# Knitting in prison



## citymouse (May 17, 2014)

I thought my fellow KPers would enjoy reading how knitting is improving the mental attitude of even violent prisoners. https://www.good.is/articles/prisoners-transform-through-knitting-behind-bars?fb_ref=rightrail


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## kristym (Nov 21, 2011)

surprised they allow it as even on planes the needles are considered weapons


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## Cathie bargenda (May 30, 2015)

That is so cool. It's an awesome thing these gals are doing.


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## mossstitch (Nov 6, 2013)

I believe one can carry knitting needles and use them on airplanes .


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## SusieSch (Apr 28, 2013)

Awesome article. Very inspiring. 

Needles aren't considered weapons on planes. I've knit on hundreds of flights.


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## Oz knitter (Dec 19, 2016)

Such a good thing for the prisoners to learn. I hope it helps many of them. Well done ladies.Crochet would be good too.


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## gigi 722 (Oct 25, 2011)

Good for all involved in this project.


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## Cardelo (Jul 14, 2014)

kristym said:


> surprised they allow it as even on planes the needles are considered weapons


I was thinking the same thing. An awesome mission these ladies are doing, though. :sm24:


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## Rosesla (Mar 12, 2012)

Wonderful story,


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

I simply was astounded at that article as I worked in a prison over a decade before I retired as a nurse and NEVER would we have given an inmate knitting needles. We did not even permit standard toothbrushes as they can be whittled into a shank. We used a soft rubber style with a two inch handle grip. It may sound extreme but there is no end to the things prisoners do---in my state a nurse in the infirmary handed a pen to an inmate to sigh a consent form and he pierced her jugular vein with it and she died of blood loss before anyone realized she had been assaulted. An inmate can be the most charming person and yet you have to remember at all times that they are in prison for a very real reason. If they have a life sentence they have nothing to lose if they commit another crime. It sounds like a great idea but waving red flags popped up when I read that article.


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## messymissy (Oct 26, 2016)

Any craft is probably good. There was a shopping York selling items made by prisoners, doll houses and wooden items. So why not knitting and crochet.
It may depend on the type of prison, open prisons would probably allow it.


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## dogyarns (Oct 28, 2014)

Wonderfully positive article! Thanks.


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## Roxanness (Nov 18, 2012)

Wonderful story!


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## nannygoat (Jan 15, 2011)

I give these women so much credit for taking on this project.


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## wisjean (Nov 13, 2011)

In a prison near me, they knit hats and scarves for the homeless. They also have started training service dogs. It's a minimum security prison.


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## FiberQueen (Aug 23, 2012)

Thank you for the wonderful story!


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## kathycapp (Sep 22, 2014)

An inspiring article. Thanks for sharing.


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## MOm8 (Dec 11, 2012)

If you read the article they are in a pre release program and it is a class, so this is a great idea, it gives them something constructive to do and gives back to their communities. I applaud these volunteers and prisoners.


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## Rev.Oz (Sep 30, 2016)

Inspiring. thank you for sharing. Rev Oz


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

I suppose my point of view is somewhat jaded by personal experience, but I think many of you are wearing rose colored glasses. I saw an officer thrown over a two tier railing to a concrete floor 20 feet below and of prison personnel pushed down flights of stairs when an inmate was "innocently" walking behind them. Just this week two prison officers were killed on a routine bus transport in Florida.


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## curlyq (Apr 26, 2013)

I've read several articles about different jails and prisons doing this. I've not heard of anything bad happening. Quite the opposite. Wonderful!


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## bostondonna (May 6, 2015)

Your experience is unfortunate. In the article, the prisoners are on a pre release program. If this helps at least some of them reintegrate into society on release the program is a winner. Kudos to these people for not giving up.


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

bostondonna said:


> Your experience is unfortunate. In the article, the prisoners are on a pre release program. If this helps at least some of them reintegrate into society on release the program is a winner. Kudos to these people for not giving up.


I agree and I hope some find a new and better path in life. Recidivism rates are dismal though. There are various articles on that topic, but a current one says that of inmates under 24 years of age the rate of re-offending is 84% within fiveyears. If knitting can help reverse that awful number it will be fantastic.


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## Downsouth Knitter (Mar 31, 2014)

What a positive article, thank you so much for sharing. I agree that care needs to be taken when dealing with violent offenders but I think we do forget sometimes that they are people, someone's son or brother. I'm sure they are very careful in who they allow into the program. What a wonderful way to share a relaxing and creative craft!


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## PaKnitter (Mar 7, 2011)

sandyridge said:


> I suppose my point of view is somewhat jaded by personal experience, but I think many of you are wearing rose colored glasses. I saw an officer thrown over a two tier railing to a concrete floor 20 feet below and of prison personnel pushed down flights of stairs when an inmate was "innocently" walking behind them. Just this week two prison officers were killed on a routine bus transport in Florida.


It is unfair to judge all because of a few. Even here we have some nasties in the attic. Please don't judge all knitters because of them.


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## Lynnknits (Feb 15, 2016)

kristym said:


> surprised they allow it as even on planes the needles are considered weapons


 I was thinking the same thing until I read the article. Sounds like a great program and I am glad it is working (so far).


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## PaKnitter (Mar 7, 2011)

Lynnknits said:


> I was thinking the same thing until I read the article. Sounds like a great program and I am glad it is working (so far).


Well you know the saying, 'an idle person stands in the center of the devil's workshop.'


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## kdpa07734 (Nov 10, 2015)

Hubby always tried to give folks a second chance. His secretary was a ex-prisoner and had learned crochet in prison. She said it made a difference in her attitude and outlook.


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## run4fittness (May 22, 2011)

Back in my home state, Missouri, there is a prison in Pike County for women. The locals donate yarn and time to the prison so these women are able to knit. I do believe most is for charity, but all is good. The women have something good to do and all the yarn is donated. No cost to the prison.


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## PhoenixFire (Feb 26, 2014)

any time prisoners can be taught, they become better people. teaching them to train service animals? check! teaching them to read? check! teaching them to knit? check! 

i even saw footage of prisoners who learned michael jackson's thriller choreography. check!

some people are just plain evil, and there is no understanding them or helping them. but i think they are the rarest kind of criminal. the most usual type is the person who doesn't see any options. they steal or rob or sell drugs because they don't think they have any viable options.

just my opinion.

i am glad to see the knitting programs. i think the benefit of knitting and crochet is that "zen" zone. i don't know that animal training or english composition, etc., can get to the zen zone.


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## nvnannie (Sep 21, 2016)

Such an inspiring article. Hopefully, they will take this art form and transform their communities!! Wouldn't that be wonderful!!


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## bostondonna (May 6, 2015)

I've seen that footage of the dancing prisoners. I have heard they can only participate with good behavior and it is working to reduce behavior problems. I lived near a prison in TX years ago that had a work release program that taught auto painting at local dealerships and the prisoners raised all their own food in their gardens.


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## deexer (Sep 25, 2012)

Isn't knitting amazing.


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## Fidra (Nov 11, 2013)

Great article!


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## mdecalley (Aug 14, 2016)

citymouse said:


> I thought my fellow KPers would enjoy reading how knitting is improving the mental attitude of even violent prisoners. https://www.good.is/articles/prisoners-transform-through-knitting-behind-bars?fb_ref=rightrail


I volunteer (Catholic Chapel) at a Maximum Security prison - no, they would never allow it - can't even bring in a book
BUT - as this article says, it's a 'PRE RELEASE' program - the minimum security and "farm" or "pre release" are suppose to prepare them for re-entry to the outside (at least here) - so this would be very helpful -

would love to be a part of this


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## Woodstockgranny (Feb 6, 2013)

Great story.


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## jditlin (Mar 13, 2011)

This is awesome.


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## l7738 (Jan 29, 2017)

A coincidence to see this today; last night our local TV news program showed a former prison inmate who now makes blankets for the neo ward of a local children's hospital. He is a big, strong looking man who seems delighted to do this. A representative of the hospital said he makes 2 or 3 per week


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## knitbreak (Jul 19, 2011)

bostondonna said:


> Your experience is unfortunate. In the article, the prisoners are on a pre release program. If this helps at least some of them reintegrate into society on release the program is a winner. Kudos to these people for not giving up.


Ditto! These ladies saw an opportunity ,with knitting, to help others,prison or not.


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

I love the success stories and I am absolutely not against inmates. I just had ten years of dealing with them on a daily basis and I made supreme efforts to talk to them about changing their lives. It is just a sad fact that the majority do not and it is highly likely that they will re-offend. The saddest cases are the young ones. I was working in medical intake one day when I got in a 16 year old who had murdered his grandparents. He looked like a baby faced kid and I have three sons of my own so it was heartbreaking to even complete his paperwork as all I could think of was that he should be registering for high school. Hobbies might be great but I still feel that giving an inmate a potential weapon is a decision that may someday be regretted no matter how good the intentions. I had crayons on my unit and even at that I was only permitted to give them two at a time and I had to collect them at the end of my shift. Probably sounds extreme, but there are very valid reasons for prison rules that are probably hard to imagine unless you have seen the harsh realities of the inner life of a prison.


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## pattibe (Feb 2, 2012)

mossstitch said:


> I believe one can carry knitting needles and use them on airplanes .


Yes you can. I knit on planes all the time, both domestic and international. No one has ever stopped me....ever.


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## mamanacy (Dec 16, 2013)

I would say that times have changed, and with security cameras, guards, alarms, etc. there has to be an improvement over a decade ago.


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## Knitnutty (Feb 9, 2011)

We can't take needles on planes and they give criminals needles. What's wrong with this?? I wouldn't want to be sitting in jail next to one knitting or be a guard. We can't even take knitting needles to court if you are on jury duty. I sure would not have risked myself trying to teach them. That's just scary.


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## Anouchic (May 14, 2014)

What a wonderful thing those volunteers are doing. I like the picture of the young ones. They look like they are really enjoying knitting. Even if they don't knit for a living once they're out of prison, they will have acquired a nice hobby.


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## CarolA (Sep 4, 2013)

What an uplifting article. I imagine the prisoners are well screened before getting into this program. It only takes one bad inmate to ruin something like this.


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

That is the point I have been trying to make-it only takes one bad inmate to kill nurse or an officer. Two officers were killed just this week in Florida in a bus transport situation. I am not condemning all inmates but I can vouch that there is no predicting who is the one who might attack. They did not reach prison by being choir boys and many of very accomplished at conning people.


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## mamaw5 (Feb 12, 2012)

I work at a maximum security men's prison in Texas. We have a crafts program there. Beautiful things come out of there. There have been wood workers, metal workers, leather workers, saddle makers, sculptors, painters, etc. we also have vocational classes. Currently there is a cabinetry class. Prisoners have to meet certain criteria to be allowed to participate. Most of the crafters have had some experience in their craft on the outside although some began by working at the saddle shop or metal shop, etc. of Texas correctional industries, TCI. They're supplies are not supplied, they finance themselves by selling their goods. Items are ordered and prepaid, the project materials are ordered, then completed and delivered. 
I've long thought that knitting and crochet would be a good outlet for some who don't already have skill at some other craft. I could even see them taking an interest in spinning. I would be willing to teach them and feel sure I could get donations to begin. Community projects such as premie hats , lovies, hats scarves and blankets for the homeless to start. 
It would be a hard sell to the administration though. This article could help a lot. Thank you for bringing to my attention!


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## Knitnutty (Feb 9, 2011)

Dances with Wool said:


> You can take needles on planes within the USA. Most other countries also allow you to have them.


They took my needles twice so I won't try again. Even after a long discussion TSA took mine and a lady's behind me.


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## Knitnutty (Feb 9, 2011)

sandyridge said:


> That is the point I have been trying to make-it only takes one bad inmate to kill nurse or an officer. Two officers were killed just this week in Florida in a bus transport situation. I am not condemning all inmates but I can vouch that there is no predicting who is the one who might attack. They did not reach prison by being choir boys and many of very accomplished at conning people.


You can condem ALL inmates because they are all criminals not nice guys. I'm with you that they can NEVER be trusted and the employees that work with them must never let their guard down and must always expect them to attack. They are great at conning. They are in jail for a reason.


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## mdecalley (Aug 14, 2016)

pattibe said:


> Yes you can. I knit on planes all the time, both domestic and international. No one has ever stopped me....ever.


I had the opposite experience - called Alitalia to check (many years ago now) and was told fine - and it was going over - coming home, thank God I had put my "complete set" of interchangeables in my checked luggage - I had only the piece I was working on & it was picked up in the screening - tried to explain and was told NO, they don't go - you can take it back to check in luggage & try to find yours & put it in - I unscrewed the tips & gave them up - TSA is the boss and the individual agent is the one who determines & I have seen in writing since then, repeatedly - NOT ALLOWED

would suggest if you take needles, bring a stitch holder with you - for just in case - and be prepared to lose the needles - best to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best


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## riversong200 (Apr 20, 2014)

Great program!


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## mdecalley (Aug 14, 2016)

I believe we were flying home from Budapest, but maybe not (NOT London or France or Germany) - at any rate, there's no arguing with the inspectors, whatever they're called


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## spinninggill (Apr 9, 2011)

Very inspirational


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this article! What a wonderful, inspirational article it was. What a difference knitting has made in these guys' lives. Really, the article moved me to tears.

Hazel


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

PhoenixFire said:


> any time prisoners can be taught, they become better people. teaching them to train service animals? check! teaching them to read? check! teaching them to knit? check!
> 
> i even saw footage of prisoners who learned michael jackson's thriller choreography. check!
> 
> ...


Just a personal experience with the animal training program: Our dog Joe, a treeing Walker coonhound, alas now deceased, was trained by a prisoner in one of the local prison programs. Joe was an older dog who'd been in a shelter, and whom no one seemed to want. Joe lived with the prisoner, and the prisoner worked with him and trained him. Other prisoners lived with other dogs and trained them, as well. The prisoners bonded with the dogs and the dogs with the prisoners--and the prisoners worked with each other to devise strategies for training difficult-to-train dogs. Ever since the program has been going on, there have been waiting lists for these dogs.

I can only imagine how sad the prisoner was to say goodbye to Joe, but we're thrilled that he soon got another dog to train. Joe was the perfect dog, and we adored him. He looked like a beagle on stilts. He loved absolutely everybody and got along well with our cats. He was a treasure.

The prisoners also learned how to bathe and groom dogs. Joe came to us spanking clean; he was so shiny and smelled terrific. He was obviously a short-haired dog, so he didn't need any grooming. But long-haired dogs did, and the prisoners did an incredible job with them.

The program did wonders for dogs who'd been deemed unadoptable (because of age or temperament or special needs), and it did wonders for the prisoners. Many, when released from prison, went on to become dog groomers, dog trainers, veterinary assistants or went to college to get a degree in veterinary technology. The recidivism rate for these folks was very low.

Anyway, we miss Joe very much, and we are so thankful to the man who trained him and brought him into our lives.

Hazel


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## KnittyGritty800 (Apr 1, 2014)

What an inspiring thing these women are doing! I'm sure many of the men who participate are transformed for life.


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## ArdentKnitter (Jan 15, 2017)

I worked in a NYS maximum security prison and the prisoners who worked for me all knitted. Like any sharp object, knitting needles were signed out at the beginning of their recreation time and if any were not returned, the person/s they were signed out to would have been "written up" (three days locked in their cells) or sent to SHU--Special Housing Unit (solitary) and permanent loss of privileges to meet with the knitting group. The threat was enough. No needle count ever came back short.
I send them knitting books every Christmas...


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

ArdentKnitter said:


> I worked in a NYS maximum security prison and the prisoners who worked for me all knitted. Like any sharp object, knitting needles were signed out at the beginning of their recreation time and if any were not returned, the person/s they were signed out to would have been "written up" (three days locked in their cells) or sent to SHU--Special Housing Unit (solitary) and permanent loss of privileges to meet with the knitting group. The threat was enough. No needle count ever came back short.
> I send them knitting books every Christmas...


It is so kind of you to go on thinking of these prisoners and to send them knitting books every Christmas! What a lovely thing to do, and I'm sure these books are treasured.

When I was in law school (Indiana University-Bloomington), I spent time during my first two semesters volunteering as a law clerk for the Inmate Legal Assistance Clinic, which was run by the law school. We went to a maximum security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, once a week to talk with prisoners who had legal complaints. The prisoners were extremely polite and grateful for our help--and to be treated as "normal human beings," as one said to me--and were just about bowled over to have us come in, wearing our suits, and shaking hands with them, before we sat down and started taking notes. We sat in a rec room in comfortable chairs around a coffee table. There was always a guard in the room, but he remained off to the side, to protect prisoners' confidentiality.

It was a great experience for me, as a beginning law student, and the prisoners were thrilled that we listened, took them seriously, and provided help. (Since I was only a first-year student, I merely asked questions and took notes and did legal research back at the law school. I certainly didn't know Indiana law--or federal law-- well enough then to provide actual, on-the-spot answers.)

Hazel


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## Queen Wisteria (Dec 23, 2016)

A former quilt guide I belonged to donates quilting/sewing/knitting/crochet/toy/doll patterns, and supplies to the Prison Ministries. Dog and cat food and potato chip sacks, gum and candy wrappers which are woven into purses, tote bags, etc. are collected. Once a van load is accumulated the social worker picks it up so there is no expense to the guide. 
The prisoners are on their honor. They do not wish to do anything to jeopardize their time with the instructor/class time. The prisoners are not allowed to take their projects back to their cells. All their work is in the presence of their instructor. They are on their honor to behave.
None of the items can be sold by the prisoners. They are donated to gifts shops in national parks and non-profit organizations, etc. The items are very high in quality and workmanship. The stuffed toys and doll furniture they make are outstanding. 
Check it out in your travels.


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## Willie's Mom (Jul 12, 2016)

they do not keep the needles- rhey can only knit in class. there are very, very strict rules about who may participate.
i'm certain the knitting relaxes them.
if Martha can teach femaile inmates, why not males?


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## Willie's Mom (Jul 12, 2016)

thank you for a much better explanation than i tried to give


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## ArdentKnitter (Jan 15, 2017)

I'm glad you had that experience, Hazel. It changes one.
A long time ago, Bob Dylan said in an interview that if someone wanted to know what was wrong with any society, one had only to talk with its prisoners and the people it left homeless. I never forgot that.
I had a staff of seventeen male offenders--including a schizophrenic triple murderer from Cattaraugus County, a three-strike C-felony confidence man, several drug-related murderers and a former Wall Street att'y who liked little boys in the wrong way. My first day on the job they all wanted to tell me what they were 'in for' and I told them I didn't want to know. I didn't want to look at them differently. So long as they did the job I asked them to do I would consider them 'square with the house'. I stuck to that and in the time I was there, I never 'wrote a ticket' (automatic confinement to cell for three days) on any of them nor on any offender who used my facility.
We talked about knitting, sports, Greek philosophy, interior decorating, politics, Broadway musicals, advances in science, crime novels; we told jokes and riddles, discussed what was in the newspaper and there was always respect between us. The only thing I insisted on was that they take their twice-weekly showers as a group so they could protect each other from the sexual predators in the general population. These men earned a maximum of 27-cents/hr working for me when some of them could have made $12-$13/hr working in the factory but they turned it down.
The day I left, I shook hands with each man (physical contact was strictly forbidden between staff and offenders) and I told them I wanted them to do their utmost to be safe inside, and to get out and stay out. And I told them would carry each of them with me for a long time. I still do. We all cried but it was in the best of ways. 
Not everyone's experience in a prison is the same but if you go in with your best self and are ruthlessly fair in treating THEM as you'd want to be treated if YOU were incarcerated, the outcome can be astounding. One should never underestimate the importance of supporting someone in discovering they still have dignity.


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## KateLyn11 (Jul 19, 2014)

Worked in two medium security prisons in Washington State. Selected prisoners worked in the kitchen with MANY sharp tools. Inmates in general population were permitted short pencils in their cells. Photo of knitting needles shown in the article were circulars, no significant difference in length than the pencils the inmates were permitted. I agree that you needed to be situationally aware at all times but these men were going to be "on the streets" in a realatively short time. Learning a skill that helps people relax before they are faced with the pressures of "outside" seems like a good idea to me.


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## Revan (Jun 29, 2011)

Awesome story, thanks for sharing!


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## Willie's Mom (Jul 12, 2016)

thank you "ardent knitter".
you raise much to think about.


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

ArdentKnitter said:


> I'm glad you had that experience, Hazel. It changes one.
> A long time ago, Bob Dylan said in an interview that if someone wanted to know what was wrong with any society, one had only to talk with its prisoners and the people it left homeless. I never forgot that.
> I had a staff of seventeen male offenders--including a schizophrenic triple murderer from Cattaraugus County, a three-strike C-felony confidence man, several drug-related murderers and a former Wall Street att'y who liked little boys in the wrong way. My first day on the job they all wanted to tell me what they were 'in for' and I told them I didn't want to know. I didn't want to look at them differently. So long as they did the job I asked them to do I would consider them 'square with the house'. I stuck to that and in the time I was there, I never 'wrote a ticket' (automatic confinement to cell for three days) on any of them nor on any offender who used my facility.
> We talked about knitting, sports, Greek philosophy, interior decorating, politics, Broadway musicals, advances in science, crime novels; we told jokes and riddles, discussed what was in the newspaper and there was always respect between us. The only thing I insisted on was that they take their twice-weekly showers as a group so they could protect each other from the sexual predators in the general population. These men earned a maximum of 27-cents/hr working for me when some of them could have made $12-$13/hr working in the factory but they turned it down.
> ...


ArdentKnitter, what you've written is absolutely beautiful: not just your subject, but your way of writing, as well. Thank you for telling us about your experiences.

Yes, going into a maximum-security prison does indeed change one. Clerking at the one in Terre Haute, Indiana, changed all of us who did so. Prisoners became, not a term or an abstraction, but an actuality.

These were real people. These were people who admitted, "Ma'am, I've done a lot of bad things, so I thank you for taking my legal complaint seriously." These were people who, there but for the grace of I don't know what, I could have been or become myself.

Not everyone who goes to prison has done what he or she has been accused of doing. Justice, such as it is, often fails. (Yes, there are incompetent attorneys and inexperienced attorneys and overworked attorneys who do not supply the best legal counsel that they could. Far too often, those who have money and/or power win, although they should not.) Thank goodness there is DNA evidence now. How many prisoners have been released after decades in jail, because it was found, through subjecting objects to DNA technology, that they were not guilty? And how many prisoners, no matter what they have done in the past, are trying very hard to better themselves through education and training? And once a prisoner has acquired privileges, through hard work and staying out of trouble, he or she does not want to lose them.

ArdentKnitter, I am going to copy and print out your post, because it is so true and so achingly beautiful. Thank you.

Hazel


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## Edwin Hannay (Feb 20, 2016)

I enjoyed that article, as I was involved in Prison work one and half days per week where I had 6 knitting machines our prison was a cat 'C' and the prisoners were risk assessed our prison had a lot of workshops for various skills and I was in the Arts and craft workshops. all the work was done for the prisoners charity helping those with accommodation and work on release. they worked on the machines during the week whilst I was not there, I was there under the wings of the chaplaincy team and we had many prisoners queing up to join the team when ever a vacancy occurred. The fact that I was able to sit with individuals and give them my attention was a tremendous help to them. We often had big strong and tatooed men come to have a look at what the men were doing and all said they wished they could do it as well. The men usually knitted a jumper for a family member and we sent it to there home when completed. As you can imagine when the men told their families what they were doing they usually fell over laughing and would not believe them. We had one young man knit a 'Tiny Teddie' to take to bed with him. but that was stolen and ended up going all over the prison as it was passed from cell to cell, even the governor was amused by it.
Just my ranting off, our prison has now closed down.


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## ArdentKnitter (Jan 15, 2017)

Hazel--Thank you for the kinds words, they mean a lot.
From my initial orientation before taking up my duties, it was forced on me that these were not men but something close to animals and I was never to trust them. In the year prior to my working there, a woman who worked in the kitchen had been raped and nearly murdered, so I was the only civilian (non-guard) woman these 1,700 men saw nearly every day.
I took in everything the instructors said but inside I knew I could be an element of change, even small change. This was a testing ground of what I believed at my core--that every person has inviolable dignity--and I had to live it or face that I was a sham. And believe me, these men are sharp about ferreting out people who are fake.
If you have patience for one more story: one day the school's English teacher had an emergency and asked if I could teach her afternoon class. It was a simple lesson of reading an article from the newspaper and then standing in front of the class and speaking for two minutes and answering questions about what they had read. She told me to expect push-back and that I was to write up a ticket on any offender who refused to do the two-minute speech. (Under NYS Corrections law, no offender can refuse an order of someone in authority over them--it's an automatic write-up, even from the Librarian.)
Many of these men read below the fifth-grade level but they already had a buddy-system established for helping each other out with the things they needed to read. Several of them, however, refused to speak in public, even IF I wrote a ticket on them. I dug in my heels (nicely), told them they WOULD do it and I would NOT write anyone up. After a bit of back-and-forth, one man asked why they had to do this stupid thing and that gave me my opening.
I asked how many men in the class expected to get out one day. All hands went up. How many expected to return to families and communities? All hands went up. Then I told them, "So, you go home and you restart your lives. Maybe something happens in your community, something you don't like or have strong feelings about--change in traffic patterns, building a garbage-burning energy plant two blocks away, loss of bus service--something. You want to go to the local meetings and have your say. To be heard and listened to requires you to know WHAT you are talking about--facts, not just feelings. That's why you need to read the newspaper and understand what you're reading. And being able to organise your thoughts so you can make your case and persuade others--that begins here, today, with this exercise." Every one of them followed through. It wasn't eloquent or very informative but they did it. They faced a fear and took a step into a slightly-larger world.
It still comes down to seeing others, no matter how degraded, as having worth and dignity. Once these men had a reason and not just an order, once they saw something in terms of their future and not just their ugly present, they could imagine themselves differently. I was so very proud of them, still am. And the tiny incident humbled me for it showed me how much properly-wielded influence can accomplish. I tried to work from the base of quiet, moral/ethical power rather than from the hard-edged force the guards had to use to maintain order and safety. In so many ways, these discarded, incarcerated men have been my most-valued teachers.
Had I another lifetime of work before me, I'd consider penology.
Thanks for your patience, Hazel, in reading. I hope your career in law holds some of the quality of what these men gave me so unwittingly and so generously.
Regards,
Ardith


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

ArdentKnitter said:


> Hazel--Thank you for the kinds words, they mean a lot.
> From my initial orientation before taking up my duties, it was forced on me that these were not men but something close to animals and I was never to trust them. In the year prior to my working there, a woman who worked in the kitchen had been raped and nearly murdered, so I was the only civilian (non-guard) woman these 1,700 men saw nearly every day.
> I took in everything the instructors said but inside I knew I could be an element of change, even small change. This was a testing ground of what I believed at my core--that every person has inviolable dignity--and I had to live it or face that I was a sham. And believe me, these men are sharp about ferreting out people who are fake.
> If you have patience for one more story: one day the school's English teacher had an emergency and asked if I could teach her afternoon class. It was a simple lesson of reading an article from the newspaper and then standing in front of the class and speaking for two minutes and answering questions about what they had read. She told me to expect push-back and that I was to write up a ticket on any offender who refused to do the two-minute speech. (Under NYS Corrections law, no offender can refuse an order of someone in authority over them--it's an automatic write-up, even from the Librarian.)
> ...


Ardith, I continue to be awed by your experiences and by your eloquence. Have you written up your experiences and sought to have them published? If not, I really think you should. I think your work and your words would make an enormous difference in many people's lives.

Warmly,
Hazel


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## CarolA (Sep 4, 2013)

Hazel Blumberg - McKee said:


> Ardith, I continue to be awed by your experiences and by your eloquence. Have you written up your experiences and sought to have them published? If not, I really think you should. I think your work and your words would make an enormous difference in many people's lives.
> 
> Warmly,
> Hazel


I would like to second that idea, Hazel! For many of us who have no experience with jails or prisons and their inmates, a book written by someone who knows, would be of much interest and quite educational!
I have learned quite a bit just by reading this post and all the comments everyone else has added. 
Thanks again for sharing this article about knitting in prison. It's always good to learn something new that is encouraging.


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## RP1019 (May 23, 2014)

My daughter volunteered for several years in a facility for women. They have a group called "Committed Knitters", just went in and sat with the women, helped the newbies get started, and had a knitting group. It was good for all. Needles were checked out with the knitting when the inmates came into the room and checked back in when they left. She found it very rewarding, and so did the inmates.


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## headlemk (Feb 16, 2011)

Our church has a prayer shawl knitting group called "Yarn for YHWH" and we have a group of men who are incarcerated at the state penitentiary who crochet the most beautiful items for us. We made contact with them because one of our ladies has a son who is there and he is one of the men who make things for us. They send them to us, we sell the items (unless we give it to someone who is in need of prayer and comfort) and deposit the money back into their accounts so that they can buy more yarn. They have one source allowed for ordering yarn. They have branched out into knitting stuffed toys like snowmen decorated in team colors. Some football team mascots and soon we expect to see knitted superheroes. When we sell these items they basically fly off the shelf. We're happy to be able to be a resource for these men. We don't know their circumstances, but we pray for them and hope that some day they will be able to be back out in society and know that they have a marketable skill to fall on.


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## just4brown (Jul 21, 2014)

There are different security prisons. Not all prisoners in jail are felons.


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

headlemk said:


> Our church has a prayer shawl knitting group called "Yarn for YHWH" and we have a group of men who are incarcerated at the state penitentiary who crochet the most beautiful items for us. We made contact with them because one of our ladies has a son who is there and he is one of the men who make things for us. They send them to us, we sell the items (unless we give it to someone who is in need of prayer and comfort) and deposit the money back into their accounts so that they can buy more yarn. They have one source allowed for ordering yarn. They have branched out into knitting stuffed toys like snowmen decorated in team colors. Some football team mascots and soon we expect to see knitted superheroes. When we sell these items they basically fly off the shelf. We're happy to be able to be a resource for these men. We don't know their circumstances, but we pray for them and hope that some day they will be able to be back out in society and know that they have a marketable skill to fall on.


What a beautiful posting! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. If you ever get a chance, please take some photos and post them here. Would love to see what the men are working on--especially when they get to the superheroes!

Hazel


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

RP1019 said:


> My daughter volunteered for several years in a facility for women. They have a group called "Committed Knitters", just went in and sat with the women, helped the newbies get started, and had a knitting group. It was good for all. Needles were checked out with the knitting when the inmates came into the room and checked back in when they left. She found it very rewarding, and so did the inmates.


Thank you, too, for sharing this with us. Just beautiful! Your daughter sounds terrific.

Hazel


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## sandyridge (Nov 15, 2014)

just4brown said:


> There are different security prisons. Not all prisoners in jail are felons.


It is true that there are different levels of incarceration, but if a person is housed in a penitentiary they are classed as felons. A sentence of under a year may be housed in a county jail, but people are never assigned to a prison for a misdemeanor. Some states also run a more lenient system than others. I was appalled at last year's case in New York where the escapees had access to tools, cooking hamburgers, and no search of incoming and outgoing employees. The prison I worked in required a metal detector walk through and shoe removal, clear container lunch kits with a search of contents and random body pat downs. Never would there be cell phones or cameras carried into a prison by an employee, inmate, or visitor or even the warden Some of the comments posted are heartwarming and compassionate and I understand the feelings of empathy, but I also have a vivid picture in my head of a correctional officer stuffed into a shower cage with no face remaining as it was literally beaten and kicked off, an officer who had his eye gouged out with an inmate's thumb---no weapon but his hand. I have feelings for others, including inmates, but they are in prison for a serious reason and remember they left behind their victims and the families who are dealing with their loss for heinous crimes.


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

sandyridge said:


> It is true that there are different levels of incarceration, but if a person is housed in a penitentiary they are classed as felons. A sentence of under a year may be housed in a county jail, but people are never assigned to a prison for a misdemeanor. Some states also run a more lenient system than others. I was appalled at last year's case in New York where the escapees had access to tools, cooking hamburgers, and no search of incoming and outgoing employees. The prison I worked in required a metal detector walk through and shoe removal, clear container lunch kits with a search of contents and random body pat downs. Never would there be cell phones or cameras carried into a prison by an employee, inmate, or visitor or even the warden Some of the comments posted are heartwarming and compassionate and I understand the feelings of empathy, but I also have a vivid picture in my head of a correctional officer stuffed into a shower cage with no face remaining as it was literally beaten and kicked off, an officer who had his eye gouged out with an inmate's thumb---no weapon but his hand. I have feelings for others, including inmates, but they are in prison for a serious reason and remember they left behind their victims and the families who are dealing with their loss for heinous crimes.


I think the quotation "Not all prisoners in jails are felons" might mean that there are people in prison who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. That seems to happen frequently in Florida, where I live. Many prisoners have been released from prison after years, even decades, of imprisonment because of DNA evidence, which may not have been available when they were first on trial.

And of course I realize that there are violent people in prison. I am sadly reminded that my county, in far northern Florida, has, for the third year in a row, had the highest crime rate in the state. And there are, alas, plenty of extremely violent people walking around among us, such as the man who shot Senator Scalise and others at baseball practice. Or who shoot school children. Or who go into movie theaters and malls and universities and shoot people.

Hazel


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## ArdentKnitter (Jan 15, 2017)

Hazel is right, there are angry, violent people among us, yet we never question why our culture does so little to curb anger as is commonly done in so many countries.
From a young age it is possible to teach children to manage their anger and just as importantly, teach them that anger is socially unacceptable behaviour. Much of that is the example the parents set by their own behaviour --evincing the respect and consideration they show others or the judgment, contempt and one-up-manship we hear given out as being 'humourous'. WE are our culture's teachers--in our families, in our places of worship, in our workplaces and in the common places where we encounter strangers. Fifty years ago someone who used the filthy language we hear everywhere today would have been taken aside and had it explained why this was unacceptable. Now it proliferates. It coarsens our everyday exchanges and can pollute how we see others. Why is this, how did this, become tolerable? 
In places we consider 'barbaric', someone who displays anger is sequestered in a hut at the edge of the community--their food and necessaries brought to them--until they are ready to return to the society. In Japan, a public display of anger results in social ostracism and will have consequences for one's education, one's job, one's family connections unless it is corrected. Sometimes it requires a visit to a priest for the source of the anger to be removed through counselling.
We indulge this behaviour in our culture and that causes it to flourish, whether it's anger forced on a small child by a parent who belittles and/or batters as a means of venting their own anger or it's acting out by a child who learns that bullying and abusing others makes her/him feel important.
It sickens me. I've seen where it leads. I've seen the ancillary damage done to families and to people's futures because they have no self-restraint, no discipline over their appetites. A people who silently acquiesces that this is okay is setting fire the home they have to live in.


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## RP1019 (May 23, 2014)

Hazel Blumberg - McKee said:


> Thank you, too, for sharing this with us. Just beautiful! Your daughter sounds terrific.
> 
> Hazel


She is. And a great self-taught knitter!


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## RP1019 (May 23, 2014)

Hazel Blumberg - McKee said:


> I think the quotation "Not all prisoners in jails are felons" might mean that there are people in prison who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. That seems to happen frequently in Florida, where I live. Many prisoners have been released from prison after years, even decades, of imprisonment because of DNA evidence, which may not have been available when they were first on trial.
> 
> And of course I realize that there are violent people in prison. I am sadly reminded that my county, in far northern Florida, has, for the third year in a row, had the highest crime rate in the state. And there are, alas, plenty of extremely violent people walking around among us, such as the man who shot Senator Scalise and others at baseball practice. Or who shoot school children. Or who go into movie theaters and malls and universities and shoot people.
> 
> Hazel


I'm no expert, but what I have been reading tells me that there are many people in prison for the felony of drug possession or drug use who were not convicted of violent acts. I would think that the prisons "vet" those who are invited to the knitting classes.


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

RP1019 said:


> I'm no expert, but what I have been reading tells me that there are many people in prison for the felony of drug possession or drug use who were not convicted of violent acts. I would think that the prisons "vet" those who are invited to the knitting classes.


From what I have read, our prisons are overcrowded, and one of the reasons is because people are being jailed for minor drug offenses. Also, from what I have read, US Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions wants to clamp down even more on those who commit any drug offense, no matter how minor. This will certainly be a boon for the privatized prison industry; I wonder how many financial ties he might have to it.

US AG Sessions also wants to stop even states that have approved medical marijuana from being allowed to do so. I know a number of people who are suffering from intractable pain and for whom no meds work, who are getting relief from medical (or, if they're not allowed to have that, non-medical) marijuana. Those suffering from cancer and who are undergoing chemotherapy often endure extreme nausea and vomiting and therefore cannot eat or cannot gain any benefit from what they're attempting to eat. They use marijuana, which, I have read, helps with the nausea.

All that the cracking-down is going to do is make people use local drug dealers' services.

I have severe TMD pain. My dentist sent me to an oral surgeon, who found no problems with my joints, thank goodness. Therefore, there is nothing he, as a surgeon, can do for me. I have followed all my dentists' suggestions for help to the letter, and yet I am still woken up in the night with excruciating pain, which ibuprofen and muscle relaxers (the dentist and the oral surgeon have prescribed muscle relaxers for me) do not begin to touch. I may well be turning to medical marijuana. Supposedly my state approved it, but I think they're still dickering about who may sell it, and how many such sellers there are allowed to be. Medical marijuana makes no money for Big Pharma, and my guess is that many of my state's legislators receive a lot of money from BP. So, if I can't find anything to help me, I too will have to seek help from some local drug dealer.

Feeling cynical,
Hazel


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## kippyfure (Apr 9, 2011)

This is so inspiring.


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## headlemk (Feb 16, 2011)

Hazel Blumberg - McKee said:


> What a beautiful posting! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. If you ever get a chance, please take some photos and post them here. Would love to see what the men are working on--especially when they get to the superheroes!
> 
> Hazel


I bought this snowman with Auburn University colors and logo for my husband.


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## Nancy F (Nov 13, 2016)

headlemk said:


> I bought this snowman with Auburn University colors and logo for my husband.


 :sm24:


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## Hazel Blumberg - McKee (Sep 9, 2011)

The snowman is adorable and a product of hard work and humor! Love it!

Hazel


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