Have you ever wanted to manifest your creative ideas into a physical form? Welcome to needle arts! The Needle Arts club of Apopka High School has much to offer for students of all skill levels when it comes to knitting and crochet. The Blue & White has gotten to speak with Ms. Hamilton, the club’s sponsor, and the club’s president Nathan Mitchell, both of whom are longtime stitchers.

Ms. Hamilton, who has been “knitting forever, since I was a little girl,” is excited to host the Needle Arts club at Apopka High School. She’s knitted plenty of things, from Christmas stockings to baby sweaters. Ms. Hamilton wanted to start the club because “there’s a lot of kids who like this kind of stuff and it would be fun to be able to sit with them and do it.” Right now the club has about 30-40 members according to Ms. Hamilton. Who can join the Needle Arts club? Ms. Hamilton states, “Everybody is able to do anything they want. So some of the kids are coming in and they want to learn how to crochet,” meaning anyone is welcome!

Next in the spotlight is club president, Nathan Mitchell. Before he became president, he was already doing most of the work for the club, but Ms. Hamilton insisted that a vote should be held to see who the president should be. Nathan Mitchell, rightfully so, won that election. “I recommend the Needle Arts Club to anyone wanting to learn!” Nathan exclaimed when he was asked about who should join Needle Arts Club. Nathan goes on to describe the club as “a social/learning club.” From the looks of it, Nathan couldn’t have described it better. Nathan has been doing needle arts since middle school when one of his neighbors taught him, and it’s become his favorite hobby. He finds it relaxing, and finds pleasure in the sense of accomplishment he gets while admiring a finished product of his.

The club does lots of projects that they find exciting, like when teachers have a blanket that’s starting to unravel, they will work on fixing it for them. The more experienced stitchers get to teach the beginners how it’s done. If you are interested even a little bit, it’s highly recommended that you attend a meeting and fill out an interest form. Needle Arts club meets two Fridays out of each month. It will be a great patch to your schedule.