BROWN DEER – At a card table with women knitting and chatting, one blurted out to the group: “I’ve got a thing for yarn, what can I tell ya?”
Four women from a local synagogue sat at the table in the Bradley Crossing foyer area, with two of its residents. Bradley Crossing is a supportive housing community operated by Jewish Family Services of Milwaukee.
“We’re the regulars,” said Ellen Goldstein, one of the four members present from Marge’s Mitzvah Knitters, a project of Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid.
“We actually shmooze with some of the residents here and knit …. We just spend time. We spend about an hour a month here.”
The ladies make mostly scarves and hats, to be delivered to people in need, including donations through Sojourner Family Peace Center, Pathfinders Milwaukee, Kids Matter, Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee, and the Jewish Community Pantry.
Marge Kulakow, obm, is the namesake of Marge’s Mitzvah Knitters. Marjorie “Marge” Kulakow died Nov. 15, 2021, at the age of 94.
Kulakow coordinated the knitting group before it was named for her, starting back when she was at a predecessor shul to today’s CBINT, Goldstein said. “When she was nearing the end of her life, she asked me to take over, and so mostly it’s me and Sarie (Shainock). And then we decided to call it Marge’s Mitzvah Knitters, since everything we do, we donate, and you know what? We feel good too.”
The Social Action Committee at CBINT provides the group with some funding. The women at the card table, at Bradley Crossing, laughed about how hard it was to avoid going over budget at the fabric store JOANN. “We had a limit, and we just shopped ’til we dropped, and we said tell us when we hit our limit,” said one of the women.
But in all seriousness, the Social Action Committee is happy to help with this knitting for good, paired with a social experience for congregants and residents, said committee chairperson Donald Bass. Bradley Crossing, 4375 W. Bradley Road, Brown Deer, seeks to help low- to moderate-income families, including those with disabilities or mental illness, live safe, independent lives.
In addition to Goldstein and Shainock, others from Marge’s Mitzvah Knitters who were present during a June 9 visit were Linda Behrman and Marla Frydman.
Stand back: there was a scarf versus hat debate.
“I don’t make scarves. I only make hats,” Frydman said.
“I like scarves. I don’t like hats,” Goldstein said.
Frydman explained, holding up a partially knitted hat: “For me it’s immediate gratification. This will take me a week, while that will take me way longer,” she said, referring to Goldstein’s scarf-in-progress.
But there’s a solution. Frydman makes a hat, while Goldstein makes a scarf, and they’ll make the two coordinate.
Goldstein added: “It’s just for fun.”
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