94 year old Grace Anstey was shocked when she found out that she had won first prize at the Kiama Show for knitting - especially since she didn’t even know she had entered.

Grace, who has been knitting since 1935 when her bedridden grandmother first taught her, stopped entering the Kiama Show after the passing of her husband in 2016. 

However, in 2025, a volunteer from her retirement home, Blue Haven Bonaira, was determined to help her make a comeback.

“After my husband passed away, I felt a bit disheartened and didn’t bother,” Grace says. “This is the first year back. It was only because one of the volunteers asked if I wanted to enter anything. I said no, I didn’t have anything good enough because I can’t see very well and didn’t think it was good enough.”

But when Grace’s great granddaughter attended the Kiama Show and saw her great grandmother’s name listed as a winner, she couldn’t wait to tell Grace.

“I’d forgotten the show was even on,” says Grace. “My great granddaughter said, You never told me you entered anything in the show. You got a first prize! One of the volunteers had entered it for me. I couldn’t believe it. I had to wait until they brought the award back before I could believe it!”

Grace’s prize-winning creation - a beautifully crafted and incredibly warm-looking knitted owl - took first place in the ‘residents from a retirement home’ category. And having lived in Kiama since 1982, this wasn’t the first time Grace had won at the Kiama Show.

“I’ve won quite a few prizes at the Kiama Show,” she says. “My husband also won a few for making model ships out of wood.”

One of the most memorable moments for Grace was when she and her husband competed in the same knitting category.

“I used to spin a lot of wool and won several prizes for that,” she recalls. “When my husband retired, he said he wanted to learn how to spin, so I taught him. That year, we both entered wool in the show - and he won first prize. 

“I told him, That’s the last time I’ll teach you anything!” she laughs. “He was very particular and very good at things. He liked things done properly.”

These days, Grace spends a lot of her time knitting at Blue Haven Bonaira, where she’s a member of the Knit and Knatter group. She’s already knitted 50 woolen poppies for ANZAC Day, 120 Christmas stockings, and contributes to the “Knit with Love” charity by knitting squares.

Grace’s room at Blue Haven Bonaira is filled with her creations, from patchwork blankets and rugs to knitted animals.

“I have to give Bonaira a lot of credit - they do such a great job,” says Grace. “There’s a group on Wednesdays called Knit and Knatter. We do a lot more ‘knattering’ than knitting, but we knit squares for charity.”

Grace’s room at Blue Haven Bonaira is filled with her creations, from patchwork blankets and rugs to knitted animals. It’s clear she has a deep passion for the craft.

“It’s creative and it passes the time,” Grace explains. “During the war, my mum, my two sisters, and I had to knit socks for the army. The government would provide the wool, and we’d knit them. I like knitting little things that give people pleasure.”

Although Grace suffers from arthritis, she continues to find ways to knit. She’s even been knitting knee warmers to ease the pain in her knees.

“I’m finding crocheting a bit difficult because of the arthritis in my thumb, but I have an ergonomic crochet hook that really helps,” says Grace. “I’ve got arthritis in my knees, and the only way to ease the pain is with warmth. You can’t have a heat bag on your knees all the time, so I thought I’d make some knee warmers.”

“I knit for a while, then crochet, then do a jigsaw. I have to keep going and do something every day.”

Grace has already crafted 50 poppies for ANZAC Day, and we can’t wait to see what she creates next.