Knit a donkey and help out the Donkey Sanctuary

The Donkey Sanctuary is appealing for keen knitters to come forward to help create a herd of hand-knitted woolly donkeys to raise funds for the centre.

The knitted donkeys, which are individually made by supporters of the sanctuary, are sold both in the visitors centre in Sidmouth and online at www.donkeyworld.org.uk.

"We are thrilled that these little characters have been so successful," Marian Gumbrell, community fundraising manager, told H&H.

"We've been selling them for about a year, but this is the first time we've promoted them outside of our newsletter. We need more knitters just to keep up with the demand!"

For anyone wanting to test out their knitting skills, the sanctuary provides a knitting pattern, which originally came from a 1954 edition of Women's Weekly magazine, and additional instructions.

The sanctuary, which has taken more than 13,600 donkeys in the UK, Ireland and other areas of Europe into its care, is also looking for volunteer guides to run walks during the summer.

"We are a very popular tourist attraction as we are dog friendly and don't charge for parking or entry," explained Marian.

"We think a guided walk, where visitors can learn more about the history of the donkeys and the different breeds, will be very popular."

Volunteer guides will be given full training, including background information about the donkeys and the sanctuary.

For further information about the Donkey Sanctuary, visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org

And to receive a free copy of the knitting pattern, contact Ruth in the community fundraising department on 01395 578222 or email Sarah at Knit and Sew: sarah@knitandsew.co.uk

Lottie Butler, Horse and Hound newsdesk

22 February, 2010

Peter the Duck of 'K Factor' fame

If you fancy having a go knitting your own 'Peter the Duck' from Harry Hill's K factor, then you can buy the Jean Greenhowe pattern book from us:

http://www.knitandsew.co.uk/Jean_Greenhowe's_Knitted_Animals.htm 

The scandal of the disabled Croydon duck, Harry Hill and the knitted toy competition

A Facebook campaign has won a surprising victory for a disabled knitted cuddly toy in the most bizzare story this year.
Peter the Wingless Duck, from Croydon, was left spitting feathers after he was voted off K Factor, a talent show for knitted animals on Harry Hill’s TV Burp.
Each week a selection of animals parade in front of judges including knitted versions of Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole in a spoof version of the X Factor.
Those toys with a “heartbreaking back story” would earn extra sympathy from the judges.
In last Saturday’s episode on ITV, Peter was told he wouldn’t make it through by a bad tempered Knitted Cheryl Cole because he had no wings, sparking outrage from viewers and prompting dozens of complaints to ITV.
Dave Chapman, from Croydon, Peter’s “agent”, said he was furious the duck was thrown off the show.
Mr Chapman said: “Peter’s story is a very tragic and shocking tale. Peter used to sit on a shelf in the kitchen, and one day he got knocked on top of the toaster at breakfast time. His wings were so badly burned they had to be removed.
“No more wool was available to repair him, and even though his sister offered to donate a wing, he bravely decided he could carry on wingless. He’s a very inspirational character.
“We were very excited for him, we thought this was going to be his big break. We were very shocked that Knitted Cheryl Cole was so mean. We were so angry we deleted all of her songs from our iPods.
“Peter has a big heart though so he will probably forgive her.”
However, Knitted Simon Cowell caved under pressure from the 700-member Facebook campaign and the Croydon Guardian and decided to re-audition Peter, who many believed was being discriminated against because of his disability.
In a shocking twist, on this Saturday night’s show, Knitted Simon Cowell called Peter to ask him back but he was unable to answer the phone due to his lack of wings.

Watch the video and tell us what you think about Peter.
1:00pm Wednesday 17th February 2010



Exclusive By Harry Miller

The K factor - enter Harry Hill's TV Burp knitting competition

http://www.itv.com/entertainment/comedy/harryhillstvburp/kfactorsubmissions/default.html