Knitting a Community
Tight-Knit Friendships Form at Espace Tricot
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Lisa Fruscia and Melissa Clulow co-created Espace Tricot two summers ago, hoping to establish a knitting space that was both conducive to building a community and practicing the craft.
And cozy it is. Espace Tricot, located in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, feels more like a living room than a business. The bookshelves are filled with a rainbow of richly coloured wool, and in the centre a big leather couch sits surrounded by comfy chairs—making it hardly surprising to hear that the patrons feel at home there.
Priscilla Lefebure is a regular that has been coming to Espace Tricot since it opened. “I’ve been to a few knit shops and I’ve got some cold, serious vibes from there, but you come to [Espace Tricot] and you feel invited,” said Lefebure. “It’s very social. For me, it’s my only outing other than the odd family function.”
The sound of clicking needles and happy chatter fills the space. Regulars say they have profited from Espace Tricot by becoming better knitters and forming friendships.
Lucette Deschesnes—dubbed “speedy needles” by the others—said that coming to the knit nights and knit-alongs has allowed her to learn new techniques while discovering different styles of patterns. Sylvie Croteau, who is working on a lace project, said the store has absolutely everything she needs.
Sharing a space that encourages interaction and promotes a common interest has also allowed the women to all become very close friends. “What’s really nice is that at knit nights you’ll have the whole age range so you’ll have the older ladies speaking with the young ones,” said Clulow. “That’s a lot of exchange of humor and wisdom.”With their clientele ranging in age from 18 to 70, young and old come to mingle and de-stress. The store has even attracted a snowboarder who was looking for guidance in starting his own line of knitwear for riders but needed to learn how to start.
While knitting creates community, it is also very personal. Many people who come find the act of knitting helps to relieve stress and fulfill the desire to create.
Knitting entered Fruscia’s world as a result of having to drive her infant son around in the car to get him to sleep. On these trips she would always pass a knit shop that peaked her curiosity until she finally went in.
“I wanted to be creative,” Fruscia said. “I was always doing some creative endeavour, but I had done nothing since my son was born. So I took a class and I learned how.”
Clulow said she was attracted to knitting after she realized a need for more interaction in her daily life. Being new to Montreal, working from home and having a small child limited her ability to socialize, so attending a knitting group allowed her to get out while also creating something unique.
It was at a knit night that Clulow and Fruscia met and later began to stitch together plans for their own shop.
Clulow says that knitting gives her “total peace of mind. I had a very stressful job [and] didn’t expect the benefits that it gave to me fairly quickly. I realized that I was so much calmer and that it was sort of a meditative experience.
“I [now] start my day with it. I sit down for 10 or 15 minutes and just knit and [mentally] go over the stuff I had to do that day,” she said. “I found that it kept me really calm and really centered. I know when I’m not knitting enough the stress starts to rise.”
Espace Tricot is located at 6054 Monkland Ave. Check out their website to find out more about classes and events.
