The Knitters

Joan Cooper and Lilian Nelson are members of the St George’s “Knitter Natter, N Craft and Chatter” Coffee group, in Morpeth, Northumberland. N

Their group has so far knitted k over fifty Trauma Teddies. T They have taken the ladies, l on average, around 6-7 hours each to knit, with the t faces being the most challenging c part.

“Every teddy is different,” says s Joan.

“We make them to suit all ages, a for both girls and boys. The T faces make the characters. c The request from the t Police in our local paper inspired us to knit them. It seemed such a worthwhile cause and we have a lot of fun knitting them.

“They’re easy to knit – it’s just a plain knit stitch.”

Knitted with lots of love, what message would Joan give to a child who receives one of their teddies?

“This teddy is lonely and needs lots of cuddles and was knitted with love by someone who cares.”

Lilian has fond memories of her own special toys when she was a young child.

“When I had measles, my brother gave my only doll measles as well by drawing on spots with a biro pen. Sadly, the spots never faded!”

After all the hard work knitting the teddies, the pair felt happy when the moment came to hand over the teddies to be distributed to the children who needed them most.

“We felt quite proud. They were all so bright and cheerful. Everyone shared the pleasure of seeing the results. The teddies are such little characters when they are finished.”

They’re true knitting professionals perhaps, but that’s not to say the odd distraction doesn’t lead to an occasional mistake…

“One of our group wasn’t concentrating and put two faces on one teddy!”