- December 13, 2025
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In 1964, 9-year-old Penny Robinson learned how to knit to earn a Girl Scout badge.
The first project she made was a grey mohair sweater, which she said was quite the project. But she received her badge, and moved on to other things.
After not knitting for 41 years, she picked it back up again 20 years ago. Now Robinson always has a project on hand, and especially when she meets her Fiber Friends.
Fiber Friends is a Lakewood Ranch Community Activities club that brings crafty people together to knit, crochet, sew and more. Robinson said she appreciates how all of the members have come from different walks of life and experiences, but they all come together to provide support and encouragement in the world of fiber arts.
Robinson has created a rhinoceros, hedgehog and a couple of different bears for her family members after being inspired by other members of the group who were doing the same.
She said people of all ages deal with a lot of anxiety and she finds crafting to be meditative.
“You're doing kind of a rhythm over and over and it's just so good for your mind,” Robinson said. “I know it's good as we get older to keep our minds sharp, but I look at the younger people and think they need it, too.”
Kennedy Tee is the youngest member of the group at 19 years old. She enjoys crocheting because it gives her creative freedom, while also working as a stress reliever.
She joined Fiber Friends after reading about the club on Nextdoor.
“We don't talk about just yarn,” Tee said. “I get life experiences from these women. They're always kind and I've never had a bad experience here.”
Linda Holden does a wide variety of crafts including crochet, cross stitch, jewelry making and scrapbooking. Holden began knitting at the age of 8, when she wanted more clothes for her Barbie. She said it caused frustration at first as she taught herself ... but it became a lifetime hobby.
“Be patient with yourself,” Holden said. “Be patient even if you make mistakes and you have to rip it out and start over. It's all learning — every time you make a mistake, you learn from it, so just keep knitting.”
Holden said she is not a “monogamous knitter” as she works on several projects at once. She enjoys working with alpaca yarn the most as it “knits up beautifully” and provides a lot of good insulation for clothing items like sweaters. She makes all of her Christmas gifts to send to her grandkids and she likes to tell them it is a “hug from grandma.”
“They say a day without knitting is like a day without sunshine,” Holden said. “You create something and you watch it come into fruition right at your fingertips as you're making it. I like that and I thank God every day for giving me the passion to create things.”
Kathie Close, the membership chair of Fiber Friends, crochets, sews and embroiders, but her favorite is knitting. She learned how to knit 50 years ago from her grandmother, Nana Ritter, and returned to consistently doing it over the last 10 years.
“I love to try new stitches and I love yarn,” Close said. “I love the feeling of the yarn going across my needles. It's relaxing and soothing, sometimes tough depending on the pattern. Thank goodness for YouTube.”
Close said a fun term she has learned from the group is “frogging.” Frogging occurs when you make a mistake and need to rip it out. They say “rip it, rip it” which sounds like “ribbit,” the sound a frog makes.
“You're going to have to learn and have patience,” Close said. “Start small, but have fun.”
While Fiber Friends has only been a club for six months, many of the members have been creating together for four years. Fiber Friends meets every Monday from 12-2 p.m. at Lakewood RanchTown Hall.
“There's a lot of teaching going on — people that come in with a problem and we help each other out,” Close said. “What's most exciting is to see when somebody's finished a project, and the pride and joy that we all have.”
