Last night Mrs McCaw - a former Black Sticks hockey player - posted on Instagram a photo of her and her husband - a former All Blacks captain - knitting small hats to donate to Dunedin Hospital’s Queen Mary Maternity Ward and to Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
The pair had never knitted before, but decided to give it a go.
‘‘We thought we should step outside our comfort zone so we’ve decided to each knit a woollen hat,’’ she said.
She encouraged others to take up their knitting needles and do the same.
The Southern District Health Board put out a call for knitted beanies last month for Queen Mary and had received many donations.
Earlier this week an SDHB spokeswoman said the response had been ‘‘overwhelming’’ and if avid knitters were keen for more projects, it was also short of knitted “Twiddle Muffs”.
Twiddle Muffs are knitted muffs with items attached to help keep patients’ hands active and busy.
They were especially good for people with dementia or delirium, who often have restless hands, and they provided a great source of visual, tactile, and sensory stimulation while keeping hands snug and warm.
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Comments
Actually, as a knitter from way back, I find this image a little bit offensive. It portrays us as grey headed and in our twilight years. Far from the truth. There’s no need to identify knitting as a craft for the ageing by deliberately dressing up as elderly complete with wig, gloves and knee rug. You’ve let the NZ knitting team down guys, as far as I’m concerned.
Disappointing they had to dress up as "old"- many of NZ's knitters are young and vibrant. No yarn on their needles implies they are not actually knitting anyway so why the pretense? Maybe they could join one of the many knitting groups or the creative fibregroups in their area and actually learn to knit. Doubt if we will ever see an item they have knitted themselves. So much for PR/advertising teams.