The knitting group came about through a conversation with a lady who sat in her room all day, knitting, surrounded by wool and toy patterns, explains Maggie Rich based in Newtown, Powys.
'I wonder if anybody else would be interested in knitting? Let’s give it a try and see how it goes: it went.
The group was mostly people living with dementia: some came to knit, some came to watch, some dipped in and out.
I soon learned who was in charge of the group: I was always in trouble for holding my needles wrong!
We started simple – knitting squares – but as the number of squares grew; what do we make with them? A blanket was too obvious and boring: let’s make a dragon!
And so Olwen, the patchwork dragon – y ddraig clytwaith (some of the ladies are Welsh speakers) – was born.
She’s feisty and is willing to say what others are reluctant to say . . . .'the lunch was cold', 'my wheelchair squeaks' . . . . (I knew those ventriloquism skills would come in handy one day!)
The group was proud of what had been made and happily found the squares they had contributed mounting up.
So what next? A Christmas tree.
This time it was squares in different shades of green, but we had to be a bit more creative.
One lady kept increasing, but no problem: that made the tub for the tree to stand in.
Another lady just kept going, but again, no problem: that made the central trunk of the tree.
The squares were attached to a red bath sheet and our very obliging handyman hung it over the bookcase.
The group gathered around and wow! There was pride, there was achievement, there were memories.
This led into singing carols. Words learned long ago came back: there were smiles, there was laughter. I can’t say we were all in the same key, but it didn’t matter: we were having fun.
So where do we go next?
We are going to attempt making teddy bears from a simple pattern, for the mother and baby group that comes in once a month.
This time we will be able to give – and rediscover the joy of giving.'
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