Archers listeners help Children in Need
13 November 2009

Members of The Archers message board have collaborated to make a unique blanket, which is being sold to raise money for BBC Children in Need. Messageboard user WindfarmMermaid explains the project.



In mid-July, on a thread [message board discussion] for people who don't like parties, a virtual party was suggested. WindfarmMermaid took up the offer and said she would bring her "needles, crochet hooks and yarn and happily sit in a corner with them being creative." She offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn. This remark led to the first Creative Meet - a real life get-together in a village hall in the Cotswolds - where a group of MustardLanders [The Archers message board is known to users as "Mustardland" because of the distinctive background colour] spent a relaxing, enjoyable day knitting, crocheting, sharing and learning new skills.

Misty made a suggestion:

"Just a thought - what about if we all knitted different-coloured squares, then met to sew them all together into a blanket - for charity or whatever?"

Ideas about a fabric quilt and a knitted blanket were tossed around. Loop22 suggested a 'Golden Fleece'.

Two days later Mermaid swam forward and volunteered to organise a knitted and crocheted Woolly Rainbow Fleece of MustardLand. She suggested assorted colour designs for a fleece of 64 six-inch squares. One was chosen, a plan was posted and names added as people signed up to do specific coloured squares.

Some were experienced, others hadn't knitted for many years but hunted out needles and yarn. Mermaid posted a pattern for a Knitted Foolproof Square. Some of the less confident were delighted to find it actually worked and they could knit a square.

Smiley faces appeared on the plan as squares were completed. More people signed up, the Fleece grew to 9 x 9 squares and finally 10 x 10.

Emails and postal addresses were exchanged, packages from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands dropped though Mermaid's letterbox. A logo, one for each person reflecting their name or method of delivery, indicated the arrival of the squares.

Mermaid arranged the squares, tied a tag to each one showing its row and number and in October a group of seven posters met to sew the squares together.

Mermaid crocheted a border of at least 11,000 stitches bringing the estimated total of knitted, crocheted and sewn stitches to 193,000.

Finally, McFerret designed and made a 6" square metal Certificate of Authenticity listing all 29 contributors, the youngest being 3½ year old Puzzlerette, who helped her mother to pull out part of a not-quite-right square, and the oldest - who chose her own name of Bright Bear - being Orange Pekoe's 100-year-old grandmother.

The Woolly Rainbow Fleece of MustardLand is now being auctioned on ebay in aid of BBC Children in Need.

Participants' thoughts on the Fleece

Previous 'Backstage' story>>