Humans of McMaster: Valencia Gomes and Mahimah Reancy

C/O: ProcrastiKnitters Exec Team

By: Esther Liu, Contributor

What inspired you to found the Procrastiknitters?

Valencia Gomes: We wanted to create a community at Mac for knitting and crocheting to bring people together. Knitting and crocheting is a skill but you can get a lot out of it: you can make things related to characters you like or just things you're interested in. So we're hoping even though our club is just knitting and crocheting, it would help people to meet others who have similar interests. We also want to meet people who have this interest and we knew already that there are a lot of students who were interested or already did knit or crochet. So we knew it was something that would work. It isn't just me facing two other people! This club needs to happen. So, who else to do it then both of us?

Valencia Gomes pictured here. C/O ProcrastiKnitters Exec Team.

We also want to meet people who have this interest and we knew already that there are a lot of students who were interested or already did knit or crochet. So we knew it was something that would work. It isn't just me facing two other people! This club needs to happen. So, who else to do it then both of us?

Mahimah Reancy: We also want to donate items, to give back to the community through things that we actually make. So I think that the members can feel accomplished from this hobby that they just started to actually help other people in different ways. We both went to high school together and joined this knitting and crocheting club. We would knit blankets and hats for homeless shelters in Toronto and give them out during the coldest days of winter. So we thought it was kind of weird that we haven't seen something similar at McMaster. There hasn't really been a knitting or crocheting club at all.

How are you finding running the club online?

Reancy: I think it got a lot harder because of COVID. We originally had so many plans at the beginning of March, but then everything's online, making it all a level harder. So far, there are minor difficulties that we're overcoming but everything is still running smoothly.

I think it got a lot harder because of COVID. We originally had so many plans at the beginning of March, but then everything's online, making it all a level harder. So far, there are minor difficulties that we're overcoming but everything is still running smoothly.

Mahimah Reancy pictured here. C/O ProcrastiKnitters Exec Team.

Gomes: I think as we're teaching people a skill, it's really hard to do over Zoom. When we're using the needles, you have to show people what you're doing and when people need help they need to show you what they're doing. That has definitely been the hardest part. Like a week ago, we had our first instructing event where we showed beginners how to knit and crochet. It actually went pretty well but I was expecting the worst, because how do you show someone how to do something so hands-on through a camera? Nobody's a professional YouTuber so no one had a camera to show all the different sides and angles. So in that sense, it was hard to get over that. But our instructors were really great and they adapted and found ways to overcome those barriers by showing their work through the camera. 

What are you hoping members will get walking away from this experience?

Reancy: We want them to be able to knit and crochet and be able to express themselves through something that makes them happy to do. I mean, there are so many possibilities with knitting and crocheting.

Gomes: We hope that this is a step into the knitting and crocheting world. Since we do have a lot of beginners, we're hoping that this will be the push they need to get into it and learn the basic skills so they can continue and make their own projects. We've actually had like a couple of people message us on Instagram and send us pictures of what they're making. There are people in the comments saying that they didn't realize the time passing, that they just had a midterm or have been studying all day and that it's so relaxing. That is definitely one of the points of having this type of club in a school atmosphere – it's to relieve people from their stress of school and like whatever other stress we may have by knitting and crocheting. So, I hope at the end of the year they can find that knitting and crocheting can help them destress or cope.