T
The queen was impressed by the efforts of a retiree who has painstakingly created a version of the “woven Sandringham” from her Norfolk home.
Margaret Seaman, a 92-year-old great-great-grandmother, has spent two years working at the woolly royal residence and during the pandemic she was knitting up to 15 hours a day with the goal of raising funds for local hospitals.
When the Queen visited Sandringham recently, she toured the exhibit, now on display at her Norfolk home, and seemed to enjoy seeing it recreated in miniature.
Margaret Seaman with her woven creation from Sandringham House. Yui Mok / PA
The centerpiece is an 18-foot-long Sandringham house with intricate architecture, fireplaces, and windows surrounded by woven trees.
READ MORE
Other landmarks of the queen’s estate are featured, including the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, where the monarchy attends the Christmas Day service, and there are even woven members of the royal family.
Mrs. Seaman, a widow, said of the queen who saw her woven attraction: “That was absolutely wonderful, she seemed to enjoy it very much.”
She added: “I started it two years ago and wove the main house the first year and then the second year while we were locked up I did the remaining buildings, the church and stables and the museum.
“Even though we were locked up, I never got bored, or never wished I could go out or anything, I was very happy at home knitting Sandringham, I really enjoyed it.
The woolly buildings, trees, and members of the royal family took the retiree two years to weave them together. Yui Mok / PA Cable
“I have lived with my daughter since I lost my husband and I knit all day, she does everything else and takes care of me and cooks everything, and I knit between 12 and 15 hours a day.”
Ms Seaman’s creation was available to be viewed as a work in progress at the Norwich Forum and has raised around £ 3,000 in donations from those impressed by the retiree’s efforts.
The knitter is raising funds through a JustGiving page for projects at three Norfolk hospitals, including a dedicated breast cancer unit at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, a maternity mourning room at Queen Hospital. Elizabeth, King’s Lynn, and a community improvement project at James Paget Hospital University, Gorleston-on-Sea.
Visitors to Sandringham will be able to make a donation to the projects and the weaving exhibit is part of a visit to Sandringham House through October 14.
–
