THE BRIDGEWATER-SOMERVILLE CONNECTION PAGE 8 SEPT/OCT/NOV 2025 theconnectionsnj.com just calculated, and the number seems outrageous. 605 crochet caps! When did I make them? How many hours did it take to make each one? How much time and effort did I put into planning the colors and patterns, checking out YouTube videos, and finally completing each one? The 605 caps have been crocheted, stitch by stitch, over the course of seven and a half years, averaging 80 caps a year. That’s 1.5 caps per week. Each cap takes about 3.5 hours, totaling over 2000 hours of crocheting, or an average of 5.25 hours per week! That is a lot of effort, but if I were to tell you what I got in return, and continue to get, you would see that it far outweighs what I put in. Knit Crochet with Love was started by some friends in one of their basements about 9 years ago. I joined the group 7.5 years ago. What started small now has various chapters. They not only provide much-needed chemo caps, but they have created a giving community! These caps are needed by hospitals around the country. It makes what I do necessary and gives me a sense of purpose. Knowing the comfort it brings a cancer patient, however fleeting it may be, makes me more compassionate. Imagining a smile when a patient first puts on a cap-soft, snug, and crocheted with love-I feel valued. Teaching others how to crochet, I feel connected. Passing on this handicraft to the next generation gives me a sense of continuity. Over the years, I met and connected with some lovely, caring, strong women who bonded across age, race, language, and culture over the simple, age-old craft of knitting and crochet. The group includes women in all phases of life. There are older women, now grandmothers, who have wisdom earned over the years that they want to contribute to make a difference. There are mothers who suddenly find themselves with an empty nest after a long time of caring for and nurturing children. There are working women looking to relieve stress, retired women looking to fill their time, and single women looking for community. Others join just to use the skill they learned as little girls. Some come because they have lost loved ones to cancer, and it is their way of grieving and healing. Their hands move, creating caps to provide an envelope of comfort, trying to fill the hole only grief can create. Some are still dealing with cancer in the family. Some are battling cancer themselves, and others are survivors. All with different reasons but a common purpose. Stitch by stitch, I have been able to keep my anxiety at bay. Each knot soothes my racing mind. The rhythmic movement of my hands keeps the part of my brain that wants to outrun my thoughts harnessed. Stitch by each repetitive stitch, I have found calm and felt more grounded. Sometimes I contemplate this fleeting life, and other times I am just happy to keep my fidgety hands moving. I recall the women who taught me how to crochet with gratitude, and I am thankful to have found another community of women miles away from where I learned how to crochet. I feel a sense of accomplishment with every finished cap. Hands moving, repetitive, rhythmic, creating - providing a balm to troubles both known and unknown, soothing both the creator and the wearer. That’s the story of my 605 caps for KCWL. Since I started this piece and finally got around to finishing it, I am at 607 caps and going strong. If knitting/crochet is something you want to learn or already know and want to engage with a diverse giving community, reach out and join: Website: knitcrochetwithlove.org or Email: knitcrochetwithlove@gmail.com. MISSION IN MOTION Six Hundred and Five for Knit Crochet with Love (KCWL) By Natasha Adiga I
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