St Oswald's Hospice will sell hand-knitted and crocheted Shaun the Sheep toys donated by members of the public ahead of its eagerly-awaited trail across Tyneside launching in July.
The trail, which follows on from the huge success of the Great North Snowdogs and Elmer the Elephant trails, will see 45 individually-decorated versions of Shaun the Sheep on display throughout Newcastle. 70 more smaller sheep, with designs created by local schools and community groups, will make up a second trail of their own.
Since the trail was announced, the hospice has been inundated with hand-knitted Shauns and other sheep-themed items sent by knitters from across the region. Now it is planning to sell them, along with other trail related merchandise, to raise further funds - and is calling on other knitters to help.
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The hospice is providing patterns from everything from Shaun toys to woolly gloves, hats and scarves and any items donated to the hospice will be labelled by its fundraising them to show they have been "made with love in aid of St Oswald's Hospice" and to meet guidelines from trading standards. They will then be sold at the trail's specially created HQ stand in the foyer at Newcastle Civic Centre and at fairs and community events throughout the Art Trail.
Hazel Marshall from Newcastle, who has knitted a number of sheep, said: "St Oswald’s Hospice is a cause close to my heart, so I was more than happy to help out by knitting some Shauns to sell to raise funds. I found getting Shaun right was a bit fiddly at first but I soon got the hang of it.
"The legs were a challenge but I soon cracked it and I am really pleased with how they turned out. I have really enjoyed creating them and hope they are able to raise lots of money for the hospice during the trail."
Susan MacKellar, fundraising coordinator at St Oswald's Hospice, said: "We will accept any sheep related crafts, particularly knitted and crocheted Shaun the sheep and we have knitting patterns to inspire, although people can feel free to make whatever they like.
"If people want to support the campaign and don’t want to make anything, we are also looking for donations of wool, craft materials and fillings for soft toys. Simply sharing the knitting pattern and info with people they know will also be a huge help."
Local businesses have also stepped in to help, with Ann's Wool Shop at Guide Post donating a bag of wool amongst other things, while Ready Steady Knit in Prudhoe has donated bags of stuff on and Fine Fettle Fibres at Felton also donated a bag of wool. Knitters have until July 19 to create their handmade Shaun on the Tyne, as this is when the trail will go live in Newcastle.
For more information visit the Shaun The Sheep Art Trail website.
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