The NHS Knittingale Hospital: Fundraiser Margaret unveils latest woollen wonder

It normally starts with the same simple statement: "Tricia, I've had an idea."

That's how Norfolk's 91-year-old "Queen of Knitting" Margaret Seaman casually introduces her fundraising schemes to her daughter.

The routine that follows is well rehearsed. Mountains of wool engulf the pair's bungalow in Caister-on-Sea. The fundraising page launches. The gruelling knitting schedule begins.

During lockdown, that schedule was even more intense.

For three months, Margaret knitted for up to 12 hours a day - turning 34 balls of wool into a medical masterpiece; the 'NHS Knittingale Hospital'.

It features painstakingly-stitched wards, a cafe, A&E department, reception area and even a helipad. Each of the 59 tiny figures took about two hours to make.

A labour of love which began because the great-great-grandmother was desperate to do something to help NHS workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

"I can't go to a hospital and help," she said. "I've got to stay indoors myself because of my age.

Her efforts have raised almost £3,700, which will be split between Norfolk's three main hospitals.

- Watch a report from May when Margaret started her challenge.

Margaret only took up knitting as a hobby when her husband Fred died seven years ago. She found it was a great way to keep herself occupied.

Since then, her woollen wonders have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity.

Last year, it was the huge knitted model of Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile that wowed visitors to the Norfolk Makers' Festival at The Forum in Norwich.

In January, Margaret unveiled another right royal success: Sandringham House in stitches.

That one took her six months and included some mini-monarchs.

The 'NHS Knittingale' will go on show at The Forum for the Norfolk Makers' Festival in February.

Of course, by then, Margaret may well have had another of her "ideas".