Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Knitting, gossip sessions the place for a good yarn

By Frances Morton
Bay of Plenty Times·
10 Jul, 2005 10:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


Tennille Guerra-Ortiz is a knitting addict.
If the fashion retailer had her way she would be permanently attached to her needles.
"There are just not enough hours in the day" she bemoaned. "Can you imagine if we didn't have to sleep? We'd get so much done."
Now the 27-year-old has set up a
support group for people who share her craving for knitting.
On the first Thursday of every month, she and other young professional women gather at Queen B in Tauranga's Piccadilly Arcade for "Stitch 'n Bitch" sessions.
The women share their knitting knowledge while sitting around gossiping, hence the name Stitch 'n Bitch.
Perched on chairs with glasses of bubbly drink in the middle of Mrs Guerra-Ortiz's small clothing and accessory boutique, they knit one, goss one, purl one, sip one and repeat while R&B; tracks by artists such as Destiny's Child emanate from the stereo.
Mrs Guerra-Ortiz's fingers fly as she stitches her own designer creations but she is also happy to assist beginners who are tackling the art form.
Group member Lou Gribble took up knitting after she wandered into the shop one day and was swept up by Mrs Guerra-Ortiz's enthusiasm for the craft.
The 28-year-old from Otumoetai had vague memories of being taught by her grandmother "years ago" but few skills shone through on her first attempt.
"It was a dog's breakfast," recalled Mrs Guerra-Ortiz with a laugh.
However, Ms Gribble survived and she proudly arrived at her second knitting session declaring "Yeah, I can knit".
She pored over the latest knitting magazines and library books brought along by another keen knitter, drooling over the colourful possibilities and planning her next project - a poncho for her unborn baby.
"I've got poncho fever," she announced unashamedly.
"Luckily there are books of patterns available for people who have that disease," Mrs Guerra-Ortiz replied comfortingly.
The range of potential creations is infinite - jewellery, bags, homewares, earwarmers, pregnant tummy sashes, doggie wear and, of course, jerseys, although most beginners start on the trusty, straight-forward scarf.
Stitch 'n Bitch was started in Chicago by Debbie Stoller, who wrote the 1999 book Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook about her experiences of knitting as a young woman.
Fans of the book started the first Stitch 'n Bitch groups in the US.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

Teen's sudden cancer diagnosis puts close-knit family on 'rollercoaster ride'

06 Jul 06:00 PM

Tepora, 14, is fighting acute myeloid leukaemia at Starship kids' hospital in Auckland.

Premium
Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM
'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP