Knitting Nannie

This is Lillian, my Nan. She's been knitting since she was a child, which seems to be a hereditary thing as she taught my Mum and my Mum taught me. Somehow making knots in bits of sheep to make pretty things is something my family (on both sides) are pretty good at. Now at the age of 84 and having lost her sight completely she's still going! For quite a few years now she's been knitting squares in garter stitch (50 stitches wide) to make patchwork blankets. Once she has knitted enough squares my Mum sews them together and knits a decorative edge so they're ready to be used.

Now you might be thinking 'why on earth does their family need so many blankets?'.

We don't keep them. All the blankets that my Nan knits (which she estimates to be around 60 in the past 10 years or so) go to charity, and more specifically Naomi House in Hampshire. Naomi House is a hospice for terminally ill children and they're opening a new department soon to provide the service for teenagers too.
The staff, children and parents are really glad to receive my Nan's blankets and they've even offered for her and some other ladies who knit for them to go and visit, to see what the hospice is all about. If you want to know more about it then go HERE. They've also got charity shops in Andover, Boscombe, Cosham, Eastleigh, Fareham, Southampton and Winchester so look out for those too.


Anyway, I just wanted to show you how clever and kind my Nan is to knit so many blankets for the children at Naomi House. She's showing no signs of slowing down and is working on another square right now; there's pretty much no stopping her!