DORÉ

Gloria

What was your occupation before you started knitting for WOOLN?

I was a flight attendant for 44 years – I loved it! I would knit on and off during that time, because we had a lot of downtime. I traveled to Tokyo and to South America a lot and would visit knitting stores there looking for wool and something different.

What made you want to start working again and join WOOLN?

Well, I don’t call this working, I don’t call knitting working. Even though I do say I’ll work for a small knitting company, but it’s very select, very quality yarns, beautiful stuff, and when you meet the girls, it’s just a beautiful idea.

What would you be doing if you weren’t knitting for WOOLN?

Well since I don’t spend hours and hours on it, I do other things, like yoga, meditation, tennis, golf, I walk, and have 6 grand-children.

Velma

How long have you been knitting how did you learn, and what was the first thing you made?

I started knitting in 1970. I learned from a book, they used to have these magazines for knitting and crocheting. So I did that for about three years, and then I got a job writing directions for Coats & Clark, and then I went to work for a yarn company where I wrote directions, made samples and designed.

How many hours do you spend knitting a day or a week?

Well there are 24 hours in a day [laughs] – I’m either working on a project for WOOLN if there’s a deadline, or one of my other projects, so a good 12 hours in a day, 7 days a week. I’m knitting all the time.

What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about knitting?

That it’s very relaxing! And that anybody can do it.

Hollis

How long have you been knitting how did you learn, and what was the first thing you made?

I first learned to knit over 50 years ago. My grandmother taught me, it was a scarf, which is the easiest because it’s basically a straight line. It was full of holes and drop stitches, and a mess. But I was really proud of it.

What’s the most rewarding part of knitting for WOOLN?

When you receive something that someone hand-knit, you’re getting something that took a lot of time, a lot of patience, a lot of creativity. There are no two knit items that are identical. They have a personality, and they reflect the knitter. Margaux and Faustine trust us to make the things they’re selling – that’s a huge responsibility! If there were no knitters, there would be no WOOLN [laughs].

What would you be doing if you weren’t knitting for WOOLN?

I’d be knitting for myself.

Annie

How long have you been knitting how did you learn, and what was the first thing you made?

My mother taught me when I was very young, maybe 6 or 7. I lived in France, and everyone was knitting. I think I made a scarf.

What made you want to start knitting for WOOLN?

I like the idea of knitting, and grandmothers in New York knitting, I thought it was wonderful, it’s a great idea. It makes people feel good, feel satisfied, keeps yourself busy. [laughs].

Are you proud of the things you make for WOOLN?

Yes! When you knit something really great and beautiful, you are proud of it. You have a satisfaction, it’s something you are rewarded with right away. It’s like gardening. I don’t garden, but I know people who garden. They like it.