Madeira Home’s knitting group keeps hands moving and busy
About 24 years ago, Anne Field thought it would be good to encourage people at Madeira Home to “keep their hands moving and busy”.
So she started the Wednesday morning knitting group. People were encouraged to either bring their own knitting, or they would be given wool and patterns to knit for the group which would be sold and the money put towards needs in the home.
Baby clothes, teddies, dolls, blankets and beanies were all knitted with great care and love by the residents in the home and by people in the community who came in and joined them for company and chatter on a Wednesday morning from 10am to noon.(Covid shut it down, but it is getting up and running again.) These items are always needed by the Frontier Hospital neonatal hi-care ward project for premature babies.
The group used to have a lovely tea at the morning market in the grounds of the home in May each year, before Covid-19 lockdowns. The laughter and chatter was great and the table with knitted items groaned with goodies for sale, all made by folk from the group.
There are plans to re-institute these morning markets in the New Year, so keep your eyes and ears open for updates.
Another member of the knitting team, Esme Barraud, is encouraging knitters all over Queenstown to knit strips. Wool was given to the knitters by the group and the size, length and width was passed on too. When I asked Barraud, what the strips were for she replied “Blankets, of course! We will sew them together and sell them for funds for the home!”
If you are downsizing, or sorting out your cupboards and have wool of any kind to donate to the Wednesday group at Madeira, please leave it at the Madeira office. (If wool is donated that can’t be used, it is passed on to the McLennan Home for disabled people in East London to use in their crafts and projects.)
Proceeds from the knitting are always given to Madeira Home and many needs in the home have been paid for by the generosity of the knitters, who buy the wool and knit the items.
Outsiders or members of the Queenstown community are encouraged to join in on a Wednesday morning, share a cup of tea and a scone, and enjoy the company, fellowship and chatter of everyone gathered there. You are very welcome to bring your own knitting, or to knit for the home. You never know just how many new friends you will make and how you will help to cheer up someone else’s day.