When Jill Draffkorn has an idea, she doesn’t keep it to herself.

Last semester the senior elementary education major expanded upon her love for knitting by creating Compassion Knit, a circle of friends that gathers once every other week to teach others how to knit and crochet.

“I like knitting, but I don’t like knitting by myself,” Draffkorn said. “It’s fun to get together with people and chit-chat.”

The circle meets by the Neptune Central fire pit at 9 p.m. every other Thursday and often participates in charity projects. Draffkorn and her tight-knit group sometimes donate their final products to Hope Haven, one of the DeKalb area’s homeless shelters.

“If people want to donate stuff, they donate it to Hope Haven,” she said. “Or they can just come and work on their own stuff. That’s fine, too.”

Claire Manthey, junior early childhood studies major, is one of the circle’s veterans. Having learned how to knit at 10 years old, Manthey said she appreciates the opportunities to clothe her community while relaxing.

The circle inspired her to take up a charitable project of her own: knitting hats for babies. Manthey estimates one baby hat takes her five hours to complete, but the time “goes so fast” she doesn’t realize how many she had completed.

“I ended up knitting 17 of them,” Manthey said.

Senior psychology major Bri Jakubik joined the girls of Compassion Knit last February in hopes of learning how to crochet. In doing so, she gained a valued skill and learned the valuable lesson that she wasn’t alone in her hobbies.

“It’s definitely nice to know I’m not the only one who crochets on campus,” Jakubik said.

Jakubik said her crocheting know-how has gotten her in with the owners of the TAILS. Next week, she plans on assisting with making cat ball toys to donate to the animal shelter.

Others, like senior psychology major Autumn Rogers, enjoy the circle’s social aspect. She is thankful for having a place to go to be with the girls if for only an hour every two weeks, she said.

“It’s a nice break from the day,” Rogers said. “I do a lot of work and school, and this kind of forces you to sit down and socialize.”