On any given Wednesday at 1:00 in the afternoon, a small group of retired women meet at the Millard Branch of the Omaha Public Library. They enter a conference room and take one of the chairs assembled around a long rectangular table, putting their various bags and totes on the floor. They reach down into their stash and draw out several balls of yarn and large metal needles.
For the next two hours, as the women talk and “solve all the problems of the world,” their fingers stay limber, stitching various items like wool hats, scarves, mittens, and baby blankets—cold weather necessities that will eventually find their way to people who need them the most.
Meet the Knit Wits, a clever play on words that has nothing to do with silliness and everything to do with selflessness. The women donate all handmade articles to nonprofits throughout Omaha, concentrating on organizations in the Millard area where they live. Even the thought of accepting money for their work or soliciting monetary donations meets with a resounding, “No!”
They do, however, gladly accept—and largely depend upon—donations of yarn.
The Knit Wits formed in 2012, an offshoot of an already existing circle of knitters based at Rejoice! Lutheran Church near 138th and Center Streets.
“There were four of us who decided we didn’t want to go to the evening knitting group because of family commitments. It worked better for me in the daytime,” said Verna Peterson, one of the Knit Wits founders. She’s also indirectly responsible for the humorous moniker bestowed upon her fellow knitters.
“My grandson named us,” said Peterson. “He had to come to knitting that first summer because I was babysitting him. He was 10 at the time. One day, he wanted tape. He had made this sign ‘Knit Wits’ and taped it to the door at the church.” It’s safe to say all the women who have joined the Wednesday knit-athon through the years have proudly taken ownership of the name.
When COVID-19 forced the closure of Rejoice! Lutheran Church, the Knit Wits, determined to maintain their companionship, bounced around from one location to another. They even mastered knitting-by-Zoom until they found a new home at the Millard library in 2022 and decided to stay. For its part, the library enjoys the community outreach and once displayed their wool hats by the front door.
“We got a lot of yarn donations from that display,” said Diane Wulf, a longtime Knit Wit.
Wednesday attendance varies from five to eight members, most of whom are former teachers or librarians. Like their knitting, their stories follow a pattern: they learned to knit as a child or young woman, gave it up during their careers or while raising their family, then took it up again in retirement.
Except for Charlotte Karre.
“I tried to learn once when a friend showed me how to knit a scarf,” said Karre. “It was very wide and very long, and she didn’t know how to cast off, you know—end it. So I stopped and gave up.”
Karre heard about the Knit Wits through church and joined them years ago. Under their patient tutelage, she has come a long way. “I’m proud to say I make the same hat pattern over and over again. But I use different colored yarn,” she laughed.
On this particular Wednesday, Karre joins Peterson and AnnaMarie Otteman in knitting hats, the most popular item to make because they take only two or three Wednesday sessions to complete. “Of course, it depends on how much we talk,” cracked Peterson.
Kathy Markin stays busy making a soft pink baby blanket that she will donate to Lydia House, the women’s section of Omaha’s Open Door Mission. Wulf has her needles through a dish cloth.
A dish cloth?
“These are for the kids who age out of the foster system and go live on their own,” explained Wulf. “We’ve been making dish cloths, potholders, and hot pads for about a year now.”
The household items go to Youth Mart, a donation center on the campus of the Omaha Home for Boys in North Omaha where young adults can shop free of charge for their new apartments.
“We used to give Youth Mart hats, but they told us they really need the dish cloths and hot pads, so we switched over for them,” added Markin.
Every year, the Knit Wits craft 500 to 700 items in various sizes. Otteman stores what they make in bins at her house and distributes when a nonprofit calls with a need. Many have found their way to the Millard School District, including the Language Learning Program, “when the schools had a big influx of refugees from Afghanistan a couple of years ago,” explained Markin. “We also gave lots of hats to the parents of the students who came to the schools.”
Project Harmony in Millard, which supports and protects victims of child abuse, understands all too well what a simple act of kindness can mean.
“When we receive handmade items like hats, scarves, and mittens, it provides an extra level of comfort to our kids,” said Gabby Hogan, Project Harmony’s community engagement coordinator and an enthusiastic fan of both knitting groups associated with Rejoice! Lutheran. “It makes them feel like there’s someone out there who really cares about them and made something just for them.”
A shared desire to help others through what can often be a solitary hobby has made the Knit Wits a close-knit group. Several times a year, they go out to lunch or take day trips to places of interest like the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln. While a social life is a great perk, the women believe there are other, less visible benefits of their craftiness.
“Knitting is good for our arthritis, and it keeps our brains going,” said Otteman with conviction.
Anyone who observes how each woman keeps mental track of the number of rows and stitch patterns while simultaneously carrying on several conversations would not disagree.
Who knew Knit Wits could be so inspiring?
The Knit Wits are always looking for new members yarn donations. You don’t have to be a skilled knitter, just an enthusiastic one. Contact stegenv1@cox.net for more information.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
