The Rev. Jennifer Fay Smith’s fingers work quickly, using an over-sized crochet hook and heavy yarn to make row after row of stitches on a what will become a cat blanket.
“I just learned to crochet,” Fay Smith said. “It’s a good way to practice because if the edges aren’t even, or if you make a mistake, the cats don’t really care.”
On Thursday, Fay Smith, of Winchester, and Gayle Bohl of Peterborough met at Bohl’s husband’s eyeglasses shop to hold their first session of “Freddie’s Friends Coffee and Crochet.” The group plan to work as a local chapter for the organization “Comfort for Critters,” which knit and crochet blankets to be donated to animal shelters or rescues.
The group is an outreach program of Fay Smith’s ministry, h-Ohm Healing Ministries, but is open to anyone who is interested.
The “Freddie” of the name is Fay Smith’s own recently rescued feline. Their first offering of about 10 cat-sized blankets will be going to Pet Tails Rescue in Northwood, where Fay Smith adopted Freddie in December.
She wasn’t on the lookout for a cat, Fay Smith said – she already had three dogs – but she saw Freddie in a Facebook post shared by the shelter.
“I just knew,” she said. “I guess it was love at first sight.”
While Pet Tails Rescue will be their first recipient, as a “thank you” for Freddie, Fay Smith said the group will spread the love around to any organization who’s willing to take their donations.
At the same time she adopted Freddie, Bohl was teaching Fay Smith to crochet. She started making lap blankets, most of which she gave away.
“I really liked that aspect,” she said. “Of making something for someone else.”
“It really is a craft of love,” Bohl said. “Yarn is expensive, and then there’s the amount of hours you put into it. It just feels good to make something when you know it’s going to do some good. And I’m much more motivated when I have a specific project to work on.”
When Bohl mentioned someone in a crafters group on Facebook she was part of Comfort for Critters, Fay Smith agreed it sounded like a great use of their crocheting skills.
The idea, Fay Smith explained, is to give cats a blanket of their own, which will move onto their forever home with them.
“It’s a stressful situation. They’re going from one situation to a shelter, to another home. This gives them something familiar,” she said.
The group will be meeting every other Thursday, to start, and adding an occasional Saturday for group members who are unable to meet during the week. The next session will be held on March 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the VizionZ office at 70 Hancock Road, located above the Pizza Peddler.
You do not have to bring supplies. Hooks and yarn will be provided. Bohl and Fay Smith will provide lessons for those who don’t know how to crochet.
The group is also accepting donations of hooks or yarn, or blankets made by people who are unable to attend the group in person.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.