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It's tactile, addictive, soothing and social.

It's a productive way to share, a way to deal with chronic pain or entertain oneself in a busy airport.

And it knows no gender, age or social boundaries, at least, according to the nine women knitting around a table in Mount Airy's town hall.

Every Tuesday night, as the town winds down for the evening outside, the volume ramps up in the basement of town hall as residents greet each other, carrying balls of yarn, projects and news of the past week.

"The Desperate Knitters" chat and count under their breath as slim sticks of wood and metal slip in and out of colorful threads, creating placemats, scarves, shawls and more.

There are eight to 12 people, but there is room for more said organizer, Dalia Schulman of Mount Airy. Schulman is the previous owner of Knittin' Chicks, a Mount Airy specialty store that closed the end of April after almost four years of business.

She said she knew with the closing of the store, there couldn't be a closing of the community that had gathered and grown there. The Desperate Knitters started about a month ago after town hall was offered as a meeting place.

"It's very addictive," Schulman said.

Patti Rosinski of Damascus stumbled upon the group accidentally. Getting her nails done in Mount Airy, she ran into Schulman, putting into place events that culminate with her sitting at the table Tuesday night, a berry colored cap in hand.

"I've been knitting for years and years," she said, saying that she wanted to learn new things, which motivated her to join the group.

Rosinski, who travels often for her job, said she takes the knitting needles often on planes for entertainment. She said she enjoys learning at the group and just simply spending time there.

"It's just relaxing, just to come here and chit-chat," she said.

Schulman agreed.

"We yuk it up and have a great time," she said, pointing out that there's not many places to get together, with the lack of a recreation center in the town. "Knitting's a very social thing … a great place for people to come and visit and meet people."

Judy Gaardsmoe of Lisbon said she recently started knitting, but loves it. "You get obsessed with it, it feels so good," she said.

Linda Jones, a Mount Airy resident, had two tiny yellow caps in a bag at her feet, preemie caps for area hospitals. She shows her "Care Wear" guidance book with information on who takes what: preemie caps, chemo caps and helmet liners for the troops.

Jones said the baby caps were easy, and she'd like to try more. Knitters around the table list adorable patterns they've seen: raspberry, blueberry, pumpkin and even ladybugs.

"You realize your mortality when you realize you don't have enough time to knit everything you want to," Schulman said, hands whirring at a mustard yellow baby blanket.

Some in the group have been involved in charity knitting, already knitting squares for a local church quilt, which assembles them to send to Africa.

A little can go a long way, said Schulman who said a lot of the knitters don't feel ready to take on big projects. "A hat goes quickly or a square goes quickly."

She said it's easy to do good things, even when busy. "You always have a project in your car… that's how busy people find time to knit," she said. "It's very portable."

E-mail Angie Cochrun at acochrun@gazette.net.