Not long after Hector moved in, he saw the sarah oliver handbags knitting group posted on the activities schedule and went to see what it was all about. He made three or four evening bags for Sarah but when he received a call that he was needed part-time at his old job, he took a break from the knitting group. He retired from the publishing industry for the last time in 2010, and asked to rejoin the Purlettes and was welcomed back enthusiastically. The Purlettes' name was quickly changed to the Purlettes + One.

All Hector's business skills were taught  "on the job" starting with his senior year in High School while working at the American Thermos Bottling Company. He gained more skills during his stint in the Navy. Hector served during the Suez Crisis in 1956. His ship helped evacuate foreign nationals from the Port of Alexandria. Hector's job was to type all the names of the people that came on board the ship to create a record of the foreign nationals in the event that the ship or port was bombed. His first job after the Navy was working for the Western Pacific Railroad, but just 18 months later he found a job in publishing and continued in that industry until he retired at the age of 74.

Regret is not really a word in Hector's vocabulary but he does wonder sometimes what his life would have been like had he made the Navy his career -  he thought for a moment and concluded that then he would not have had a career in publishing which he had enjoyed immensely . Hector didn't hesitate to say, "I've had a wonderful life. I've been very fortunate."

Hector started knitting in 8th grade while taking an after school class with Sister Alma at the Sacred Heart school he attended in Taftville, CT. His first project was to knit a pair of argyle socks on three needles, not a simple project! When asked what the motivation was behind his love for knitting, Hector said that when he grew up there were no TVs and so he would watch his mother sew. When she was through with the thread on a spool (which were wooden in those days), she would hammer 4 nails into the spool and taught Hector how to spool knit. When he reflects on why he enjoyed working with the yarn, he thinks it was a form of meditation for him and gave him something to do since he was not into sports as a kid. 

Hector feels that the best part about being part of the group is that, as a 23 year prostate cancer survivor, he continues to find the knitting a form of mediation for him. He is thrilled and proud to be able to donate the money he earns knitting to the Redwood Scholarship Fund. He says it is a win/win because he feels good about helping Sarah build a successful business and at the same time enabling a High School Senior go to college.

What's in store for Hector in the years to come - more knitting! He also told us that his younger sister just put her name on the waiting list to move into the Redwoods. While he jokes about telling her he hopes they do not end up next door neighbors, he is excited for her to be near him at the Redwoods.