Striped, spotty, glittery…it’s that time of year again where we receive bags full of little woolen hats of all shapes, sizes and colours. Yes, that’s right – the Big Knit is back! We have already received close to 20,000 hats and are so grateful to everyone who has taken part in the campaign so far. The final deadline is the 31st July 2019 so we are really excited to see what other wonderful creations we receive!
Many of our ‘Big Knit knitters’ are Age Scotland member groups and we’d like to shine a spotlight on them and the amazing things they do. One of these member groups is Forever Young, based in Renfrewshire. It is a sheltered housing group that does a wide variety of activities such as keep fit, coffee mornings and of course, knitting! Residents have been meeting over a cup of coffee and nattering away while creating some beautiful designs.
Last year the group knitted over 2000 hats for the campaign, with many residents becoming competitive over who could knit the most! This year they are back it again, having already knitted a fabulous 1900 hats, with the aim to knit over 3000! If the competitive streak of the resident’s is similar to last year, we are sure they will smash that target.
Forever Young’s group coordinator is Sally Logan. Sally’s mother is a member of the group, joining last year after suffering a stroke. For those living on their own in sheltered accommodation, groups like Forever Young give them the chance to socialize and reduce feelings of isolation. Sally told us that knitting hats for the Big Knit gave her mum focus and stopped her from sitting in on her own.
Nessie, a member of Forever Young, has knitted over 1500 hats so far!
Think about it this way, would you want to spend most of your time sitting alone in your room or would you rather have a wee blether with Mary from three doors down about who got kicked out the Rovers Return this week? We’re sure it’s the latter so, if you knit or know anyone who does please get involved with this year’s Big Knit Campaign! You can have a chat and a cuppa while making some lovely little hats that will ultimately help support groups like Forever Young across Scotland.
Find out more about the Big Knit on the Age Scotland website.
If you know anyone in the Renfrewshire area who would like to get join Forever Young, contact them on 01505 328864 or email Sally at sally.logan@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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