Thank you, Jon #knitinthepit

For the past two years, I have been attending "Knit in the Pit" in Asbury Park. Jon Giswold put this gathering together to bring people together. To create a community in our area where people can come knit, crochet, meet, relax and enjoy one night a month together. We met at The Asbury Hotel on once a the month from 6-8. We enjoyed a drink, laughs and amazing atmosphere. The man at the head of it all was Jon. A great spirit, full of energy. FULL of it! Always hugging and smiling. Making every person feel good. He would walk around the room and say hello to every single person. He made you feel welcome. Always! Jon was a big supporter of the Knitting Community and passionate about providing support to others and their organizations such as Hat Not Hate and SoapSACKS.

To explain more about how it all started, I found this interview with Jon.

Michael Cook: To kick it off, Knit In The Pit; it is truly a remarkable and amazing group and community you have built in Asbury Park and beyond; tell me about it.

Jon Giswold:  I have been a knitter since the age of 10 and have kept my craft at home. It always made me self conscious to knit in public. Over the past couple of years however, men have been coming out of hiding it seems or at least more visible to media outlets than before. Many of us found community in a local yarn shop or groups. I found that in the dead of winter, I was feeling isolated and truth be told a little lonely. I reached out the owner of The Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park, David Bowd to see if it would be okay to sit in the sunken living room at the hotel, where Tea Dance entertained men during the summer months, but was also a little quiet during January through April. David was more than generous and invited us in. It started with 4 gay men, friends of mine and 1 woman who saw on Instagram an open invite to join me for a knit together. Now, just over a year later we have surged into a CommuKNITTY with sometimes 100+ showing up at the Hotel for our monthly knit together. The IG page has over 750 followers and our closed FB page has almost 300 members. We knit together and knit for social causes such as HATNOTHATE (HATNOTHATE.org) and Soap Sacks as well as now going into the Boys & Girls Club of Asbury Park to teach kids to knit. It has become an event and a force for good – organically.

One of the best nights was when we brought Brady along. He loves to make things and was more than happy to hang with us. Jon made him feel so special. It was a night I will never forget. This is a picture of Louis (aka Brooklyn Boy Knits). What a fun night that was!

Sadly, we learned yesterday of Jon's sudden passing. Details are vague on what happened. But it seems it may have been a complication of his hip surgery last month and an infection or possible blood clot. He was in contact with people on Saturday. A friend was coming over to bring him ginger ale because he wasn't feeling well....20 minutes later she arrived and he was gone.

The knitting world has lost a very bright light! Life can change in an instant. I'm glad I got to meet Jon and attend these fun nights at Knit in the Pit! 

Thank you, Jon, for creating so many fun memories for us. Your spirit will go on I'm sure!