Just as a sweater begins as a simple skein of yarn and grows into a complex garment, several women who started taking knitting lessons a few years ago have evolved into a tight-knit group.

They formed the Knit Wits and now make caps for newborn babies, as well as sweaters, hats and mittens for the needy.

They are friends who meet twice a month and swap yarn, patterns, laughs and the stories of their lives. They are kindred spirits who end each meeting with a prayer.

About 20 women meet at Gunpowder Baptist Church hall, in Freeland. The group is diverse. Novice knitters sit next to experts in a big circle.

Girls -- Samantha Laser, 11 and Kristin Stang, 12 -- accompanied their grandmothers and both work on simple scarves. The group's elders are in their 80s.

It all started in 2006 at Gunpowder Baptist Church when Conchita Whitaker came up to Pat Elligson after a service and admired her scarf. When she found out Elligson had made it, she asked if Elligson gave lessons.

Elligson, a knitter since the 1960s when she made hats and sweaters for her three sons, asked her friend and expert knitter, Judy Baseman, to help teach a class.

"We did about six or eight weeks of lessons and when they were done, nobody wanted them to end, so we just kept on meeting," said Elligson at a recent Knit Wits meeting.

"The joke is that I'm the one who asked about lessons and I'm the slowest knitter here," Whitaker said. "People like Judy have made so many things to give away. I think I've made two baby caps."

The Knit Wits just completed "Christmas in Kentucky." They filled 20 boxes with sweaters, hats, mittens and scarves for children living in Appalachia. Gunpowder Baptist Church members paid to ship the boxes.

Since 2007, the Knit Wits have sent 2,000 handmade items to Peru, Afghanistan and Tanzania. They've sent baby caps to Johns Hopkins Hospital, University of Maryland Medical Center and Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

Although some Knit Wits belong to Gunpowder Baptist Church, the group is open, without cost, to anyone who itches to pick up a crochet hook or knitting needles.

Joan Leatherwood, Edith Lutz and Pat Cranston come down from New Freedom, Pa., for the meetings.

"I don't like to knit when I come," said Cranston, who sat in between two knitters and watched their needles fly. "I just like to talk and watch what people are making. I'll go home with new ideas and work on them at home."

Joyce Moore, Catherine Benshoof and Mary Louise Smith live at the Courtyards Retirement Community in Shrewsbury, Pa. Benshoof started a Sister Knit Wits there for women unable to travel to Freeland. She shows up each month with a bagful of handmade items from the sister group.

Another Sister Knit Wits group meets in Perry Hall. It was formed by Gwyneth Lewis, whose mother, Dorothy Hughes, was in the Freeland group.

The original Knit Wits reached out to a younger generation last year when they were asked to teach a Girl Scout troop to knit so they could earn a badge.

"It almost caused me to have a nervous breakdown," laughed Elsbeth Kerr, who learned to knit when her mother made scarves for soldiers during World War II. "There were 20 Girl Scouts, and we had about a half-hour to teach them to cast-on, knit and cast-off."

The girls successfully made tiny shawls for their Barbie dolls.

Toward the end of each two-hour meeting, refreshments are served and Elligson does a reading or asks members to respond to a question.

At a recent meeting, she asked them to reflect on what Knit Wits meant to them.

A few mentioned the joy of learning to knit, but most women said they come back month after month because the people are friendly and they like knowing their handiwork is going to others with needs greater than their needs.

"I've grown to have a deep connection to you," said Carol Angelozzi, of Towson, to fellow members. "You carry me through my work."

The Knit Wits meet the first and third Saturday of each month. They take January and February off because of possible bad road conditions. But they will all be knitting at home, so the March meeting will overflow with items people have squirreled away during winter.

For more information, call Gunpowder Baptist Church at 410-343-1365.

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