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They're A Close-Knit Group

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By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2007

UNIVERSITY AREA - I've never really been one of those "crafty" women. I don't scrapbook, make jewelry or paint faux finishes on my walls.

My desire to learn to knit begins and ends with one family heirloom: a cream-colored afghan with purple crocuses and violets embroidered on each square. It had been passed down from my great aunt, and I kept it at the foot of my bed for years.

When I moved away from home, my mother wouldn't let me take it. After she died, I scoured her house looking for the afghan, but it was gone. I assumed it fell victim to the Labrador puppy she brought home the year before, but I'll never know.

Last week, I decided to do something about it. I heard that Kaleisia Tea Lounge would be hosting Knitting Nights. "If you're new, come with a pair of knitting needles and a roll of yarn and we'll show you how," the e-mail read.

I ventured into a craft store and timidly wandered through the yarn aisle until I found an inexpensive roll of blue acrylic yarn. Who knew Vanna White had her own brand of yarn? Vanna says I should buy size 9 needles, whatever that meant, so I bought the cheapest pair I could find and headed over to the tea lounge.

Kaleisia co-owner Lan Ha welcomes me by name and brews me a pot of special holiday blend. Her cousin and business partner, Kim Pham, strolls in a few minutes later. Pham is the knitter in the family. Like me, she's left-handed, so teaching me the basics comes naturally.

"I always wanted to learn how to knit," she says. "Ever since we opened the tea lounge, I would see people come in here and sit for hours knitting and sipping tea. It looked so relaxing."

A group of crafters meets at the tea lounge twice a month. But they are running late, so I get Pham's undivided attention. She patiently teaches me the two basic stitches that form the basis for just about every sweater, blanket and mitten ever produced.

"Knitting is really simple," she says. "Once you learn knit and purl, you can do anything."

It does not come easy. When I try to knit, I accidentally purl - and vice versa. We decide that I should stick with one stitch and attempt a simple blue scarf. I have a tendency to pull my knots too tight, which makes yarn difficult to maneuver. Finally, I get the hang of it.

By the time the other knitters arrive, I am an hour into my knitting career and have completed about an inch of my scarf.

Pham is reassuring. "My first big project was a baby blanket for my nephew," she says. "It took me a year, but I finally finished it."

Sarah Cote, however, is a natural. After college, she worked as a docent for a living history museum.

"I was in historical costume, and I would sit there and knit all day at work," she says. "I was good with my hands, so I picked it up right away. I got completely addicted."

Now a first-grade teacher for Pinellas County schools, Cote finds time to teach knitting at Uncommon Threads, a craft store in Palm Harbor. She is working on a pair of cozy, brown socks for her boyfriend.

"Some people can knit two socks at the same time, where one is right inside of the other, but I think that's just showing off," she says.

Rachel Threet-Teten, a founding member of Girlfriend Sweatshop, strolls in and joins the party. The crafting group sells its wares at Kaleisia and donates 30 percent of the proceeds to Kiva.org, a charitable group that awards small business loans - usually $1,000 or less - to people in developing countries.

She pulls out some chunky yarn and a pair of knitting needles that could pass for railroad spikes. "I call them my 'Buffy' needles," she says, holding them up like she's about to stab a vampire through the heart. She explains to me that with the thick needles and yarn, she can knit a scarf with about six stitches across.

"It's instant gratification," she says.

I look down at my scarf, which is about the size of a beverage coaster. She is onto something. It could take me years to reproduce that afghan.

At least now I know where I'll be on the second Thursday of each month.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Knitting Nights

WHEN: From 6 to 10 p.m. the second Thursday of each month

WHERE: Kaleisia Tea Lounge, 1441 E. Fletcher Ave., No. 133

HOW MUCH: Free

INFORMATION: Call (813) 977-8266 or visit www.thetealounge .com.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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