With many great submissions, this was a difficult competition to judge. Our judges reviewed all entries and have chosen Totara Hospice as the winner of the 2021 Hospice OT Yarn bombing competition. Franklin Hospice have been selected as the runner up.

A message from our Judges:

"Thank you to all the participants who gave their time and creativity to this project.

The entries were exceptional, colourful and detailed, showing incredible dedication to the design. Who would know that a clever person could knit realistic carrots and onions! Kudos to the Franklin Hospice team for their video with their colourful tree and veggies representing the farming community!

Everything popped with colour from the teapots, cupcakes and Teddy bears from the Mary Potter hospice 'Teddy bears picnic' which they say will each go to a deserving person to cuddle eventually. Then there was the tree filled with 400 unique flowers, birds, butterflies and bumblebees from the Waikato team representing the patients who are the ‘flowers in our tree”.

Finally, Totara Hospice created many faces representing the ‘Team of five million' who wrote ‘in sharing the doing we aspire to the best outcome for ourselves, for those around us and those that come after us. Together we face the odds.’ A fitting sentiment.

Congratulations to Totara Hospice and The Franklin Hospice."

Scroll down to see some of the entries and the stories behind the creations.

Totara Hospice's Team of Five Million

In sharing the doing we aspire to the best outcome - for ourselves, for those around us and those who come after us. Together we face the odds.

Team of Five Million was created by patients, volunteers, staff and friends of hospice to celebrate the power of collective effort. It represents the life we are afforded in Aotearoa and the environment in which we live, work and play.

Franklin Hospice's Vegetable Delight

Franklin Hospice is right in the heart of Pukekohe, one of the most fertile vegetable growing areas in New Zealand.

We are a very small hospice so, on behalf of our patient and carer support group, Daybreak which took this project on as their own. we asked our community to join in celebrating what makes Franklin so great. We received so much knitting, crochet and weaving. The carrots, potatoes, onions, parsnips and capsicums are perfect – every detail is amazing. While we were working on decorating the tree, a professional photographer came along and asked if he could take photos and a video! Just another reason why our community is most excellent.

Mary Potter Hospice's Teddy Bears’ Picnic with Aroha

In creating a yarn bomb with a practical focus, our teddy bears’ picnic not only symbolises the values that guide our care, but has also resulted in something tangible that can bring comfort to our patients and their loved ones.

Our teddy bears represent TLC (tender loving care – or teddy loving care!) and will be gifted to the younger ones in our service who need a “teddy hug” to support them through the tough times.

As part of this project, we also focused on creating knitted hearts with a special meaning.

Inspired by the knitted heart projects run by the NHS in the UK to bring families comfort during pandemic restrictions, we decided to launch our own version of hearts to hold.

Hospice Waikato's Blossoming Flowers

We decided to use flowers as our yarn bomb, as they blossom and stay for a short time while the tree is a more permanent part of a garden. This is also representative of the patients that come through the Hospice Waikato service. They are the the flowers on our Hospice Tree; individual, unique, and delicate but only part of our service for a short time.

The intricate skill, aroha and pride that each knitter took in crafting these beautiful flowers, bumble bees, birds and butterflies that now adorn the maple trees in our main carpark is evident. Our yarn bomb effort received over 400 flowers and insects and each one was lovingly and skilfully crafted. For some participants this was a challenging project but they all achieved a sense of mastery once a flower, or 10 were completed.

The Great Hospice OT Yarn Bombing challenge 2021

In conjunction with OT WEEK 2021, we are pleased to be collaborating with Hospice OT's to sponsor this years annual yarn bombing event.

To lead a creative project involving patients, carers, colleagues, volunteers and local supporters. The idea is to knit, crochet, weave motifs or shapes that will be pieced together to “dress” a tree or structure within the hospice grounds.

This year’s OT WEEK theme is “Celebrating Excellence” and we encourage you and your teams to craft your entries with this in mind, to represent what makes your hospice and the region it serves unique.