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Puppies & pearls

Knitting club students create blankets for homeless pets

Tuesday, January 18, 2005 ~ Daily Press

Story by SUSAN D. LAWSON

Photos by JIM QUIGG/Daily Press Staff

Kenny McGrath, left, and Kent Ricotta, students at the Lewis Center for Educational Research, are learning how to knit blankets for homeless pets.

It was knit one for kitties and pearl two for puppies as students worked to fashion hand-knitted blankets for homeless pets.

About a dozen high school students of the Academy for Academic Excellence at the Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley have been honing their knitting skills by spending their free time producing blankets to be given to homeless animals at PAL Humane Society.

Gathering once a week for a half-hour, the knitting club students were hoping to make scarves, but teacher Patty Rifkin started them off with the blankets as a learning tool.

"The (animals) don't care if you drop a stitch or leave a hole," said Rifkin. "The animals will appreciate it."

Once they've finished practicing on blankets, the students are eager to move on to other hand-knit projects.

"I want to make ski masks," said 10th grader Kent Ricotta.

"I want to make beanies," chimed in fellow sophomore Kenny McGrath. "And slippers ... 'cause I can't find slippers in size 14."

Both Kent and Kenny are two of several boys in the club, but neither feels knitting is too girlie an activity.

"No way," said Ricotta. "I can crochet, too."

Used with permission by Daily Press, Freedom Communication, 2005