A gathering of the Cape Fear Knitters has the high spirits of a family reunion. In their monthly meeting spot — the third-floor conference room at Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic Hospital — members soon find their seats and take up current projects. Some comprise just a few rows of stitches; others spill luxuriously across knitters’ laps.

Appreciative murmurs overtake the gentle click-clack of knitting needles as a show-and-tell reveals elegant garments made from glistening artisan yarns. Many knitters stand for a better look at a bed-size coverlet with a central floral motif and gradient color bands that was as much a mathematical achievement as an artistic one.

It’s rare to see members pause their rhythmic knit-and-purl stitching for anything but helpful instruction or a shared laugh. For them, knitting is more than a mere pastime. The craft empowers creativity, cultivates mindfulness, and provides a tight-knit foundation for friendship.

And for some members, like Cathy Coons, knitting stirs fond family memories. Coons has a passion for completing pieces left on needles by others. Today, she’s working on a blanket that her mother left unfinished when she died in 2017.

“I figured you’d be able to tell where I took over,” Coons says, “but she taught me to knit, and our stitches match.” This treasure will be kept in the family, to be given to an eagerly anticipated grand-nephew.

The Cape Fear Knitters first came together in June 2005. Barbara Rowe, a former curator at the Cape Fear Museum, and Judy Chmielenski, a museum volunteer, envisioned a group that would be both educational and charitable. The club quickly attracted knowledgeable knitters, many of them transplants to Wilmington who were seeking friends with shared interests.

Fellow member Shelby Brock celebrated her birthday by making herself a white crown. photograph by MALLORY CASH

Shelby Brock, the youngest active member at 32, initially felt overwhelmed in the presence of such skilled craftswomen. They embraced her quickly, however, and two months after joining last year, she taught a class on using knitting machines.

“For these ladies, it’s not just about making a sweater. It’s about the process, what it takes to make something that’s really special,” Brock says. “If I have a question, they’ll know the answer. There are so many you can rely on.”

At 90, Noreen Wayland is the eldest member. “A few years after I moved here 21 years ago, I met three gals who saw me knitting and asked for instruction,” she says, leaning on the arm of her walker. “We’re still best friends. For me, the greatest joy is connecting with other knitters, people who really get it and appreciate the craft.”

Nancy Carnegie uses a magnifying glass to knit her delicate lace shawls. photograph by MALLORY CASH

Once completed, one of Carnegie’s projects is proudly displayed to the room. photograph by MALLORY CASH

The members are bonded not just by their extraordinary skills but also by their good humor. Nancy Carnegie playfully encourages applause as she fluffs the graceful drape of a long lace shawl. It took two years to knit the intricate pattern on tiny needles with cobweb-weight wool yarn, a task that requires her to gaze through a magnifying glass.

“Are you donating this to one of us?” a member jokes. “I’ll leave it to someone in my will,” Carnegie replies.

She enjoys the complexity of such knits, but their delicacy requires some caution when wearing them. A friend’s charm bracelet became so ensnared in one during a hug that it had to be cut loose. “She was mortified, but I just tied it off and fixed it at home,” Carnegie says. “You’d never know to look at it now.”

 Cape Fear Knitter Tina Louise Mason shows off her pink blanket. photograph by MALLORY CASH

For her part, Brock brings a youthful vigor to the table. An obsessive crocheter, she discovered Cape Fear Knitters through a chance encounter with a lively cluster of members that meets weekly at a restaurant. “I learned to knit at church when I was 7 and really appreciate the social aspect of it,” she says. “It always starts a conversation.”

It also invites requests from strangers at a bar where she often goes to crochet and meet a friend. In fact, she and the bartender have a running joke about her passion. “It’s like bingo,” Brock explains. “When someone comes up and asks me to make them a hat, I get a free drink. No kidding, I haven’t paid for a drink there in three years.”

Click-clack, click-clack: The needles keep moving, rows of stitches adding up. In addition to the knitters’ personal triumphs, there’s also a mountain of hats, socks, mittens, and baby blankets, each made with love for neighbors served by local charities. Just as Rowe and Chmielenski hoped, the spirit of service remains a big draw for the Cape Fear Knitters. More than 200 items made during 2024 will be distributed among several area nonprofits.

Simpler projects for the charity program are ideal for older members whose hands can no longer manage fine artisan yarn or demanding patterns. Still, each piece is a testament to a lifelong love of knitting and a stubborn insistence on beauty in all things.

The Cape Fear Knitters make cozy items for those in need. photograph by MALLORY CASH

“I met someone who said you can knit a stitch and say a prayer for the person who will receive it,” Carnegie says. “It’s lovely and peaceful.”

Together, the members find joy in knitting hats, baby items, and prayer shawls for others. And to know that someone will receive one of those items and take comfort in its handmade warmth is, in itself, a gift.

Cast On: Cape Fear Knitters, a chapter of the international Knitting Guild Association, meets from 10 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of each month (except for July and August) in the third-floor conference room at Novant Health New Hanover Orthopedic Hospital in Wilmington. Knitters and crocheters are welcome to attend and consider membership. For more information, contact Jill Corwin at jcorwin320@gmail.com.