town just to do something different,” said Melissa Barton, owner and founder of Riverwalk Commons.

The Knit-A-Longs at Riverwalk Commons began with a group working on their own large knit blanket, but the projects have been scaled back to smaller fibre works. Anyone of any skill level is welcome to participate.

“Some people are just remembering to cast on again. We just help each other out. There’s not a master knitter or anything, but we work through things together,” Barton said.

For the month of February, participants could either work on a cowl neck warmer from a pattern by Tanis Fibre Arts or a red Melt the Ice Hat from the Needles and Skein shop in Minnesota. The $5 for the red hat pattern will go towards the fundraiser Needles and Skein is running for the Immigration Rapid Response Fund, which supports those targeted by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The red hat movement originated in Norway in the Second World War as knit red hats were worn to protest Nazi occupation. The hats were banned on Feb. 26, 1942, due to the protest. Red hats from the original movement can be found at Norway’s Resistance Museum, also known as the Norwegian Front Home Museum.

The Red Hat movement is making a comeback as a form of protest against ICE.

“Not everybody comes in to knit from a social-justice perspective, but I do. I love that stuff,” said Barton, who was wearing a sweater that said “nice” during the interview with the Independent and explained it was another form of advocacy – be “nice” instead of ICE. “To me, art is resistance, you know, there’s that phrase and I love it and I love reading stories about women and their acts of solidarity through craft and just this story of the Red Hats in Norwegian history. They ended up being banned because they were so threatened by everybody wearing red hats. Isn’t that amazing?”

There will be one last knitting session on Feb. 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. and participants are required to bring their own materials. Riverwalk Commons has events and workshops throughout the year, including drop-in sessions on Wednesday afternoons.

More information can be found online by visiting rwcommons.com.