92-year-old knits thousands of baby caps, donating to Janesville maternity ward

By: Montse Ricossa

Posted: Aug 9, 2026 8:00 AM CDT

NOW: 92-year-old knits thousands of baby caps, donating to Janesville maternity ward

WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Many say bringing a baby into the world is a gift... so, what do you give that gift? 92-year-old Beth Vold in Lake Geneva has figured that out, knitting thousands of baby caps, donating them to local maternity wards.

Vold, a life-long resident in Walworth County, has been knitting for about 80 years, ever since she was a "little girl." She's perfected the craft of knitting joking with a laugh, "it’s not rocket science!"

Living in a retirement home, her room is filled with knitting needles and a variety of yarns. "I keep everything in the little box, and I take it out when I when I use it," she said.

One of the quilts made by Beth Vold Mark Cavin

As a child, Vold, then Parsons, would sew, as many did at that time, she said. But in the 80's, Vold said quilting "was taking hold" so she began taking classes and lessons. "There were a lot of machine quilts, but i wanted," Vold said through laughter, "I wanted to be a puritan, so I saw to it that my quilts were totally hand done."

Montse Ricossa:

From quilting to knitting, when did that transition take place?

Beth Vold:

When it got to the point that I just I couldn't handle the weight of the quilts, getting them up on the quilt rack. And besides, I had enough. I had plenty of quilts because I've been cranking them out.

So for around the last 7 years, she's focused on knitting: "I couldn't knit a sweater if my life depended on it because I don't do that. I just do the baby hats," she explained.

An estimated 5-thousand of them, Beth has made by hand saying, "I kept it simple because i knit for relaxation and escape, so I don't want anything complicated that’s going to tax me." Her pattern includes two knit and two pearls.

At 92 years young, knitting helps Beth with her arthritis, as well as keeping her sharp. She said this way, "you have to have something to think about. You just can't sit in a chair and look at a wall all day long." Beth shared that if she focused on only knitting one day, she'd be able to finish a whole cap! But nowadays, she tends to take it at a more relaxed pace, allowing herself to enjoy other activities, and time with her husband of 70 years, Don.

Mark Cavin

Beth discovered her hobby could be something more than that. She noted, "I was in the hospital for something minor, and I just happened to mention that you know I knit the baby hats. And one nurse went nuts! She just went -she went all up and down the hall, telling the whole staff, 'the woman that does the baby hat, she's in room such and such!'"

"If it's something that somebody can use, make something out of it, you know, that's that just makes it even more satisfying." -- Beth Vold

Those baby hats have ended up as donations for "a lot of babies," Vold said chuckling.

Usually, Beth's family drops the hats off, but on July 15, she got to do it herself, walking up to the MercyHealth Maternity Ward in Janesville saying, "Hello, I'm the lady behind the hats!" to which Registered Nurse and Lactation Specialist Mirsa Sullivan responded, "Wonderful, we love your hats!

Beth Vold: I just keep cranking out the hats (laughs)

R.N., Mirsa Sullivan: it’s nice to see where they come from

Beth Vold: There’s a lot of love in those hats too.

Sullivan shared that parents especially love the hats with Packers colors. Registered Nurse Payton Hauser along with RN Sullivan said donated caps make a special moment, even more so: "it’s been a great thing for all of our patients, they love receiving hats."

Delivering about 60 babies a month, they tend to go through the donations quickly, shared the nurses. "It’d be lovely if more people would like to volunteer and drop off some hats."

Beth recognizes knitting isn't as popular know as it was when she was a girl, "everybody learned how to knit. You know, I mean, you just-that was one of the things you learned. But the landscape's changed." Whether it's for yourself or someone else, she encourages others to pick up their knitting needles: "I've had a lot of fun with it. I do it because I enjoy doing it, and fortunately, it benefits somebody else too."

Living a long life with many unique experiences, Beth imparted some additional wisdom worth sharing: "Everybody has a life that they've got some parts of that they don't like and wish it were something else. So, the first question you ask is, can I change it? The second question you ask is, should I change it? You know, you can't make everything in the world the way you want it. So, you have to be honest about: Do I really want to change this? Is this something I should change?"