Nine 20- to 60-somethings gather in a cozy corner at a local coffee shop. Stitching socks, sweaters and scarves, the diverse group begins discussing President Bush's recent speech at a U.S. Army base.
"I had to change the channel," one member says, rolling her eyes.
"He didn't even say anything new!" another member says, momentarily stopping two knitting needles perched in her hands.
It isn't your typical image of grandma's local knitting guild. But Salt Lake's own Stitch 'n' Bitch group sees plenty of women — and the occasional token male — come to their weekly Tuesday gatherings to knit and, well, have conversation.
"We have stay-at-home moms, working women, gay women, African-American women," said group creator Laurie Oberg Hadden. "It's pretty diverse."
But Hadden says the name has a lot more bark than bite to it. While the group's Web site says it's for feminist liberals, conversation topics usually revolve around knitting.
"We're colored by general perceptions, which are certainly left-leaning," she said. "It's not all politics or feminist issues. If someone is willing to come to a group called Stitch 'n' Bitch that meets in a coffee shop, they are going to be fine with us."
And, she says, SnB groups have been around since the '40s. "This is like an old-fashioned name. It's not like a modern vulgarity."
The group is one of hundreds of SnB groups that have formed nationally and internationally after an infamous knitting book was released in 2003, "Stitch 'n' Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook." Wanting to form a group of knitters with common interests, Hadden started the Salt Lake group, and only recorded Utah group, in January 2004. Although she started the group by sending roughly 20 invites, the group's Web site has more than 155 members. About 10 people come to the Tuesday night gatherings at the Sugar House Jitterbug Coffee Hop at 1855 S. 700 East in the summer and up to 30 in the winter.
After so many SnB groups began popping up, author Debbie Stoller wrote a second book about knitting, "Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation." The book included a blurb and pictures about the Salt Lake group. The new book refers knitters to a Web site, stitchnbitch.org, where a list of all SnB groups are posted.
But unlike other SnB groups, which ask newbies to stay away, the Salt Lake group invites people of all skill levels. Some regulars have been knitting for decades while others learned to knit through the group.
"It's quite a proficient group," said member Margene Smith, Murray, and a knitter for 30 years. "It's a wide variety. And the nice thing about this group is the diversity of age."
Although Smith and a few other members are part of other knitting groups, Smith says the SnB group is a favorite because "it's more like girlfriends sitting around." During the informal gatherings, members catch up on families, work, vacations and, of course, the latest knitting projects and patterns.
"We talk about everything," she said. "But we did kind of chase away all the conservatives."
Different from their mothers and grandmothers' knitting groups, who used notice boards and phone trees to find about meetings, these women use the Internet. Many of the women have blogs where they post daily journal entries and share pictures of their latest projects.
"It has exploded into a huge scene," Smith said. "You attract people from all over the world who go to your blog. There are so many knitters on the Internet it just kind of sucks you in."
Kimberly Petersen, Logan, bought the first SnB book because she thought the name was funny and checked the Web to see if there was a group in Utah. Through the book and Salt Lake gatherings, Peterson learned how to knit and has been knitting for a year and a half.
"It's different from other knitting groups because others are more conservative, more quiet and nobody blogs," she said.
Knitting has been enjoying a popular resurgence in recent years, partly in thanks to Stoller's SnB books and a celebrity following. Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts and even Madonna have all boasted their appetite for knitting.
"I really thought it would be a couple of years and it would be over," Smith said of the trend. "But it still seems to be growing in leaps and bounds."
Group member Miriam Felton, Logan, said her sister taught her to knit nine years ago when knitting had an uncool, granny image.
"I was always weird," she said. "No one ever asked me to teach them. I was the only 14-year-old knitting."
But now, Felton has taught numerous knitting classes and said the hobby is becoming increasingly popular, attracting a younger generation. Trendy patterns are also emerging. Cell phone covers (Cricket's Technicolor Techno-Clasp), swimsuits (Wonder Woman Bikini), hooded sweaters (The Manly Sweater and Skully) and stockings (Pippi Knee Stockings) have made the knitting passion — some say addiction — cool in public.
The group and others speculate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks brought back the activity. That's when Hadden picked it up again.
"I think a lot of people were looking for soothing, home-based activities and wanted to cocoon a bit," she said.
For more information on the group, visit groups.yahoo.com/group/stitchnbitchslc. Salt Lake's SnB group meets every Tuesday from 7-9 at the Jitterbug Coffee Hop.
"It's a lifeline in so many ways because there are just great people," Hadden said of the group. "I hate to miss it."
E-mail: astowell@desnews.com