When Yvonne Hornblow found herself with some unexpected time on her hands, she decided to learn a new skill and put it to good use raising money for Queenscourt.

Yvonne, a therapy assistant and part of the Queenscourt at Home team, taught herself to crochet using online tutorials and then set about creating rainbows which she offered for sale on Facebook in return for donations to Queenscourt.

She has been overwhelmed by the response and has already raised £1,600 after selling 50 rainbows and accepting orders for a further 100. The crochet rainbows come in two sizes – large, 12x7 inch ones which are perfect for displaying in windows, and smaller ones which are ideal for the car.

“I initially just started selling to friends and family, but it just took off,” said Yvonne. “I am really enjoying it so don’t mind carrying on. I am still taking orders and people have been really good as I’ve been honest and told them there will be a bit of a wait as I have so many orders to complete.

“I am really surprised at how popular the rainbows are – it was just something I decided to do after learning the new skill. It has helped keep me sane while on lockdown and I’m so pleased it is raising some money for Queenscourt.”