Queen of the ‘Postbox Hats’ Reveals the HARP hat!
Linda Catling decided to start creating ’Postbox Hats’ during the first lockdown over a year ago.
After losing half her eyesight, Linda wanted a new creative hobby to keep her busy during the months of pandemic-enforced isolation.
Inspired by the local community in Leigh-on-Sea, who placed teddy bears in their windows as a sign of support for the NHS during the pandemic, Linda decided to develop the idea, knitting face masks and PPE for her teddy bears.
The only problem was that people could not see them from the street. So Linda, an experienced knitter for over 60 years, decided that it would be fun to knit a hat for the postbox on her street.
Linda said: "I wanted to do something that allowed me to be creative and design whatever I like. Now every month, I just make whatever comes to me."
The first hat went down a treat in the local area, so Linda decided to step it up again, creating a more elaborate 3D design for the community to enjoy. Her Christmas design went viral!
Linda has made over 30 of her ‘Postbox Hats’ in total, and her complex designs have made her a local celebrity. Linda's designs are so elaborate that they take months to create. She creates new designs for different events, holidays and charities.
Linda's efforts have been recognised Nationwide. She has received awards from the local community, been featured on ITV and BBC, and even has two letters of thanks from Royalty!
“Receiving letters from Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne for my ‘Postbox Hats’ was really amazing! Princess Anne even asked if she could keep the one of her father, Prince Phillip!”
We would like to say a massive thank you to Linda Catling for the fantastic ’Postbox Hat’ she created for HARP! We absolutely love it and can't thank her enough!
Linda said: "I do it because it brings a lot of joy to the whole community. As long as they love them, I will keep doing them!"
We can't wait to see what hat will be next!
