It's a Thursday afternoon, and a group of women are sitting at a dining room table chatting and crocheting.

The TV is off, and cellphones neatly line the wood table.

Without the cash register and computers poking through the side wall, it would be hard to tell that this is a store and not someone's family room.

``You see how peaceful it is? I love it here,'' said Catherine Dudouet, a customer who lives in Coral Gables. The Knitting Garden, 2716 Ponce de Leon Blvd., opened in April as a place where local knitters can buy yarn, exchange styles and connect with one another.

``I compare knitting to yoga; it's very relaxing,'' said Virginia Benitez, co-owner of the store, who lives near South Miami. ``You're in your own world.''

The Knitting Garden is the retirement project for Benitez and Annie Tejidor-Bakas.

In their past professional lives, Benitez was a mortgage banker and Tejidor-Bakas was an architect; she still does some freelance work in the field.

``It's a dream. I get tears in my eyes when I think about it,'' said Tejidor-Bakas, who lives in South Miami. ``If you do something you love, you never work a day.''

The pair met two years ago in a knitting class and in January decided to open a store.

The Knitting Garden hosts weekly events that include Monday movie nights, Wednesday afternoon brunches and Friday night happy hours.

It holds knitting and crochet classes for all skill levels on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday but will add them on other days if there is a demand.

``For a small amount, you can buy a knitting project,'' Benitez said.

Prices range from $25 for a two-hour class to $45 for a three-day project, plus the cost of yarn.

``People are proud of what they make,'' Benitez said.

While some of the regulars have been knitting their whole lives, others like Leslie Bofill are just getting back into it. They find the Knitting Garden a relaxing place where they can reconnect with a hobby.

``I used to knit when I was younger, but I stopped,'' said Bofill, 34, of Coral Gables. ``Once you learn it, it's with you.''

Bofill said that going to the classes has helped her not only learn how to knit, but how to read a pattern as well.

The store offers high-quality yarn, made from wool, bamboo and other fibers.

That quality, and the store's open atmosphere, keeps Barbara Skigen coming back.

``I've been knitting since I was a Brownie,'' said Skigen, 66, of Coral Gables. ``I love the yarn they have here.''

They stress that knitting is open to everyone and not just for little old ladies.

``My mom knitted since she was little and taught us when we were kids,'' said Jeannie Kelly, 28, of Miami Beach.

Kelly moved to South Florida from Atlanta about a year ago and was thrilled to find a knitting community to join.

``You can be a part of a group where you have a common interest in a craft,'' Kelly said.

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