News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Harriett Kelm stands next to the stack of prayer shawls she made by hand.

ALPENA — This 94-year-old has been knitting since she was a Girl Scout, and she has no plans to stop any time soon. For the last 14 years, she’s been using her skills to bring comfort and peace to those in need.

Harriett Kelm is a retired school teacher who taught both English and Spanish for over 25 years, retiring 36 years ago. She started making prayer shawls in 2008, a year after the group began in 2007.

In total, she’s made 473 prayer shawls, while the group altogether has made 2,322 shawls, as of Aug. 9.

Kelm’s prayer shawl-making journey began when she saw the group’s display at her church, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran in Alpena, and she gathered information from there.

The group makes the prayer shawls, prays over them, then presents them to people who are either going through a struggle, such as illness, or they can be used as a gift to those who are celebrating an accomplishment, such as high school graduation. The shawls are never sold — only given as heartfelt gifts.

News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Prayer shawls in a variety of colors, made by Harriett Kelm, sit in a stack in her home.

Kelm has been attending St. Paul for 70 years.

“I happened to go to the church and the prayer shawl group had displayed what they had done and had some information and I thought ‘oh, I could do that,'” Kelm said. “Just from hearing about and seeing what the prayer shawl group was doing was what made me join them.”

Kelm started knitting in the sixth grade when her Girl Scout leader showed her and the other Scouts how to knit. They started making afghans for the Army. The Scouts would each make one square and the Scout leader would stitch it all together.

Seeing that Kelm was great at knitting, the Scout leader had her make a sweater. Again, Kelm made all the parts, the sleeves and the torso, and the Scout leader would stitch it all together.

What keeps Kelm making the prayer shawls is her love of knitting for such a beneficial cause.

News Photo by Alyssa Ochss A prayer shawl made of Alpena High school colors lays on a bed at Harriett Kelm’s home.

“It’s just a great cause, and I love knitting,” Kelm said. “If I didn’t love knitting I wouldn’t be doing it. My hands are busy all the time.”

Prayer shawls are made for those who could benefit from them, Kelm said.

“They are given to people who are having a bad time, who are having a good time,” Kelm said. “They are recommended by people, friends or relatives, to help them through situations or to show praise for what they’ve done.”

For example, the group makes prayer shawls for high school graduates who have connections to the church. Students from Alpena High School, ACES Academy, and Posen High School have been recipients of the shawls, which are knitted in their school colors and given to them.

There is no set pattern for the prayer shawls, and each member has their own pattern, but they are all about two feet wide and five feet long. Kelm makes hers in a rectangular shape.

News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Different colored prayer shawls lay on a bed at Harriett Kelm’s home.

The average amount of time it takes for Kelm to make a prayer shawl is seven to 10 days. Kelm said she’s even made one in three days.

“It depends, but, believe it or not, I have made one in three days. But I don’t try to make them in three days,” Kelm said. “I would say a good week or 10 days is the usual.”

In addition to prayer shawls, Kelm also makes scrubbies.

Scrubbies are small, knitted squares that can be used for cleaning and can be easily tossed in the laundry. These take about a half an hour each, Kelm said. They are made with durable yarn, great for doing dishes.

She carries them around in her purse with her and people will ask for them, Kelm said. People are relieved to get another one if theirs has become tattered and unusable. Even when Kelm goes to restaurants, people will ask if they could buy one from her. She usually charges $1 because that’s how much the yarn costs to make each one. A $5 skein of yarn can produce five scrubbies.

News Photo by Alyssa Ochss Harriett Kelm holds out two prayer shawls she made by hand, one on each arm, at her home.

As for the prayer shawls, the group doesn’t charge a cent. Sometimes, people give donations, but it is not needed and not expected of people who receive a prayer shawl.

If someone dies, they don’t accept the prayer shawls back, but tell the family to pass it down through the generations.

Kelm said she hasn’t thought of her legacy of making prayer shawls continuing, but she would like the shawls that she has made to go to those who could use them, including family members.

Kelm will continue knitting the shawls as long as she is able, and her legacy will continue for many years to come.

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