On a brisk winter evening on Monday, February 26th, a gathering of students sheltered from the cold inside of the Gender and Sexuality Center (located on the third floor of the campus center), taking part in an event titled a “Yarn and Sip.”
Run by Casey Desruisseaux ‘25, leader of the newly revived Craft Club, from 6:00-8:00, the Yarn and Sip served as a relaxing break from studying for midterms, as well as an oasis from all of the other hectic happenings that come with being a college student. Students who came to the Gender and Sexuality Center were treated to various drinks, ranging from juice boxes to coffee to tea and more, and then they enjoyed listening to relaxing music as they worked on different knitting projects together.
In an interview after the event, Desruisseaux was asked why they had decided to run a crafting event. They responded with the following statement: “We want the Craft Club to be a safe space for people to craft with friends and pick up new hobbies. It’s our goal to create a regularly occurring knitting and crocheting night for students to come together, relax, and learn how to craft.”
Indeed, Desruisseaux seems to be committed to building up the Craft Club and creating a stress-free environment for students of all different crafting abilities. They mentioned hoping that “as [they] continue into the semester, Craft Club can gain a larger following and introduce more people to the world of fiber art.”
Even though the event was advertised as one for knitting/crocheting, Desruisseaux also set up a table full of coloring supplies so that if students got overwhelmed or needed a break, they could have something low-effort and comforting to do in the meantime as they decided whether to go back to knitting or not. This careful consideration of different students’ needs shows exactly the safe environment that the Craft Club hopes to build.
Additionally, students from all skill levels were welcomed to come to the event. Some students seemed extremely familiar with the task of knitting and were working on complicated projects while others had never picked up knitting needles in their lives and were working on making their first stitches. In spite of this gap between skill levels, the atmosphere was light and easy-going. In fact, people more familiar with knitting ended up helping out those who were struggling, making the environment that much more collaborative.
Cleo Murphy ‘25 was one such student who had never really done too much knitting before coming to the event. When asked why she decided to go to the event at all in the first place, Murphy said: “I’ve done a little bit of knitting in the past, so I wanted to come try it out with my friends.”
This willingness to go to the event, however, doesn’t mean Murphy was without any concerns. “I wasn’t very good, though,” she continued, “so I was nervous to try it out again. I’m glad I did. People there helped me out and it felt nice because nobody was rushing me or being impatient. I felt totally welcomed,” she finished.
Craft Club’s debut event of this semester seemed to go off without a hitch. The turnout was good (with around 10-15 students showing up), people felt welcomed, and everybody seemed to agree that they were in a safe and relaxing environment – just as the club is aiming for.
Keep an eye out for future Craft Club events in the future! Who knows what new hobbies a person can pick up if only they are willing to take the first step to learning something new.