What has not already been done to keep D-Day – the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from the Nazis – in memory and remembrance? Films and documentaries, eyewitness reports and books come to mind. But also knitwear?
Pictures 1 to 5: The Longest Yarn
A group called “The Longest Yarn” chose exactly this path of fine, fluffy craftsmanship to honor the turning point on the Western Front in June 1944 with the help of exemplary scenes. Each of the 80 scenes cost the group between 200 and 400 hours of knitting.
The exhibition has been in the works for over a year and is now going on tour: first to Notre-Dame in Paris, then to churches in Great Britain, then to the United States. The declared aim is to keep interest in the world event alive in the most unusual way imaginable.
“It’s a crazy idea that worked”
Tansy Forster, who lives in Normandy herself, is the founder of the exhibition. She has always had a great passion for knitting and used wool from her own alpacas for the first scenes.
What started as an idea to make mailbox figurines for their city ended with nearly 1,000 people from all over the world knitting to raise money for the exhibition. “It’s a crazy idea that worked,” Forster tells the BBC.
The free exhibition is on display in Hampshire until November 18th before moving on to Stoke-on-Trent, Tewkesbury, Eniskillen and Norfolk. Then it goes across the pond to the USA for around a year. “We designed the project with heart and soul,” says the initiator.
Our QUIZ on the topic of ENGLAND
