CALLING all knitting, sewing and crotchet enthusiasts! Local business EJ Crafts on Maristow Street is planning for the war memorial in Westbury town centre to be ‘yarn bombed’ with poppies for this year’s Remembrance Sunday.
Emma Symonds who owns EJ Crafts saw that Warminster had something similar last year and was inspired to do the same in Westbury.
She explained, “When I saw it in Warminster last year I thought it looked amazing and it is such a lovely way of remembering those who died protecting this country and to show support to the people that are still protecting us.
“It is open to anyone, groups, individuals and business. I have patterns for knitting/crochet poppies in the shop and the cost is just a donation to the Royal British Legion. I also have red wool in the shop, but please feel free to use any that you already have.
“I hold a ‘Knit and Natter’ session every other Wednesday 6.00pm-7.30pm and every Saturday afternoon, and up until Remembrance Sunday I will be holding poppy knitting workshops where you can come and knit or crochet poppies and make new friends. The cost for both sessions is just a donation towards refreshments. If these times do not suit you, please get in contact with me and I can arrange for different days or times.
“If you would like to join but you don’t know how to knit or crochet a poppy, I am giving lessons for £3.50 and will be donating £1 of this to the Royal British Legion. The lesson can be done on weekdays, evenings and weekends and can be one-to-one or in groups.
“If anyone would like to learn how to knit in general, throughout July and August the lesson will be half price at £4; the normal price is £8.
“Once the poppies have been made, they can be dropped off at the shop in Maristow Street.
“I launched this idea about four weeks ago on Facebook and I’ve had an excellent and positive response. I have nearly 100 poppies already, but need a lot more.
“The poppies will be put on the railings around the rotunda, the railings on the war memorial and weather permitting, spread them all over the garden behind the war memorial.
“If you do not have time to knit or crochet poppies but you would still like to be involved, you could donate red wool for others to make poppies.
“If you would like to be kept up to date with how many poppies we have and other events, you can find EJ Crafts on Facebook. For more information, pop into the shop or send me a message on Facebook.”
