EAST BAY - Kim Conterio has been an avid knitter since she was eight years old. She knit through high school and college. She knit on the commuter rail, in the park, or wherever it suited her. Every time she took out her knitting, she was faced with awkward stares and horrified looks.

"People looked at me like I had five heads, just because I brought knitting with me and I was young," she recalls.

Times have changed. Ms. Conterio, now 28, has opened a yarn store of her own called Bella Yarns, located on Main Street in Warren. Since doing so, she has learned that she is not alone. A pastime that once made her seem an outcast is now in everyone's hands. Knitting has become the new trend, and all of a sudden, the crazy stares are gone.

"There are so many more people knitting now. I'm not the only young person doing it. People don't stare anymore," she says. "I see people who have been knitting for decades and those who are just learning. It seems everywhere I turn I see someone knitting. I love it!"

Denise Cirillo of Warren.

The popularity of the age-old pastime has soared in recent years, and even clebrities like Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz have recognized its theraputic benefits. Sometimes, just being able to sit down and escape the chaos of life and create something is the most soothing thing in the world. Another advantage to knitting is that you can have one-of-a-kind handmade clothing and accessories all year long. There are so many different things that are being knit. Mostly, Ms. Conterio gets requests for novelty yarns.

"There must have been a baby boom, because baby blankets are selling like crazy. There have also been tons of requests for baby hats and booties," she says. The most popular styles being knit right now are ponchos and shawls. "People get surprised at what they can do.They'd be intimidated at first, but after a third or fourth scarf, people become interested in different things." Knitting is not just for scarves anymore. "You can knit tank tops, socks, tee-shirts, sweaters, anything."

There is a common allegory that knitting is for the winter and that's it. Not true, Ms. Conterio says. "There are so many great summer yarns, and they have such simple care instructions." Most cottons are machine washable. "And it's so much cheaper to get cotton than wool or alpaca (a specialty yarn from a llama)," she adds.

More than knitting

Bella Yarns in Warren is not just your typical yarn store. It's also home to "Open Knit Night," where people come to knit, talk, and learn. Thursday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. the shop is filled with knitters of all ages. The crowd varies from night to night. The winter season is a more popular one for knitting, with at least 12 people a night showing up with their projects in hand.

"Ever since I opened the shop, we've had an open knit night. It's a real passion of mine and I just love all the people that come out and knit." Ms. Conterio says. "There's this constantly revolving group. Some come all year, then sparsely come in the summer because their kids are out of school, or they have different obligations as the year goes on."

Open Knit Night is a great way for knitters to meet different people and just relax and unwind away from the demands and stresses of their daily lives. Most people come with projects, while some just come to check it out. The whole premise of knit night is entirely word of mouth. The ages, level of skill and years experience vary from knitter to knitter.

"Friends come and chat with each other. Hardly any of the talk revolves around knitting, besides a question here or there. They help each other, and I help where I can," Ms. Conterio says with a smile. "When you see people on a weekly basis, sit down with people for two hours, you really get to know one another. One person comes and likes it, so they bring friends. It's great."

Ms. Conterio sees projects in many different stages. "Some come with old scrap yarn or a project they haven't touched in years. Others come for one night to learn or because they're stuck on a project and just need a little help. Still others come just to hang out and knit."

Denise Cirillo is one such knitter and was introduced to Bella Yarns by a friend. She has been a regular on knit night since her first experience there a year ago.

"I've been knitting on and off since my late teens, just as something to do," she says. "I'm usually a bit intimidated by a small place with some experienced knitter behind the counter. But I went to Bella Yarns before they were open and Kim waved me right in." They talked for a little while and soon after Denise made her first appearance at Open Knit Night.

Once intimidated, she's since knit a sweater, shawl, felted pocketbook, socks and numerous baby blankets. Her main goal now? "I am determined to knit a pair of socks on my own." She's knit several pairs of socks with help. "I've had a million questions for Kim, but now, I'm almost done with my first pair of socks all by myself."

Ms. Cirillo is a teacher assistant in Warren. She brings her knitting with her wherever she goes. "It's always in the car," she explains. "We recently took a trip. I knit the whole ride up and the whole ride back."

Ms. Cirillo has more than one reason for coming to open knit night. She loves the variety in projects there. "I have to see it done. I can't really picture something finished. I'm able to see different projects and choose by seeing the final product."

She also goes for the relaxation and socializing. "We talk about everything but knitting for two hours," she delightfully added. "Kids, pets, whatever. It's just fun."

Ms. Cirillo has even brought friends from work to Open Knit Night. "It's so funny, we talk about knitting at work and then go to open knit night and talk about everything but." During a hectic week, she uses the group to wind down. "My husband will remind me what day it is and that I have knit night."

Mostly, she appreciates the time as her own. "Knitting is fun, something to do for yourself, but I just love knit night because it's a night out for yourself." Ms. Cirillo originally learned to knit from her mom's friend. "She taught me knit- purl. Years later, I was ready to learn again and Kim helped me out."

A Pied Piper of sorts

Pam Thacker knows just how relaxing knitting is. She's new to knitting, having only picked up the hobby two years ago. However, unlike the ladies at Open Knit Night, Pam is more a teacher than a student.

"A few years ago, we noticed lots of people wearing these funky scarves. I asked my friend Cheryl, an avid knitter, to make me one." Cheryl had a better idea. "She told me she would teach me how to knit instead."

Ms. Thacker learned how to knit. She's a sixth grade teacher, and soon had students asking her about her stylish new scarves. Pam spoke with her fellow teachers, and soon had a knitting group full of her own colleagues. She began inviting students after school, to knit or learn how to knit.

"The project was mostly designed for the students to have a place to come after school," she says. "We wanted to let them know that knitting, talking and having a friendly environment was a good thing."

The group soon discovered a sister program. Prise is a federally funded program designed to keep kids active and involved after school. Teachers provide different projects for the students to work on and they meet throughout the year. Topics vary from researching a solar car or quilting to puppet making or playwriting. Ms. Thacker and her fellow teachers (Cheryl Comley, Mamie McMahon, and Barbara Burns) approached the Prise teachers and soon became part of the Prise program.

"There are these bunches of kids who otherwise didn't know each other, getting together and talking," she explains. The program did more than just create some great winter wear. "Each of the students wrote a poem about their experience when they were done. They were all filled with this extraordinary sense of pride and friendship." Pam is very pleased with the result of the knitting group. "There's this excellent by-product of positive self esteem and these new circles of friends. It's more than just knitting."

The students ultimately felt better about themselves because they were able to not only create something to wear or give as a gift, but they were also able to have a new hobby that helped them feel better about themselves.

"We had students come to us until the last day of school and ask us to get a scarf started so that they could show their friends how to knit outside of school." Ms. Thacker's favorite part of starting the knitting club? "After all the students were started and knew what they were doing, we teachers could sit back and enjoy ourselves as well."

Addicted to the Art

"I was never really looking for new friends when I started knitting. I kind of just wanted to go and learn. But we all just clicked, and now I go every class." Kelly Lively lives in Rehoboth and has been a basic knitter since she was a child. "My mom taught me, and I've always loved it." Ms. Lively started going to Open Knit Night soon after it began. "Kim was so nice. She didn't make me feel inferior or stupid for asking questions."

She began as a basic knitter, and is now one of the more advanced knitters. "I knit pocketbooks, hats, sweaters, socks, tee-shirts, and baby socks for baby showers." Kelly enjoys the variety in her knitting. "I love color work, adding different colors as you knit. I also love felting."

Felting is the process of knitting with wool, then washing it in order to shrink it and create a "felt" of stitches. Ms. Lively laughs, "All the newer washing machines are too delicate to felt, so whenever someone in the group wants something felted, they give it to me to wash in my machine."

Though Ms. Lively wasn't looking for a new group of friends when she first came to Open Knit Night, but that's exactly what she got.

"We all immediately clicked. We had things in common besides knitting," she says, pleasantly surprised when she began to form a kinship with her fellow knitters. Now they go on trips together. "Last fall we went to Lake Winnipesauke for a girl's weekend. This fall we're going to a wool festival in southern New Hampshire." How will six ardent knitters spend a weekend at a Wool Festival, one might wonder. "We'll look at wool, go back to the bed and breakfast, knit, drink wine, eat chocolate, and just have a great time."

The majority of Ms. Lively's knitting is for herself. "I'm a selfish knitter, I'll admit it." She likes to give her knit gifts to people who will appreciate the craftsmanship, time and effort that goes into one piece. "I'm selective about giving knitting as a gift. I like to give it to someone who will understand how much work goes into it.My mom is a knitter, so I mostly buy her yarn."

After stumbling upon the yarn store two tears ago, Ms. Lively has become more of a knitter than ever. She is a physical therapist and owns two horses and three big dogs. She participates in competitive show jumping, but knitting is slowly moving up her list of favorite things to do. "My husband always says, 'If you could ride a horse and knit at the same time, you'd be in heaven.'"

The group at Bella Yarns ranges in age from 27 to 60. "There's this great cycle of people that I see all year," says Ms. Conterio. "I always loved to knit, even when it wasn't the most popular thing to be doing.Since more people want to do it, my job is so fulfilling. I get to learn about people and teach about knitting." Ms. Conterio is most excited about the entire community.

"I feel so connected to this community. They want to knit different things. Trends and styles change. Difficulty levels grow. I'm most proud of the fact that this is constantly growing."

Want to learn to knit?

Knitting is becoming an increasingly popular pastime for people of all ages. If you are interested in learning to knit, or just want some more information on where to go in the area, stop by Bella Yarns on Main Street in Warren.

Classes are held Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. The cost of the four-week class is $5o, not including materials, which can be purchased at a 15% discount. Open Knit Nights are held Thursday evenings during the summer from 6 to 8 p.m. Regular store hours for the summer are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Knitting Facts

* 1 out of 3 women knows how to knit or crochet. The number of women who do these crafts increased from 34.7 million in 1994 to 38 million in 2000.

* 2 out of 3 yarn consumers say that relaxation is the number one reason they knit

* Younger women are picking up the craft. Since 1998, there has been a 400% increase in the number of women under 35 years old who crochet and knit

* Knitters and crocheters in other age groups have also increased since 1998: From 35-44 years: 13% From 45-54 years: 18% From 55-64 years: 10%

– www.interweave.com

By Diana Perla