Knitting

On Saturday mornings in Fells Point, when few have walked their dogs, parking is still plentiful, and proprietors sweep the sidewalks in front of their shops, Lorraine Gaudet readies two dozen folding chairs and puts on pots of coffee and tea. On balmy days, women begin arriving before 10 a.m. for the "stitch and bitch" session at her Aliceanna Street shop, A Good Yarn. They grab a chair and arrange themselves in groups beneath a tree on the sidewalk in front, their coffee on tables and yarns flowing from big brown bags at their feet.

At Andersen-Becker Inc., nothing is simple. Long evening coats are adorned with gold fabric along the cuffs and pockets, ostrich feathers dress up necklines and cuffs, shirts are made from a collage of fabrics and artsy ornaments sewn together. "Everything we do is decorated, everything we do has an artistic component," said Lee Andersen, one of the company's founders. Andersen, 44, and her partner, Joan Becker, 60, own Andersen-Becker, a company that designs and manufactures Lee Andersen artwear - a line of clothing with hand-designed art on it - and sells the clothing wholesale to specialty stores around the country.

The Tiber Hudson Stream Team, which conducted five cleanup sessions Saturday mornings along the Tiber Hudson River and its banks in Ellicott City's historic district, has reported removing 2,819 pounds of trash from the river in the course of its fall project. Volunteers from Howard Community College and other adults participated in the project, which was sponsored by Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway Inc. in partnership with the Howard County Tourism Office, Ellicott City Restoration Foundation, community residents and business owners, who helped pay for supplies.

Yingling-Ridgely Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7472, a nonprofit service organization, will hold an Easter Egg Hunt and Party from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. April 1 at the post, 4225 VFW Lane (off Old Columbia Pike and Autumn Hill Drive), in Ellicott City. Children to age 10 are invited. Admission is free. Information: 410-465-4240. Centennial to present `Oklahoma!' in April Centennial High School will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 musical, Oklahoma! at 7:30 p.m. April 18, 19, 20 and 21 and at 2 p.m. April 21 in the school auditorium.

Shorting public schools I read with utter disgust that the state House and Senate passed bills granting $6 million in state funding to private schools to purchase books ("Aid to private schools passes on close vote," March 24). I have two children, an 11-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. My daughter attends Edgewood Middle School, a Harford County public school, and my son attends Harford Day School, a private school. My daughter has a math book that is more than five years old. She doesn't have any other textbooks that she can use outside of school because the school does not have enough books for each student.

Women's work - knitting, sewing, cleaning, raising kids - is menial. It's trivial, marginal and undesirable. It has no value. That's what Columbia resident and artist Shin-Hee Chin says many people think, and that's what she's trying to debunk with her exhibit, Realm of Bliss, showing at Columbia Art Center through June 2. "I want to show that seemingly menial female work can be a source of pleasure and power for women," says Chin, 42. She says it...

It's no surprise that the real party started after Labor Day weekend when most of the youngsters limped out of town for the season.The county unveiled a facility in Ocean City last Tuesday where people come to dance, to sing, to eat and be merry. But you have to be at least 60 to fit in.The Worcester County Senior Center at 104 41st St. on the bayside offers recreation and education to about 125 seniors four days a week.Seniors were using the facilities at Northside Park at 125th Street until the bayview center was built in the shadow of the Convention Center water tower.

Some 35 years ago, a small group of Baltimore women formed a club to talk about sewing. They were schoolteachers, administrators and other professionals who had learned from their mothers, grandmothers and godmothers how to piece together a suit or knit a sweater.At first, it was an informal group of four who met in Beatrice Wright's home and "and snacked and talked about what we were making," recalls Adelle Foreman, a former educator who lives in Cross Keys. The women asked other women to join, and soon there were painters, calligraphers, fashion designers, quilters, embroiderers, knitters and crocheters.

Mount Hebron High School's spring musical, Damn Yankees, will be performed at 7 p.m. March 29, 30 and 31 and April 1. Tickets, which cost $9, will be available in the school cafeteria from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. or can be reserved by calling 410-313-2880. The show is suitable for all ages. More than 140 students are involved in the production, which will be held in the school's recently renovated auditorium. Legal services help at senior center Attorney Charles Jerome Ware will be at Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road, for the 60 Plus Wills and Legal Screening Program from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey.... Did you ever ask yourself why Miss M. used a tuffet instead of a chair? Convenience, that's why.What piece of furniture has ever proved as moveable and adaptable as the lowly footstool, also known as a tuffet? It's close to the ground, so kids love it. It's nice to put your feet up on while you read the paper. It's great in front of the TV; you can sit on it rather than squat as you look at all those miniscule numbers while you program the VCR. It's also a magnet for napping cats, supper settings and magazines.