Worms Wiggle Their Way Into Hawkesbury Hearts

People who crochet and knit always end up with leftover wool, not enough to produce anything of any real usefulness, but enough to fiddle with - or make a mess.

One crafty woman has put those useless leftovers to, well, use. That’s right, Marta Collins found a pattern for little worms that are brilliant for use as sensory toys for people on the spectrum. She decided to make a few while she was travelling backwards and forwards to the Canberra hospital with her husband.

“The first few lots I donated to Canberra hospital,” Mrs Collins said.

Not in lockdown herself, Mrs Collins is unable to visit with her family members who are all in the Sydney area.

Mrs Collins said she had posted the pattern, along with a cheat sheet, on the Hawkesbury Worry Worms Facebook page and urged other people who could crochet to join her in creating these wonderful little worms and help ease some of the worries in the community.

“I’m only one person and I only make these in my spare time,” she said.

“I would love for someone else to take up the challenge.

“Just know that the first couple might look very weird. “They’re listed as a sensory toy, but they’re going a lot further than that.”

Mrs Collins' daughter, Sari, who lives in Bligh Park, posted Hawkesbury Worry Worms on Facebook and was blown away by the response.

“So many people are doing rock drops, so I posted and asked if I started hiding these around for people to find, would they be interested,” Ms Collins said.

“I had over 200 comments and nearly 750 likes.

“We’ve also got over 50 orders from people who said they’d like to send them to their family who are struggling.”

As an aged care worker herself, Ms Collins said that the elderly were also struggling and the worry worms were a great tool to get people’s minds off their problems for a time.

“We want to put smiles on everyone’s face,” she said.

The worms have even found themselves in Armidale, where Mrs Collins sent some to her brother because his two granddaughters are involved in a trial for diabetes where they have to give blood regularly.

Mrs Collins said the girls carry the worms in their pockets each time they go to give blood.

“It gives them something to do and concentrate on instead of thinking about giving blood,” Mrs Collins said.

“I’ve also made ‘beenies’ for Chris O’Brien Life House, where my sister, Bini, passed away and little baby ‘beenies’ for the Nepean hospital because Sari had her stillborn daughter Lylah and her second born daughter Mackenzie there.”

Unskilled with a crochet hook herself, Ms Collins has taken on the role of distributor, hiding the Worry Worms while out walking and playing with her three-year-old daughter.

"We spent all day Saturday dropping the rocks off," she said.

"I'm so excited to start hiding Worry Worms."

If you get the opportunity to go for a walk or take the kids to the park for a short burst of exercise, keep an eye out for these friendly little worms.

• Topics:

• Crafts
• Charity / Worthwhile Causes