Each fall, students from pre-school through eighth grade who come to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Kids’ Closet receive a knitted hat as part of their fall school wardrobe. The students can choose from the handmade hats donated by two groups: the Knit Wits in SaddleBrooke and Creative Giving in SaddleBrooke Ranch.
Knit Wits is a fun knitting and crocheting club dedicated to socializing, learning the craft and contributing to charity. Up to 65 SaddleBrooke members gather at the SaddleBrooke HOA-1 arts and crafts building every Wednesday at 9 a.m. to socialize and work on their knitting and/or crocheting projects designed for family, friends or charities (or sometimes themselves!).
On a recent Wednesday, members were working on a variety of projects including luscious cowls and sweaters, darling baby blankets and children’s clothing and toys.
Two members of the club make “knitted knockers”—soft and cheerful brassiere linings for mastectomy survivors.
Although members are free to work on their own projects, the club also makes blankets, garments and soft toys for Kids’ Closet, a local high school and also AVIVA Tucson, an organization associated with Easter Seals that focuses on children in foster care. In 2024, Knit Wits donated 414 items, including blankets for babies, comforters for older children, hats and scarves.
Lavetta Torke, a knitter since she was 10 years old, says she finds the group to be full of interesting women, such as 92-year-old Mary, who is a faithful attendee and avid knitter. Many of the members are experienced knitters and can demonstrate complicated stitches as well as teach beginning knitters.
Co-chairs Linda Hood and Matilda Moore preside over the monthly meetings; LaVetta Torke oversees the charitable giving. Classes are offered for beginners as well as for advanced crafters. Club members tend to shop at the two specialty knitting shops in Tucson for fancy and high-grade yarn and at the big box stores in Oro Valley for the more basic yarns and tools. SaddleBrooke residents are encouraged to drop in any Wednesday to see if this club is right for them. After three visits, visitors are asked to join at the very modest cost of $12 per year.
Creative Giving is a Handicraft Club for SaddleBrooke Ranch ResidentsThis group of 68 volunteers supplied over 2,300 knitted, sewn or crocheted handicrafts in 2024 to SaddleBrooke Ranch residents in need of medical support items and to eight different charities. They also make items for their own use or to sell to raise money for supplies. Co-chairs Linda Shannon-Hills and Dian Gowen lead the group which comes together to harness their skills, share laughter and inspire one another.
While the group makes many items for traditional use, such as hats for babies and children, they also make special-purpose gifts such as baby blankets to be used in portraits of stillborn infants lost to grieving parents. The blankets are not only beautiful and one-of-a-kind but infused with the compassion and love of their neighbors.
Creative Giving serves the needs of SaddelBrooke Ranch residents by making handy items such as mastectomy pillows, bags that can be attached to walkers, and double-pocketed scarves to be worn by people who need to keep their hands free while using a cane. As the Club says, “Together we are making a difference, one handmade item at a time.”
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