Meet Sun City West Mac-Cro-Knit librarian Linda Flathau

How long have you been a member of Mac-Cro-Knit?

I have been a member of the club for about six years. I was encouraged to join by a previous president and it has renewed my interest of yarn and creating with yarn. I was born and raised in Northfield, Illinois, a small town near Lake Michigan where I lived during the summers. Winters, however, could be brutal with snow, wind and wind chills so many days were spent indoors. My mother was skilled at many things:  needlepoint, knitting, cross-stitch and crossword puzzles. She tried to teach me to knit, but she was left handed and I am right handed so I never learned that from her. I do remember making latch hook rugs.

Do you crochet, knit, or loom knit? What do you enjoy making?

I can now knit, crochet and create on a loom. Our club participates in charity work for the hospital so I enjoy making smaller projects like baby hats and  booties. I learned to crochet while in nursing school, in between watching “General Hospital” in the afternoons and “Medical Center” at night.

How long have you been the club librarian?

Our current club president announced that the library position would be open as the past librarian was leaving the club so I volunteered to take on the position about nine months ago. The library has great resources, but I could see at a glance that it needed to be down-sized, thinned, cleaned, organized and straightened just a bit as the shelves were packed very tightly.

What do you enjoy most about the position?

I have always liked the library and my thoughts are that no matter where you live, if your town has a good cafe, an ice cream parlor, a church and a library, that’s all you need. When I was a young girl, I possessed all the Nancy Drew mystery books. I would start to read, got into the story and could not put the book down. That is the joy of reading! You can travel the world in a simple book. That trip to Paris may never happen, but you can see and learn about the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre Art Museum or how to make a beignet (delicious French pastry). I own a Nook and do enjoy reading from it, but it is not the same as a real book that you can touch, feel and smell.

How has the library changed since you’ve become the Librarian?

My hope was that the changes I made to the library would make it easier for people to find what they are looking for or just peruse through the books and patterns to get inspired by all the lovely creations.

What types of materials are available to the club?

The club offers crochet, knitting and loom books with patterns; many “how to” books (learn crochet, knit step by step); single patterns to check out; club patterns specific for our charity work, like baby hats, booties, chemo caps, chemo capes, small lap blankets etc; some instruction on macrame and tatting. The library contains about 200-300 patterns, books, and pamphlets. It is fun to create something just for yourself, too. The club receives yarn donations and they are placed in bins by color. If you are working on a charity project, the club yarn is free for you to use; there are also supplies available to purchase: knitting needles, crochet hooks etc.

Are there any unique or vintage resources in the collection?

The library does contain some vintage patterns/books: several books on macrame, some interest in tatting and some copy-writes from 1970. It is fun to look at things from “the good old days”.

Mac-Cro-Knit meets 8-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Kuentz Recreation Center Pueblo Room #3. New members of all skill levels are always welcome. Contact club president Connie Ottemann at 402-499-1681 for more information.