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Baskets full of colorful flowers, slung over the arms of Ellie Boylan and Greg Madsen, attracted the attention of hospital workers.
Upon closer inspection, the workers discovered that the flowers were knitted from vibrant colors of yarn and that they were a gift to the workers from customers of House Mountain Yarn Co.
These knitted flowers were delivered to hospital workers at Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital last Thursday by Ellie Boylan, owner, and Donna Schick, employee, of House Mountain Yarn Co. as the last of many stops delivering flowers to medical facilities around the Rockbridge area.
The flowers were created in a knitting competition between Mountain Yarn Co. and the Knittin’ Coop in Salem to see which shop could collect the most flowers knitted by their customers. House Mountain Yarn Co. won the competition by a mere 20 flowers, considering that both shops collected over 700 flowers. The flowers collected by the Knittin’ Coop were distributed to medical centers in the Roanoke area.
According to Boylan, the first round of knitting flowers for medical workers happened in 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enlisting the help of crafters stuck in their homes, Mountain Yarn Co. wanted to show medical workers that the community was aware of their work on the front lines.
It was during the third year of knitting flowers that it developed into a competition with the Knittin’ Coop.
“It really brought out all the competitiveness of our customers, and they just went crazy making flowers,” Boylan explained.
The hospital staff were appreciative of the community’s efforts. Aimee Bell, a registered nurse, still has her flower from a couple of years ago, and every time she looks at it, it makes her smile from the kindness.
Madsen, vice president of Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital, said “It’s very nice to be appreciated. And during Covid, lots of folks recognized what we did here, and even out of Covid, we are taking care of our community.”
