And finally: On Valentine’s Day, winter clothing for the needy.

Corey Kilgannon
The New York Times

February 11, 2020

Valentine’s Day — this Friday — is a day of romantic warmth, but the forecast calls for a hat and gloves.

For New Yorkers who cannot afford winter clothing, a knitting group that meets regularly in Manhattan’s Bryant Park lays out an array of handmade scarves, cowls, hats and mittens every winter.

The program, “Found but Not Lost,” was started several years ago for the homeless and needy by the group, Bryant Park Knits, along with Knitty City, an Upper West Side knitting shop.

The program has gained prominence on social media and among park users and tourists who have noticed the knitters and crocheters in their regular summer spot, an eastern section of the park.

As word has spread, more knitters around the world have been making winter items and sending them to the group in New York, said Alice Cashman, associate director of events for the Bryant Park Corporation, which operates the park.

On Tuesday afternoons in the summer, the group gathers around a statue of Gertrude Stein, wraps a scarf around Ms. Stein’s neck and knits away. It also offers free lessons, yarn and needles for beginners.

Last year, the group had 527 items to distribute. This year’s total is roughly 800.

On Friday morning, the knitters will hang nearly 300 items on chairs on the park’s fountain terrace near Sixth Avenue. The remaining 500 will go to nonprofit advocacy groups.

“Our knitters put a lot of time and effort into making these items,” Ms. Cashman said. “We also put labels on them asking anyone who is not needy to donate it to a person in need or a charitable organization.”

It’s Tuesday — get cozy.