17 Jul 2021 Community

The Kirkwood’s Big Knit Success

The Kirkwood's worked with WOVEN in Kirklees to make the Big Rainbow Knit a success. 

The Kirkwood joined forces recently with the Big Rainbow Knit which was organised by WOVEN in Kirklees. A total of 63 knitters and groups took part in the event for The Kirkwood raising more than £5000.

The knitters created a huge K which was proudly displayed outside on Albany Road in Dalton from 5th June to the 5th July.

Community fundraiser Joanna Doherty said of the event: "We couldn’t have done this without the support of our Senior Occupational Therapist, Elspeth McGloughlin who coordinated all our knitters and crafters, along with designing and creating The Big K. Elspeth was running our Knit & Natter sessions at our monthly Community Coffee Mornings and has been a huge asset to this campaign."

Elspeth herself added: "The Big Knit is about bringing people and organisations together that are involved in arts, crafts and textiles. It's been really positive to see so many people get involved, especially with what has happened over the past year. I spent over 100 hours planning the K we knitted and when we finished it, it looked amazing. 

"As an occupational therapist I know how important it is for people to enjoy what they are doing. Being creative can really help have a positive mindset and with it, it improves the quality of people's lives."

Joanna and her fellow Community Fundraiser Julia Owen and a number of volunteers manned a stall in Huddersfield's St George's Square on the 26th-27th June. A number of the knitters popped along to see the stall and share in the happiness of the day.

One such fantastic volunteer was Gurdeep Lalli and her family. Gurdeep was the winner of a lovely Luxury Knitting Hamper as she raised the most money in sponsorship throughout the event. She raised an amazing £1000.17, an unbelievable effort. Included in Gurdeep's luxury hamper were a number of products donated by The Yorkshire Makery, Ruth Gilbert and Anne’s Yarns & Crafts.

You can still donate and thank our knitters by texting THEBIGK to 70450 to donate £3. Texts cost £3 plus one standard rate message.