Unwinding in the Hayden Library after a long day of classes, The Young Granny Arts Club provides students with a space to craft and socialize. Members learn and teach different crafting styles, including crochet, knitting, making Rainbow Loom bracelets and more.
In its first semester, the club offers more than just a place to craft. It gives Sun Devils the opportunity to escape screens and pick up a lifelong, cozy hobby.
The idea for the club started over the summer when Nicki Lalime, a junior studying biomedical engineering, and a few of her friends wanted to create a relaxed space for students to craft. She now serves as president of the club and teaches new members.
"We have really busy schedules and we just wanted time to relax and have fun and learn different crafts," Lalime said. "I learned (crafting) in high school on my own using YouTube videos."
More experienced people help the newcomers out by first teaching them how to crochet. After learning the basics, students learn more complicated patterns and are taught more advanced skills such as knitting or embroidery.
"Typically it's whatever they're comfortable with but I don’t think (learning) really takes that long," Lalime said. "Probably like an hour."
Meetings are held every Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the C5 room at the Hayden Library, where the students share materials, tea and cookies with a background of relaxing music or a TV show.
"It's just nice to have a hobby, to do stuff that doesn't involve a screen," said Amitesh Bharati, a sophomore studying computer science. "It really does improve the quality of your life."
For others, the club is a place to relax, do homework and chat with friends who have shared interests. The space is not restricted to purely crafting but offers a place to wind down.
"There's times where I have too much homework so I just do my homework here, sure I'm not crafting but I'm still here," Bharati said. "It's just a very positive, very nice environment."
Ranging from fishtail Rainbow Loom bracelets to sweaters, member's projects can take anywhere from a few minutes to a year depending on their level of ambition.
"The first day I was trying to teach my friend how to knit and she was really having struggles but then she got used to it," said Skye Nachie, a freshman studying painting and drawing. "I think it's easy but it just depends on how much determination you have and impatience as well when creating a project or anything big."
The organization caters to people of all majors and invites students to step out of their comfort zones, whether by learning something new or teaching someone else.
"If you want to chat with people that have artistic abilities or even if you're not artistic or don't have creative abilities but you still want to step into that area, I would say it’s a great opportunity, as well as make more friends and then connect with people that are either learning or want to learn new things," Nachie said.
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Natalia Jarrett.
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Audrey is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in Spanish. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Blaze Radio.
