By Katie Munday | Fashion Editor

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A clacking of knitting needles may soon be heard echoing through the halls of the Advanced Learning Center. On Aug. 23, a new club will have its first meeting, introducing many new students to the art of knitting.

Senior Caroline Wadley, cofounder of the club, decided to start the club after learning to knit from her mom last year. Wadley said she found it so calming that she wanted to share it with her peers.

“It became a huge stress reliever for me, especially through the hardness of junior year, and so I wanted to start a knitting club in order to spread that coping skill to other students, and just as a fun hobby,” Wadley said.

Viki Zinyemba, senior and cofounder, and Wadley approached Mrs. Fowler, a ceramics teacher at AHS, to be the teacher sponsor. Fowler has been knitting since high school, and has been selling her work for almost a decade.

“We weren’t sure who to get to sponsor the club, so we asked around if any teachers were interested, and someone mentioned Mrs. Fowler,” Zinyemba said. “We’re fortunate that she seemed as excited as us to move forward.”

Fowler said she was initially a little hesitant to sponsor the club, worrying about the time she wouldn’t be able to spend with her son, Eli.

“[Caroline] was very energetic and excited about it, and I’m always excited to share my talents, so once I knew that she was pretty organized and would do a good job to help me with it, I was really excited about it,” Fowler said.

Zinyemba said that knitting is a helpful and relaxing pastime, and enjoys knitting scarves and blankets to use during the winter.

“Once you get used to a pattern, it’s easy to let your hands work while the rest of your mind wanders, so it’s a very relaxing activity. It’s a nice way to calm down after a long day,” Zinyemba said.

The club will mainly focus on learning to knit during the first semester, and will focus on a specific project after returning from winter break.

“[We are] going to be knitting hats for hopefully the NICU at one of the children’s hospitals, so it’s really nice to be able to use one of my talents to give back to the community,” Fowler said.

According to Wadley, knitting is a social activity, and she is most looking forward to knitting alongside her friends throughout this year.