Residents at Bulwell's Fairway View Care Home put their knitting skills to the test in Innocent’s Big Knit event

a Fairway View resident at the Big Knit anniversary. Residents joined people in knitting a giant woolly hat at Nottingham's Albert Hall.

Residents from Fairway View Care Home in Bulwell were invited to Innocent’s Big Knit, in celebration of the event’s 20th anniversary.

The campaign sees people knitting mini hats to be placed on top of Innocent’s smoothie bottles. Innocent donates 25p for every smoothie sold to Age UK and, since 2003, has raised more than £3 million.

On the 20th anniversary, knitters gathered in Nottingham’s Albert Hall to knit together a 23-feet-tall bobble hat.

One Fairway View resident invited to attend was 93-year-old Brenda Walton, who has been knitting for 80 years and remembers knitting her own socks as a child. When Brenda moved to Fairway View more than a year ago, she was delighted to join the care home’s Knit and Natter club, which has recently dedicated its time to knitting blankets for palliative care patients at Hayward House in Nottingham.

Brenda and her fellow resident knitters had a fantastic time meeting other knitting fanatics. She said: “I really enjoyed the knitting event; I’ve never seen so many knitters together! The giant hat looked absolutely amazing when it was all finished.”

When the knitting was over, Innocent deconstructed the hat to make blankets, which were donated to hospitals, care homes and other places of care. The residents at Fairway View were thrilled to have been gifted 45 cosy blankets.

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Melanie Hayes, Fairway View care manager, said: “Our knit and natter club was thrilled to have been part of Innocent’s Big Knit. Our knitters have already done so much to help others by donating their creations to patients at Hayward House, and we couldn’t be prouder of everything they have achieved so far.”

Charlie Swinburn, Innocent brand manager, said: “We loved having the residents from Fairway View care home join us at such a momentous event to celebrate 20 years of the Big Knit. ‘We cannot thank the residents and their invaluable knitting skills enough for helping us mark two decades of our partnership with Age UK in such a unique way.”

Fairway View is a residential and dementia care home operated by Ideal Carehomes. With 41 ensuite bedrooms, attractive décor and freely accessible gardens, Fairway View is proud to be rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

For more information, contact Fairway View on 0115 975 8770, email [email protected] or visit idealcarehomes.co.uk