SUNSET PARK What is usually a relaxing and meditative activity has turned into a source of frustration for Jen Penrod.
Firmly clutching a pair of knitting needles, Penrod, a 31-year-old resident of West Los Angeles, glared in annoyance at the blue sweater she was knitting for her husband’s godson.
Angela Porter, who was knitting beside Penrod at The Talking Stick coffeehouse on Tuesday, could see the problem. Penrod’s needles were too thin, she pointed out with a laugh. The thinner the needles, the harder it is to knit.
Penrod cracked a smile. If there’s ever a time to moan and complain about life, whether it’s about a recent break-up or a difficult project, it’s Tuesday nights at The Talking Stick on Ocean Park Boulevard, where the Stitch n’ Bitch knitting group meets weekly.
Embracing a rebirth of what was considered just a few years ago to be a lost art, the women of the Stitch n’Bitch club set aside three hours a week to knit, seek advice from fellow knitters, and “bitch” about life, as the members like to say.
“It runs the gamut,” said Porter, 30, who lives in Playa del Rey. “We talk about everything, from what happened on ‘Project Runway’ to what book we just read.”
The Tuesday night meetings go beyond knitting, which is often considered to be a solitary activity. The sessions provide members with an excuse to get out of the house in the middle of the week and relax with a few friends after a long day of work.
“I like the aspect of meeting people based on something we all have in common,” Penrod said, taking another stab at her sweater. “Ninety percent of the time, we’re not talking about knitting at all.”
The women and men of Stitch n’ Bitch — mostly women in their 20s to 30s — have experienced life-altering moments in their years together, from marriages to births.
Many have been knitting for a few years and might fancy themselves fast learners. Penrod herself had no formal instruction in knitting, learning through reading books and browsing the Internet for starter tips.
She started with a hat, then jumping to a pair of socks at the request of her grandmother. Many knitters start with a scarf, said Penrod, who was wearing a sweater that she knitted.
Crocheting a replica of a purse she saw in a knitting book, 27-year-old Annalisa Adams of Los Angeles has come a long way in the short time that she has been knitting. Curious about the pursuit after having heard of Stitch n’ Bitch through her friend, Adams enlisted in the club to learn the handicraft.
Her friend eventually moved to New York City, but Adams decided to stick with the knitters.
“It’s a dedicated time to work on projects,”Adams said,as she crocheted.“This way, I’m definitely working for three hours.”
Members give different reasons for why they like knitting. Some say it’s therapeutic, while others thrive on the creative energy that knitting provides.
“I like that it’s almost instant gratification,” Porter said. Upon hearing those words, Penrod laughed, as her knitting project has yet to provide her with any happiness.
“I just made a hat in a day last week,” Porter responded.
A BITCH IN TIME Though its origins are unclear, the original Los Angeles Stitch n’ Bitch group began meeting at the UnUrban Coffeehouse on Pico Boulevard near the West LA border around 2002. The group expanded over the next few years into West Hollywood and Culver City, meeting on different nights of the week.
Following several years knitting and crocheting away at UnUrban, the Stitch n’ Bitch crew packed up and made their way west to The Talking Stick, where they have managed to convince nearly every barista who worked on Tuesday nights to take up the craft.
The Talking Stick has been good to the Stitch n’ Bitch, members say, lamenting the recent news that the coffeehouse
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 8, 2007. Read the original PDF.