Shrewsbury charity knitters pass 1,000-hat milestone
A mother and daughter duo from Shrewsbury have surpassed knitting 1,000 miniature hats as part of an appeal for charity.
Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin is taking part in The Big Knit in partnership with Innocent Drinks to help vulnerable older people to keep warm during the winter. The little woolly hats created by participants are then placed on the top of smoothie bottles, and for every drink sold the local charity will receive 25p.
Julia Fuller, 53, and her mother Sheila Parkes, 77, of Coleham in Shrewsbury, are among the dexterous knitters helping the cause.
This year they have managed more than 1,000 miniature hats.
Julia said: "This must be our fifth year taking part. Both of us are knitters and in our first year we did about 250 hats and just got the bug for it.
"We started in July for this year's appeal and after handing in our first batch of 450 hats in September, we've now not long done 1,000.
"I used to live in Spain and my mum was widowed. When she came back to the UK, Age was very good with us and pointed her in the right direction for all the help we could want.
"We then wanted to help them out and heard about this wonderful campaign."
Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin chief executive Heather Osborne added: “We can’t wait to see the creative hats by the knitters of Shropshire. Every year we love seeing all the different designs come in from stripy bobble hats to grizzly bears.
"We need everyone to join us and knit as many miniature hats as possible by July 31 to help us hit our target. It’s such a fun campaign to get behind and it does so much to help older people in our county.”
The charity said that the pandemic has affected how it delivers vital services and the way it has supported older people during lockdown.
The money raised from The Big Knit will make a difference to the lives of local older people, as the staff and volunteers continue to provide support and look to restart those services that have been put on hold the past year.
Patterns will be available for download at ageuk.org.uk/shropshireandtelford and for more details telephone 01743233123.
