It’s nearly 10 a.m. on a Tuesday at the Fountain Hills Community Center and members of the Hooks and Needles group are streaming into the ballroom with bags brimming with colorful yarn.
Several women begin knitting scarves, mittens and blankets to send to the local VFW Post 7507, the New Life Pregnancy Center in Mesa and the Native Health in Phoenix, but Gretel Miller is working on something quite different.
In her bright blue bag are eight hand-crafted feathered friends with big eyes and plump bellies.
