Meet the nimble-fingered ladies behind Knit and Chat
As we walk toward the Parish Hall of the Methodist Church down Hotel Road, Mount Lavinia, we hear the buzz of laughter and chatter one would expect from the educational institute on the other side of the road.
A tableful of intricate needlework. Pix by Amila Gamage
Inside sit a group of elderly ladies, sewing, and knitting, others inspecting long tables covered from end to end with needlework.
A similar picture will unfold in less than a week as the ladies from the group “Knit and Chat” put in the final stitches before their annual Sale “Handful of Tranquillity”.
“Knit and Chat” is one of the Church’s outreach programmes for its seniors. Constantly moving around the room is Sujatha Samarajiwa, the group’s livewire.
Interestingly enough, “I couldn’t even hold a needle,” she reveals laughing, remembering her schoolteachers who were aghast at her needlework.
It was only when she became a mother that Sujatha decided to take up a needle and thread once more. “I started sewing for my oldest son,” she explains, the need to stitch their clothes becoming a necessity during Sri Lanka’s period of nationalisation.
Pleased with the discovery of her newly acquired skill, Sujatha was soon sewing and crocheting gifts for others as well. The idea for Knit and Chat came to her when a friend asked her to teach her how to crotchet.
Sujatha Samarajiwa
Since the group’s inception over ten years ago, the church hall has evolved from a mere sewing class to a needlework club of sorts.
For Charlotte Wickramasinghe, a former teacher, the group is a sisterhood. “We all help each other,” she says, exchanging patterns, ideas and teaching each other to sew.
Neatly dressed in a saree and strand of pearls, Noeline Jayaratne smoothes out the soft crocheted blouses she has just finished before getting up to help another with a knitting spool.
Known as the group’s “big boss” Noeline has been a part of Knit and Chat since its beginning. For her and many other housewives “It’s a chance to keep their minds active and make something for themselves,” says Sujatha.
Sewing since she was seven, Noeline is incidentally one of the few who were trained in needlework before joining the group. The group’s newest member Sunimal Jayaratne, heard about the club from a friend and learnt to stitch only a month ago.
A former Assistant Registrar at the University of Colombo, she joined the group upon her retirement after hearing about it from her colleagues Asoka Premachandra and Indrani Saparamadu.
“I wait for Thursdays now,” says Asoka. For the ladies of Knit and Chat, their needlework even follows them home, with some of their husbands lending a hand as well.
When she wanted to start the club, Sujatha was expressing the often forgotten predicament of the retired. “People think that after a certain age you need to resign yourself to reading religious books or the Bible,” she says.
Programmes such as Knit and Chat however, shrug off such stereotypes. On the wall hangs a prettily crafted tea roster, and on cue someone brings in a tray laden with cups and saucers.
Over the clatter of china, a few voices discuss last year’s group trip to Galle and plan this year’s excursion.
Winter wear, personalized table linen and clothes are among a few of the creations on display. Every year finds the sale taking place in a different location, this year’s is in Moratuwa.
Held together with the Ceylon Bible Society, the sale will be a celebration of Elders’ Day, including the issuing of Elders Identity Cards, medical and dental checks and eye tests.
As they add the final touches and stitches to each piece of work, the faces around the room are a mixture of concentration and happiness. “At the end of the day, it gives us a lot of joy when someone buys our work,” sums up Sujatha.
Handful of Tranquillity will be held on Saturday, October 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Queen of Angels Church, Rawatawatte, Moratuwa. For further information contact the Ceylon Bible Society at 2565583.