Yarn Winders share their skills
GROVE CITY — When Glorianne Tinkey's brother brought her yarn for her favorite hobby of knitting, she expected just a bag of it. But instead, she received a car trunk full of multi-colored threads.
Tinkey said after living here for 53 years, she wanted to give back to the town she loves. So she took the yarn to the Grace United Methodist Church, where she is a member of the outreach committee, and began a group called the Yarn Winders.
"We're just trying to do what we can to help everybody else," Tinkey said. "We knit baby sweaters for Methodist Relief, and we knit prayer shawls and they go to anyone who is grieving, ill or facing problems — anything that will give somebody comfort."
Tinkey's brother lives in Virginia where a textile mill regularly donates yarn to his church. Soon, the trunk full of yarn became a weekly truckload.
Every Thursday morning, the Yarn Winders gather at the Grace church gym, spread the yarn across the floor and wind it into small balls for knitters to take home. They donate the finished product to nursing homes and the Clothing Closet at the church.
Tinkey, who has been knitting since she was in high school, loves the fact that when she knits it's always for somebody else.
"A lot of people don't remember my name but they'll have my phone number and ask, 'Is this the yarn lady?'" she said. "It gets kind of funny after awhile."
The club has now been meeting for about three years and has about 10 volunteers every week. Tinkey said the club has allowed her to connect with other churchgoers and make lasting friendships.
"It's fun, it's fellowship and we've become closer friends, and met some other ladies that came from other churches to help roll," Tinkey said. "It has really become a very good fellowship."
Tinkey said the most rewarding aspect of the group is the feeling that comes with helping other people.
Her husband died three years ago, and she said she took comfort in knitting.
"Grove City is a great place to raise a family and I love it here," she said. "My husband was very active and entertained at nursing homes with a barbershop quartet and volunteered at the hospital, and we brought our boys up to give back."
A storage room near the gym at the church is packed with shelves lined with just about every color of yarn. It is brought into storage loosely rolled into large bails, and then spread across the gym floor into a straight line so it can be rolled into tiny balls for eager knitters to take home.
Dark maroon, bright green and pastel pink are just a few of the colors waiting to be transformed into hats, mittens or prayer shawls.
The rolled balls of yarn are packed into boxes, while other boxes hold a multitude of hats that have already been knit.
Joan Adams of Grove City has been helping out with the Yarn Winders since the beginning and is also a member of the church's outreach committee.
"I think it's a way of putting faith into action, and it keeps you warm during the winter," Adams said. "I have always done a lot of crafts and it's rewarding to see something made of strands of yarn in a finished product, and knowing it's going to be used by someone who really needs it."
Linda Burk of Grove City, who learned about the group through the church bulletin, said she feels good knowing the work is going to people who need it.
"I don't have anything else to do on Thursday because my young ones are in school," Burk said. "I just learned to knit this past winter and I have always crocheted, and it's something you can sit and do and when it's done, you can see the work."
Tinkey said she will keep the group going as long as the yarn keeps rolling in.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to give back and help other people; that's what life is all about," Tinkey said.
Anyone interested in becoming a Yarn Winder can join the volunteers every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Grace United Methodist Church gym, 210 S. Broad St.
