A group of dedicated knitters from Bishop Auckland are working on a 24 carrot gold project.
Ladies from two local knitting groups are in a race against time to knit sacks-full of the giant root vegetables ahead of a performance of The Velveteen Rabbit at Bishop Auckland Town Hall in January.
Newcastle dance theatre company balletLORENT called on the ladies from the Knit & Natter group from Woodhouse Close Library and Bishop Auckland Town Hall Yarn Spinners to help out after discovering they were short on carrots.
Every staging of The Velveteen Rabbit, which has been adapted from the 1920s classic children’s story, finishes with the opportunity for young audience members to ‘feed’ the rabbits. The woolly carrots are so popular with children that they often disappear at the end of the show.
But with knitting group leader Joan Gordon and her crew on board, balletLORENT are confident the bunnies will be well fed in Bishop Auckland, providing lots of interactive fun for the children too.
The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless tale of love and transformation, updated for today’s families. It follows a young boy who returns to his childhood home and reconnects with a beloved old toy—a honey-coloured, floppy-eared rabbit.
With its message about the power of love and what it means to be “real,” the joyful dance theatre production promises to delight families across County Durham.
The production, which lasts 45 minutes, offers a relaxed and interactive atmosphere where little ones can sit close to the stage and meet the characters afterwards.
The carrots are being knitted by Joan Gordon, Jean Terry, Pamela Brown, Joy Smith, Alfrida Benson, Joan Murray and Carole Lee. Knit and Natter runs every Thursday at 10am at Woodhouse Close Library and BATH Yarn Spinners is fortnightly on a Saturday morning at the Town Hall Library.
Joan Gordon said: “We all enjoy knitting and it’s a very social, friendly group who support each other with knitting projects.
“We love knitting for a good cause and when we were approached by balletLORENT to knit some carrots for children to feed to the rabbits after the show, we knew we had to get involved.
“We’ve got on board with all kinds of projects before, including creating nativity scenes and a Coronation display. We regularly knit for the premature baby unit at the RVI in Newcastle and also knit special outfits for Chemo ducks given to children undergoing chemotherapy.
“It’s good to know that our carrots will be well used, travelling to theatres in Edinburgh and Manchester along with The Velveteen Rabbit show, and then being used in schools workshops.”
Kylie Lloyd, executive director, balletLORENT, said: “We are very grateful to the Knit and Natter and the Yarn Spinners ladies for their enthusiasm and skill.
“Hand knitting has such a lovely, tactile quality about it and you can feel the love that has been knitted into every carrot. We know the children – and the rabbits – are going to love them.”
balletLORENT’s The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland DL14 7NP on Saturday 25 January 2025 11am & 2pm. Tickets are £10 from T: 0300 026 9524 or online
