ORGANISERS of Wonderwool Wales are calling on Powys knitters to help make thousands of textile poppies for a large-scale installation to mark next year’s centenary of the end of the Great War.
As the Campaign for Wonderwool’s Wool Week gets under way and Armistice Day approaches, there’s lots of reasons to get involved in the big “poppy knit” this autumn. And the year-end deadline for receipt of contributions looms ever nearer.
The Knitting Club at Llandrindod High School, Llandrindod Wells, Powys is one of many regional groups to have been inspired by the initiative. Joanna Chittenden, Careers, Work Experience, Enterprise and Activities Co-ordinator said: “I found out about it when I went to Wonderwool Wales this year and thought it was such a great project for our club and school to get involved with. Through this project we are making links with the History Department and for our Remembrance Day service in November. We have made about 30 poppies so far, a mix of knitted and felt ones.”
Curtain of Poppies organiser Jane Veevers is delighted with the enthusiastic support she has also received from other schools, regional knitting and craft groups and community groups including the Knit and Natter group at Brecon Library, Guilsfield WI and the Craft Club of Powys Radnor Federation of WIs. “We’ve also had interest from the Powys War Memorials Project and we are intending to run poppy making workshops with them, to make 2000 poppies to represent the 2000 men from Powys who were killed in WW1,” she said. The Powys War Memorial Project has organised and funded a free poppy-making workshop at The Welfare in Ystradgynlais on Monday October 16 between 10am-5pm. The drop-in session will be delivered by Wonderwool Wales and no booking is needed.
Jane is keen to galvanise more support from today’s community of knitters to recreate the united determination of the women at home during World War 1, who “did their bit” to support the troops overseas by knitting gloves, scarves, balaclavas and socks.
To find out the patterns for the textile poppies visit www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk/show-events/curtain-of-poppies.html