Knitting buzz leads to community dementia challenge at Horncastle care home
A new-found buzz for knitting at a care home in Horncastle has blossomed into a full-blown community challenge to raise awareness of dementia.
It all started when one of the elderly, bed-bound residents at Tanglewood Care Home on Louth Road was struggling with her sleep.
As a result, she learned to knit, with the help of a member of the home’s care team. And before long, she was knitting a blanket for Tanglewood’s resident dog, Kevin.
More blankets followed for the furry, four-legged pets of relatives and visitors to the 54-bed home, and an interest in knitting spread like wildfire.
"We started to ask for wool donations to support her projects and we were overwhelmed by the community’s generosity,” said manager Alice O’Hare.
"We even had a lady enclose a note and her phone number, sparking a lovely friendship.
"We have now decided to take on a knitting challenge during November with the charity, Dementia UK.
"This will support families by raising awareness and donations for this amazing charity, which is very close to the residents of the home, their family and friends.
"We will get together and knit every day in November in an attempt to make a scarf big enough to go around the entire home for a warm hug.”
To boost the project, Tanglewood is seeking help and support from the rest of the Horncastle community.
Alice explained: “We are asking people to get involved and bring in knitted pieces to attach together and achieve our goal.
"We understand the winter is difficult for lots of people thanks to shorter, darker days. This makes it harder for them to get out and socialise, which leads to loneliness, anxiety and depression.
"But we hope this project will be fun for all. We are even willing to collect people’s work to sew together if they can’t get out.
"If they can get out and visit us at the home, the kettle is always on! We want to offer a warm space for friendship – and knitting of course!”
As for the resident who set the initiative in motion, there is one other blanket we need to tell you about – a safeguarding blanket, which means she does not want her name or photograph to be made public.
However, we can pass on that she has extended her talents and her range of crafts to pom-poms. She has even made one pom-pom that Tanglewood thinks must be the biggest in Horncastle!
Alice added: “She has also crafted a lovely pom-pom tree, with a pom-pom for each of the team members’ favourite colour.
"Her pieces are displayed at the entrance, and are the talk of Tanglewood. People can’t resist having a feel and then it sparks a whole conversation.
"All this from a week of sleepless nights!”
The Horncastle home is one of 20 that the Lincolnshire-based company, Tanglewood Care Services, operates across the northern half of England, offering dementia care, residential care and respite care.
Open since 1989 and also featuring four self-contained bungalows, it provides personalised care and en suite facilities, and is set within beautiful, landscaped gardens.
After its latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission, the home was given a rating of ‘Good’ in all categories.