A "Famous" Grandma

I was trawling through Google when I came across a story written about my Grandma in her local paper "The Wagin Argus". It was from March this year but I thought I would post it anyway.

It was titled "Wagin women make disadvantaged children's lives happier".

A LABOUR of love, Vera Pederick of Wagin has been knitting teddies for children in third world countries for the past eight years.

The teddies are sent to Joseph’s Coat, a Christian organisation in Perth, for distribution around the world.

Mrs Pederick (89) said it all started when a doctor involved in the organisation saw that a teddy in a parcel helped to make a sick child better, so he put out a request for more teddies.

Today Joseph’s Coat sends more than 600 teddies at a time overseas.

“I started counting in July 2000, although I had made some teddies before,” Mrs Pederick said.

“I have made 835 all together and I am surprised I have sent 276 to the Cleft-Pals.”

A teddy is given to every baby born with a cleft- palate, of which there are around 50 a year.

Kath Burnett helps Mrs Pederick with the knitting of the teddies.

“She won’t put them together or stuff them, that’s my job, I finish them off with eyes and mouths and they all have different personalities.”

Mrs Pederick also makes up rugs from knitted squares for the same charity.

“Daphne Andrews (97) knits the squares and I’m flat out between rugs and teddies,” she said.

Mrs Pederick said it would take her about a full day to make a teddy.

Donations of eight-ply wool or old pillows to be used for stuffing would be welcome.

Article by Veana Scott. Full article here.