Two good friends who live in adjoining rooms at the Eden Home in Weyburn, Susan Mailhiot and Ellen Eddy, are using their knitting needles to help out premature babies in the care of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Regina General Hospital.
Their knitting project began after her great-granddaughter gave birth to a premature baby son a year ago.
Mailhiot’s granddaughter, and Eddy’s grand-niece, Jodi Abel, was a major part of getting them busy with the knitting project.
“She’s the one who got us started on this, and got us the wool,” said Mailhiot, noting Jodi’s husband Darren took their first batch of about 50 beanies up to the NICU earlier this summer, and just over the weekend they had another batch of around 20 beanies delivered there.
The two ladies have since received a thank-you card from the staff of the NICU, addressed to the “Grandma Knitters”, in appreciation of their contribution.
She noted they met a woman at the hospital who had a bed next to her great-granddaughter, and she had patterns for making beanies for premature babies.
“As long as the wool comes, we’ll keep going,” added Mailhiot, who is 93, and Eddy is 94 years young.
Eddy can knit about one beanie a day, while Mailhiot can go a little faster, doing one to two a day if she is able to spend uninterrupted time knitting.
“I enjoy it, I really do,” said Eddy, noting she is also working on knitting a kitchen towel, while Mailhiot was halfway through knitting a beanie at the time of the interview.
Both ladies said they want to continue with this project as long as they can.
“It keeps you young, and keeps your mind busy,” said Mailhiot.
