Appeal brings 40,000 poppies piling in

Welsh sheep farmer Olwen Veevers is up to her eyes in poppies this month as parcels of the knitted and hand-made textile flowers pile in from thousands of knitters and fibre fans from all over Wales, the rest of the UK and abroad.

So far, 40,038 poppies have been sent in support of an appeal by Wonderwool Wales, the annual showcase of Welsh wool and natural fibres, which will be staging a massive, commemorative WW1 installation at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells on April 28 and 29.Donated poppies will be strung together into a ‘Curtain of Poppies’ which will be displayed in Hall 3, where The Royal British Legion will have a stand and collect donations. The commemorative project, launched at the 2017 show, has encouraged 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.

Curtain of Poppies organisers, mother and daughter Olwen and Jane Veeversare delighted at the way the project has caught the imagination of so many schools, knitting groups, craft groups and individuals. These include teenage textile enthusiasts from Porthcawl Comprehensive School; crafters from Pontyclun; knitting club members from Llandrindod High School and members of the community in Crai. The initiative has also received support from the Powys War Memorials Projectwhich is organising a poppy making workshop at the beginning of April.

Olwen, a coloured sheep breeder and needle felt artist who farms at Cross Ash near Abergavenny said: “The poppies are now coming in thick and fast – at a rate of about five parcels a day. Some of them are already strung together but we’re also getting thousandsthat are unhitched and The Bridstow Spinners in Ross on Wye deserve a huge thank you for working furiously behind the scenes to sew themonto cords!” 

The current poppy count of 40,038 is being added to all the time and organisers are continuing to accept poppies until the end of March. Olwen said she has had parcels from all over the UK, from Spain, Alaska and other parts of the US. “It has been amazing and quite humbling! We have also had so many notes from people; some of them have brought a tear to my eye,” said Olwen, one of the organisers of Wonderwool Wales. “I hope to make a display of some of them alongside the curtain. One of my favourite notes was from a serving soldier, enclosing a beautiful embroidered felt poppy, who said she had never made anything else by hand in her whole life…”

Jane said: “A big thank you to everyone who has supported this project and to those of you who are still working on your poppies, please send them in as soon as you can, to give us enough time to string them all together and mount them on dowels!It would also be wonderful if as many of you as possible could come along to the show to see the result of your efforts.”

After its launch at Wonderwool Wales, A Curtain of Poppies will become a travelling exhibition and it is already booked to go to Powys County Council County Hall during May and the National Wool Museum of Wales from May 26 until the end of June. It will then be on display at the Gower Heritage Centre during July and August, the Newtown Textile Museum during September and next year (2019) it has been offered a permanent home at the Gower Heritage Centre.

Wonderwool Wales is inviting monetary donations in support of this project for the Royal British Legion. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Wonderwool-Wales-Curtain-of-Poppies.

Find out more about the 2018 show at www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk. Like Wonderwool Wales Ltd on Facebook or follow on Twitter @wonderwoolwales