Forget-Me-Not knitting appeal blooms in support of dementia awareness

Wimborne’s Museum of East Dorset’s Forget-Me-Not campaign has seen an overwhelming response, with a staggering over 9.000 knitted and crocheted flowers donated to support this year’s Dementia Action Week (19–25 May).

The initiative, inspired by the Alzheimer’s Society’s symbolic Forget-Me-Not flower, invited knitters and crocheters of all ages to contribute handmade woollen flowers. The museum provided free patterns and wool, encouraging community participation in honouring and remembering those affected by dementia.

Knitted flowers have been posted from as far away as Glasgow and Lancashire, many with touching notes about how the flowers have been knitted in memory of a lost loved one who grew up in Wimborne.

Museum volunteer Sally Palmer has been a driving force in getting people to knit the flowers. Sally has been a volunteer at Museum of East Dorset for thirteen years. She gives up her time free in a variety of roles.

Sally is part of the innovative Reminiscence outreach project where museum artefacts and objects from bygone eras are used to help bring memories to life for elderly people and especially those living with dementia. The team visit day centres, care homes and senior clubs across East Dorset to run these remarkable sessions.

Incredibly, Sally also finds time to serve in the garden tearooms, help with monthly ‘Craft and Chat’ sessions and even dress up as a Victorian kitchen maid to entertain visiting school parties.

Sally said: “I just kept asking people who came into the tearoom if they knitted. If they said yes, I gave them a leaflet and asked them to get involved. I also rallied my friends who contributed about 500 flowers.”

Sally has also knitted delightful dementia teddies as part of the campaign. Freddy the Teddy will be on sale in the museum gift shop for £9.95 along with knitted forget-me-not pins with all proceeds going to help support the work of the museum’s range of dementia-friendly initiatives.

Museum Director Francesca Hollow expressed her gratitude: “We’re thrilled by the generosity and enthusiasm of our community. The Forget-Me-Not display is a beautiful testament to the power of collective action in raising awareness for dementia.

We are so proud of the many dementia-friendly initiatives we run here at the museum and in the community.”

The eight thousand plus flowers will now be knitted together to create giant forget-me-nots and showcased at the museum, highlighting the importance of the museum’s variety of dementia-friendly initiatives.

For more information on dementia-friendly activities at the Museum of East Dorset, visit Museum of East Dorset.