The woman making comfort blankets for Bradford's babies

Eliz Sandalls started crocheting blankets for newborn babies in West Yorkshire as a way of saying thank you to the hospital that saved her sight.

Since then she has gone on to donate more than 100 to the Bradford Royal Infirmary maternity unit.

Registered blind since 1987 after losing vision in her right eye, when Eliz was facing an operation in 2023 to save the sight in her left eye her daughter had just one message for the doctors.

"My daughter said [to the surgeon] 'as long as she can see to knit, that is the main thing'.

"I cannot see to read books and talking books tend to send me to sleep, but I am very active, I enjoy walking and I like to crochet."

After the operation was a success, Eliz wanted to find a way to say thank you and in 2025 hit upon the idea of using her crochet skills to do just that and to help others at the same time.

"While my vision is still limited, it allows me to continue with my crocheting and I am forever grateful to the BRI and surgeon, Helen Devonport, for saving some of my sight," she said.

"I get so much satisfaction knowing the blankets are going to good homes.

"They look really nice and are comfort blankets for little people.

"I've got a vision, in about 18 years time, of a boy and a girl getting together and they are going to move in, and one says, 'oh I've got a blanket like that'."

After creating the blankets at her home in Ilkley, they are passed on to midwives Sophie Wainman and Katie Hurley to distribute to new parents.

Among the recipients, 33-year-old Nimota Sowemimo, from Bradford, said the blankets had a handmade quality to them which makes them feel that bit more special.

"This is something that is made with so much love," she said.

"It is really beautiful, I love the colour, it makes it look more vibrant.

"For someone to sit down, put all of these beautiful colours together with so much love and care in their heart, and give it out for free, it is a very nice thing to do."

Tammy Millar, from Huddersfield, gave birth to triplets at BRI at just 24 weeks and five days.

She described it as a stressful and uncertain time when her children were taken to intensive care, but said the blankets had brought her a bit of light.

"Knowing that we had [the blankets], it took a little bit of the stress away," she said.

"We did not know that I was going into labour, so we did not have anything planned, we did not have anything packed, we had literally nothing with us.

"We did want to bring stuff, but obviously we could not because everything needs to be cleaned, because they are in intensive care."

She said the blankets were a source of comfort for both her and her children.

"It was really, really nice because it was something that was homemade, something that we could give to them when they got a little bit bigger and that made us feel a little bit homely.

"It gets a bit lonely when you're on the ward yourself and your kids are down in intensive care, so it was just nice to have that."

Sophie Wainman, the midwife who brings in Eliz's donations described it as a joy to be able to pass on the crocheted blankets.

She said: "Kindness costs nothing and Liz does these for nothing and she's passing on that joy just for who she is and being able to share that with everybody is really lovely."

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