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Woman Knitting For Less Fortunate

Cheryl Bentley/SUNCOAST NEWS

Knitting, says Ann Mazzitelli of Port Richey, is a way for her to give to others. She has knitted for soldiers in Iraq and school children in Kentucky.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: October 17, 2007

Ann Mazzitelli laughs when talking about her stash. It is a collection of many-colored yarns that would delight the heart of any knitter.

It constantly pesters her to add to it. A Port Richey resident, Mazzitelli is at its command.

"I say I'm not going to buy, but in the end I am buying," she says in that happy voice with its undercurrent of laughter that often leaps out into the open. "You know how we all have our little idiosyncrasies."

By this time, Mazzitelli and her stash have gone to an agreement that has worked for the long-time knitter.

She will fill that soft spot in her heart that cries for the unfortunate by knitting for those in need if the stash keeps inspiring her it's with jumble of colors and textures.

In their merry partnership, Mazzitelli and her stash have brought both physical and emotional warmth to a range of people, from the soldiers in Iraq to poor Kentucky school children.

Mazzitelli is always on the lookout for those who might use something she can knit.

Soft-hearted

She read about children in Topmost, a coal-mining town in eastern Kentucky with more than 40 percent of its residents below the poverty level, according to a 1999 survey.

The youngsters often did not have enough warm clothing during winter. That's when Mazzitelli's soft heart kicked in. In about four months last year, she knitted 50 hats for the children.

"They call me the Hat Lady," she says with a laugh.

After reading that donations were needed for soldiers in Iraq, she made headbands to cushion their helmets and face masks to protect them from the cold. She also has knitted lap robes and Afghans for patients in veterans hospitals.

Friends and family get in on the Mazzitelli knitting bonanza, too. "I give everything away," she says.

That's a lot of gifts. Mazzitelli knits on the average of five hours a day.

Sometimes, she gets glimpses of what her knitted presents have meant to the recipients.

Still have 'blankies'

Her grandchildren, who are now in elementary school, still have the "blankies" on their beds she made for them as babies.

"That tells me they really liked them," she says.

Knitting is her own form of charity, better than sending checks to all the organizations requesting money through the mail, as she once did. Responding to all those mail requests left Mazzitelli open to pleas from more organizations until she found she was inundated with sad stories.

That was too much for the Mazzitelli big heart. Today, she knits, and limits financial contributions to her two favorite charities, the Salvation Army and Disabled American Veterans.

The 72-year-old Mazzitelli took up knitting as a 19-year-old clerk-typist at a state unemployment office in Detroit. Women there taught her the basic knitting stitch and later more intermediate ones.

Knitting has changed over the years, she says. There once were knit shops owned by expert knitters who were available for help.

"Something that you couldn't understand you would go to someone there. They would show you, and the light bulb would come on."

Now yarn shops

Now, most of the knit shops have given way to yarn shops. Owners there are not necessarily expert knitters but will research to get answers to questions, she explains.

Knitting fell into a decline during the 1980s and '90s, says Mazzitelli. "A few years back, no one cared about knitting."

But in the past few years, interest seems to have revived.

According to a 2004 study for the Craft Yarn Council of America, there has been a 51 percent increase since 1994 in women who knew how to knit and crochet.

Young women from 25 to 34 showed the highest numbers. According to the survey, 6.5 million of them knit or crochet, a 20 percent increase from 1994.

One reason for the revival, says Mazzitelli, is probably because of an expanded variety of yarns.

The former basics of acrylic and wool have been supplemented by such newcomers as bamboo, silk, lama wool and twisted ribbon.

Yen for stashes

Shopping for them can throw any knitter into ecstasy, she says, especially those who have a yen for stashes.

"If you ever go through a yarn shop, oh, my God," she laughs.

Also, knitters now have a wider choice of items to craft.

When she began knitting, the basics were pullovers and cardigans. Now, knitters are venturing into creating elegant shawls, ruffles and even underwear.

Such a challenging repertoire is appropriate for the younger knitters, says Mazzitelli. For her, she enjoys playing around with the techniques she learned as a teenager.

"I don't want to get into heavy duty challenges, like where to use different patterns. I stick to a basic three or four patterns. That's enough for me."

But she's always on the lookout for creative ways to use her stash.

Uses old patterns

One method she has discovered is to employ old patterns. Ever the shopper, she enjoys finding them at thrift stores and flea markets.

Mazzitelli brings out a pattern for a 1970s poncho she recently bought at a flea market. She will take part of the pattern on it and adapt it for an Afghan, she says.

She is a member of the Y-Knot Knitters and Crocheters Club, which meets every Monday in New Port Richey. Mazzitelli hardly ever misses a meeting.

"We sit and knit and talk and gossip," she says.

It is also a means of growing that stash.

Members bring their extra yarn to share with those who want it. "Guess who takes the most," Mazzitelli laughs.

Perhaps the hobby that allows her to give to others offers the highest return to Mazzitelli herself.

"I call it my therapy," she says of her knitting. "It's time for me think inside my own self."

The Y-Knot Knitters and Crocheters Club meets every Monday at the YMCA, 6130 U. S. 19, near Main Street, New Port Richey, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

For more information on the club call Mazzitelli at 727-861-0172.

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