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T he P ortland O bserver • J anuary 17, 1996
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Knitting Makes Comeback As Pastime
Knitting, an activity that faded
during the 1970s and 1980s, ¡scorn­
ing back, especially among younger
people.
In an age when people spend hours
on computers, both working and play­
ing, some people seem to long for
simpler pastimes.
“We have definitely noticed an
interest with many young profession­
als,” said Carol Wiggington, presi­
dent o f the Knitting Guild o f Amer­
ica. “ It is a portable hobby, soothing
to the mind and you wind up with a
quality product.”
The guild, which started with 550
members in 1984, now has more than
10,000, and has seen a 15 percent
increase in attendance each year at its
convention in March. Every year the
convention draws a greater number
o f women iri their late 20s and early
30s, Wiggington said.
In addition to attending conven­
tions, many young knitters are com­
ing together in small groups to share
the pleasure o f the craft and to form
friendships.
In Washington, for example, eight
women age 26 to 34 gather once a
month in Georgetown to show o ff the
sweaters they have worked on since
their last meeting. “T hat’s so cool”
was shouted from all comers o f the
room recently as one knitter, Tanya
Ford, pul led out her handmade Christ­
mas gifts from a shopping bag.
In Ohio, Pam Kelly, 36, said she
valued her knitting group for the
social contacts it provided. “At the
time I joined the group, I was a stay-
at-home mom,” said the Rev. Kelly,
now a Lutheran pastor.
The group gave her a way to meet
people who share her interest.
In New York, where the Big Ap­
ple Knitting Guild has seen its mem­
bership jum p to 176 this year from
five in 1990, Lily Chin, a33-year-old
member who works in the fashion
industry, attributes the rise to “a great
deal more younger blood” in the
group.
Knitting clubs are even appearing
on co lleg e cam puses. L yndsley
WiIkerson, 2 1, a junior at Swarthmore
College in Swarthmore, Pa., helped
start a group last year that has grown
to 60 members, from 25. Recently,
the group held a knit-a-thon where
10 members made items to donate to
a local homeless shelter.
Knitters can also find cam arade­
rie on line, where there are more than
200 chat rooms and knitting-related
sites. Knitting’s origins are murky,
said Anne Macdonald, au thorof“No
Idle Hands: The Social History o f
American Knitting.” What is known
is that different techniques began in
different parts o f the world and were
gradually introduced in the United
States.
By the turn o f the 19th c e n tu ­
ry, M acdonald said, knitting b e ­
cam e fash io n ab le in the U nited
S tates as peo p le m oved from sim ­
ple garm en ts to th o se w ith d e c o ­
ra tiv e touches. D uring the D e­
p re ssio n , the n u m ber o f k n itte rs
in c re a se d b ecau se it was o ften
c h e a p e r to knit clothes than to
buy them .
Knitting lost its allure in the 70s
and 80s as more and more women
began to work outside the home,
leaving them less free time.
While many o f the new knitters
are women, some men are also learn­
ing o f its pleasures. Scott Overbay,
36, a member o f the Eastside Knit­
ting Guild in Seattle, said that his
grandmother taught him to knit when
he was 9, and that he started to knit
again about six years ago when he
was unable to buy the sweater he
wanted. He is now teaching three
male friends to knit.
A survey in 1994 survey by Crafts
‘n Things, a magazine, showed that
people enjoyed crafts like knitting -
with its lulling, repetitious motions -
because they relieved stress
Yam-store owners are hoping to
entice younger knitters with items
like novelty yam s - including those
that glitter or have fake fur - in addi­
tion to classics like cashmere and
Angora wool.
M an y d e s ig n e r s , in c lu d in g
D o n n a K a ra n a n d A d r ie n n e
V itta d in i, featu re brightly c o l­
ored y am s in p a tte rn s for c lo th ­
ing aim ed at y o u n g e r people, in­
c lu d in g c ro p p e d sw e a te rs and
knitted back p ack s.
“Color of Money” Host Writes How To Guide
Kelvin Boston learned o f a des
perate need for financial planning in
the black community the painful way
- by watching his client, a 37-year-
old widow, disregard his financial
advice, squander $350,000 in insur­
ance money and end up penniless.
“Before her husband’s passing,
she was used to living from paycheck
to paycheck. T hat’s what made her
comfortable,” said Boston, now one
o f the country’s most famous finan­
cial advisers. “At that moment, I knew
I had a new mission: to help my
clients understand and correct their
attitudes toward wealth.”
Boston, a Detroit resident and cre­
ator o f a syndicated TV show about
money matters, has spent two de­
cades encouraging blacks to invest in
stocks, mutual funds, real estate and
their own businesses.
His 5-year-old show, “The Color
o f Money,” reaches an estimated two
million viewers nationwide through
PBS and Black Entertainment Tele­
vision. He has written financial plans
for hundreds ofc lients. His new book,
“Smart Money Moves for African
Americans,” recently went on sale in
bookstores nationwide.
“Smart Money M oves” is a 300-
page how-to book that emphasizes
reducing debt and investing wisely.
In it, Boston urges black people to
build wealth and live “with financial
dignity.”
The black community, Boston
said, needs his advice. Just because
people have better jobs and more
education than their parents doesn’t
mean that their balance sheets are
sound.
“Businesses finally respect A fri­
can-American purchasing power, but
not oureconom ic clout,” Boston said
from his New Center office. “ We
have little net worth in banks, mutual
funds, real estate and businesses. As
A merica’s No. 1 minority, we have
the opportunity to put our financial
house in order.”
Boston’s own financial house —
or, more appropriately, his media em­
pire- is in tip-top shape. He’s chief
executive officer at Boston Media,
which publishes The Color of Money
Journal, a companion magazine for
the show. He also publishes Corporate
Detroit magazine, a monthly for local
entrepreneurs and executives.
Did he mention he’s also director
ofthe Detroit-based investment group
Calvert New Africa Mutual Fund?
“ I’m pretty busy,” Boston said with a
shrug. Boston says “Smart Money
M oves” is the first “holistic” book on
b'ack investment because it is the
only financial guide that incorpo­
rates cultural, political and religious
nuances. The target audience is any­
one who lives in a household making
$25,000 to $50,000 a year.
Boston, a quiet man who pals
around with New Age friends, de­
scribes him self as “more spiritual
than religious.” In his book, he tries
to dismantle the idea that blacks
should be content with poverty or
postpone prosperity until they reach
heaven.
“The majority o f African-Ameri­
can churchgoers were taught that
money was the root o f all evil and to
store their treasures up in heaven,
Boston said.
He points out that on average, a
white household owns $3,420 in stock
mutual funds, but a black household,
on average, owns $115 in these in­
vestments. And while the interest
income at white homes averages
$7,308 a year, black households av­
erage $872 annually.
The crux o f Boston’s wealth-build­
ing plan, he said, is confidence: Afri­
can Americans must believe they can
play the stock market and win. That
they can open businesses and profit.
That they can buy a home and watch
it appreciate.
“ We can all rattle o ff the names o f
10 or 20 white entrepreneurs, from
Bill Gates to Ted Turner, but many
o f us can’t name one black entrepre­
neur or millionaire,” Boston said.
“By not knowing who our financial
heroes are, we tell others that we
don’t have any.”
A Salvation Army official gives comfort to a little girl who tries on
a warm winter jacket during the annual “Coats for Kids“ event.
The annual program, which provided about 2,000 coats for needy
children, hopes to increase the number next year.
Jefferson High School Class O f 1956 is planning its 40 Year
Reunion. If you are a class member or know o f one's w here­
abouts, Please contact: Dale Hing, 644-7179 or Marlene
(Goebel) Iverson, 690-2037.
•'/itt/fi , rfntw rt/ieem en f
LaTasha Marie Harris
LaTasha Marie I (arris, the daughter o f Debra Van Valkenberg
ot Portland and Antonio I larris o f Vancouver, was bom New
Year s Day, Jan. 1, 1996 at Emanuel Hospital in Portland,
She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 and a-half
inches tall. Baby LaTasha has three brothers and sisters,
Antonio, Taneshia and Bridgette.
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