> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# What’s old is new again
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/whats-old-is-new-again-2/
- Published: 2007-02-08T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:01:26.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: local, Sunset Park, #archive-import

What was traditionally considered to be the favorite pastime of the octogenarian sect has enjoyed a surprising resurgence thanks, in large part, to children of the digital age.

“There are younger people who are getting interested in knitting,” said Lora Anthony, a partner of Compatto Yarn Salon on Wilshire Boulevard. “It has to do with fashion and the return to the hand arts.”

The handicraft is becoming much more popular in recent years, with novels like “The Friday Night Knitting Club” and a silver screen adaptation starring Julia Roberts slated for release in 2008\. Knitting groups like the Stitch n’ Bitch, which meets at The Talking Stick coffeehouse in Sunset Park, consists mainly of members in their 20s and 30s.

Part of the reason why knitting has become so popular is because of the busy world in which we live with cell phones, iPods and Blackberries consuming our lives, according to Anthony, who admits that she walks around with all three.

The creator of several sweaters and scarves that are displayed in Compatto Yarn Salon, 22-year-old Grace Akhrem began crocheting about five years ago with the help of her friend. She learned the basics of knitting from her grandmother and picked up the rest by reading books.

Now a teacher at Compatto, Akhrem, a Santa Monica College student, said there are more young knitters than before.

“Some refuse to even pick up needles,” Akhrem said. “You have to want to do it. A lot of people find it therapeutic and sometimes knit in class.”

But Nancy Hannah, co-owner of Compatto, doesn’t believe knitting is a new phenomenon among younger women.

And it’s definitely not a fad, she insists.

“I’m looking at the women knitting at my table right now,” Hannah said on the phone on Tuesday. “Two of them are in their mid-20s and a few are older ladies.

“If you have someone like Julia Roberts, she must obviously see a market for it.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 8, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020807.pdf?ref=smdp.com)