Dorchester Trefoil gave their latest collection of twiddlemuffs and Memory blankets to the dementia wards at Dorchester County Hospital.

Lisa Stratton said that they had 47 patients across the wards and were happy to receive as many blankets and muffs that we could make and the patients loved them.

Throughout 2020 (and continuing into 2021) members of Dorchester Trefoil and their friends have been knitting twiddlemuffs and squares for DCH.

The squares have been sewn into memory blankets to go on beds in the Day-Lewis and Barnes wards to help patients remember which is their bed and to make the wards look more homely. They are lap blanket size and go home with the patients when they leave hospital. During the year we finished 38 memory blankets which is a massive 1140 squares!

We have a system going! While some members make a complete blanket, others knit squares which are sewn into blankets by different members which are then passed to another member to crochet an edging to finish them off.

Twiddlemuffs have a dual purpose – they help keeps hands warm while the buttons and ribbons sewn into the muffs are something to fiddle with.

All this means that we can keep busy while we are unable to go out much and help do something for the community at the same time.

We have been fortunate to receive donations of wool from local people. This has helped us to keep knitting. At present, our stock of wool has almost run out so it’s a case of ‘all donations gratefully received’. Please contact Judy (e-mail address below) if you can help.

Trefoil is part of Girlguiding – but you don’t have to have been a Guide to join!

Anyone (men as well as women) who supports Girlguiding and likes to help in the community can become a member.

We normally meet monthly in St George’s Hall and hope to be back there when government guidelines permit. We have speakers, outings, teas and chat and it’s all very friendly. For more information or wool donations please contact Judy via e-mail – jct231@outlook.com or 01305 263783.