In Stitches @ St George's have knitted and crotcheted three lovely postbox toppers with an Easter theme. One can be seen at Henlade Post Office, one in Cheats Road, Ruishton and one opposite the shop at Creech St Michael. They are bright and cheerful and well worth seeking out.
In Stitches @ St George's meet on the second Friday of each month. Our next meeting will be on Friday May 10th between 10 - 12 noon in the Ruishton Church Meeting Room. If you enjoy knitting or crotchet please come and join us.
Muriel Coles 443019
How In Stitches got started and projects undertaken by Jen Arscott
One warm sunny day a few years ago, I answered a knock on the door, to find Muriel holding a knitting pattern and asking “Can you knit?” Muriel wanted to compete in a yarn bombing competition! I had no idea what it was but Muriel had an idea for an entry that required several knitted flowers, as knitting is not a hobby of mine, I prefer to crochet, I offered to ask around my friends and see if I could get volunteers, I even managed to teach my daughter to crochet flowers, something she found impossible to do when I’ve tried to teach her in the past.
Muriel was happy to have crocheted flowers as well as knitted ones; the type didn’t matter, quantity was the challenge.
Muriel invited all like-minded woman who wanted to knit or crochet from Ruishton, Creech St Michael and Thornfalcon to meet in the Ruishton Church meeting room and In Stitches @ St George’s was formed.
To our delight after a lot of flower making and hectic work we won the yarn bombing that year with a beautiful flower arch which stood proudly in the church entrance for several days before being displayed at the Taunton flower show.
One Saturday morning I heard a request for blankets for the Dementia ward, so the seed was sown for an idea of another project for In Stitches! At the next meeting while the current project was in progress, the blanket making started. Our older members who were finding the intricate details of our yarn bombing difficult were delighted to knit squares for blankets that were joined together and edged by myself and others to t
he size requested by the hospital.
We delivered over fifteen blankets to Musgrove before the pandemic came and prevented the hospital from accepting anymore. The blanket making didn’t end because of the pandemic. We continued to deliver wool and collect squares or strips that our lovely ladies kept producing on a regular basis, all at a safe distance of course. We donated several blankets to local homes in Ruishton that have vulnerable adults.
We are back in the meeting room every second Friday of the month once again and ideas for our next project have been flying around the room with great enthusiasm, a few get discarded but we think of more and from small ideas large projects grow, which then get displayed in the village and so far have been greatly appreciated.
Our blankets are still being produced and are available for anyone who has need of them. If you would like a blanket please feel free to request one.
How to find Ruishton Church Meeting Room (TA3 5LL)
Looking at Ruishton Church from Church Lane, the white gates of “The Old Vicarage” are on your left. Go through those gates and follow the left fork of the driveway for about 40m. The modern brick building of the Church Meeting Room will appear ahead.
Please click on the links for story of the projects that the 'In Stiches' group has worked on over the past few years:
Flower arch and Nativity scene
Knitting patterns for life-size nativity scene
The Creech Knitting Group meets every other week for a cup of tea, a chat and, of course, lots of knitting. Knitted strips are made into blankets and many jumpers, hats and scarves are also produced. Other people make knitted items at home which are then passed on to the group. The items are forwarded to charities providing warm clothing for many who live in poverty. Some of the smaller items produced by the group are also included in the shoeboxes that are filled each year by church members for the 'Operation Christmas Child' charity who bring a bit of Christmas cheer to children in Africa and Eastern Europe. Some of us are also meeting up at Creech Parish Church from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesdays when tea/coffee and cake are available.