Northampton neighbours spend lockdown selflessly knitting nearly 2,000 headbands, hats and toys to help others

Two women who love knitting have dedicated their time in lockdown to making items to donate to hospitals and organisations in Northamptonshire and beyond.

Ruth Wright and Pauline Scrivener who are next door neighbours in Semilong have been knitting mask headbands, premature baby hats and trauma teddies.

The creative duo have now completed and sent off nearly 2,000 items and are showing no signs of slowing down.

Ruth said: “We are both big knitters and it’s using up our time well while we have been in lockdown.

“We enjoy our knitting, we just feel like other people can benefit from it and it doesn’t take that long.

“We’ve been together since the start of lockdown so we’ll sit and knit in the evening, or if it’s a bad day we’ll sit together and knit more.

“Being elderly, there’s not much we can do during lockdown.”

Since the start of lockdown in March, Ruth and Pauline have already made and sent out more than 600 headbands that masks can be attached to in order to stop healthcare professionals getting sore ears.

Northampton General Hospital received 100 of these, a local care home received 40 and 80 were sent to Amazon workers.

The rest were donated to a hospital and care home up north, where Ruth’s daughter lives.

The duo has also knitted 1,050 hats for premature babies, 500 of which have been donated to the local hospital, another 500 to Oxford Hospital and 50 to Doncaster Hospital.

As if that was not enough to keep them busy, the women have also knitted more than 200 teddies ranging from rabbits to air raid wardens, some of which have been donated to a local women’s refuge.

Ruth added: “We noticed that people needed bands for masks, so we’ve done hundreds of those now.

“We feel like they have really helped. People have been really grateful and we benefit from doing things for others too.

“We are sending the mask bands and hats out for nothing, but once this is all over, we are going to ask people to donate to Cransley Hospice to get a toy.

“My husband was in Cransley Hospice and they were great to him that’s why the money will go there.”

Ruth’s daughter added: “In lockdown they have really tried to do some good in their own little way.

“It’s not always about the large, grand gestures but the real normal people who do what they can with the little they have.”

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