Ripon knitters create life-sized tank to mark D-Day MKM Ripon support Ripon Community Poppy Project. MKM Ripon support Ripon Community Poppy Project I visited Ripon in North Yorkshire the other day and came across panels of knitted 'plaques' commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-DAY
Enniskillen D-Day exhibition melds battles with balls of yarn Bombers, battles and balls of yarn at 'bonkers' D-Day exhibition RAF bombers, beach assaults and balls of yarn have come together for a "bonkers" D-Day exhibition dreamt up by a woman born in Northern Ireland and brought to painstaking life by an army of knitters from across the world. The Longest Yarn, which is on display at St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen, features 80 scenes detailing the preparation and battles of the 1944 Normandy campaign. The project is the brainchild of Tansy Forster, originally from Magherafelt, County Londonderry who is now living in Normandy, France. She said The Longest Yarn was a "bonkers idea" to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. "It started off as a topper for my garden gate and I'm afraid I got a little bit carried away," she explained. RAF bombers, beach assaults and balls of yarn have come together for a "bonkers" D-Day exhibition dreamt up by a woman born in Northern Ireland and brought to painstaking life by an army of knitters from across the world. The Longest Yarn, which is on display at St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen, features 80 scenes detailing the preparation and battles of the 1944 Normandy campaign. The project is the brainchild of Tansy Forster, originally from Magherafelt, County Londonderry who is now living in Normandy, France. She said The Longest Yarn was a "bonkers idea" to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. "It started off as a topper for my garden gate and I'm afraid I got a little bit carried away," she explained. RAF bombers, beach assaults and balls of yarn have come together for a "bonkers" D-Day exhibition dreamt up by a woman born in Northern Ireland and brought to painstaking life by an army of knitters from across the world. The Longest Yarn, which is on display at St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen, features 80 scenes detailing the preparation and battles of the 1944 Normandy campaign. The project is the brainchild of Tansy Forster, originally from Magherafelt, County Londonderry who is now living in Normandy, France. She said The Longest Yarn was a "bonkers idea" to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. "It started off as a topper for my garden gate and I'm afraid I got a little bit carried away," she explained. The Enniskillen knitters have created a panel at the entrance to the exhibition and are taking part in the next Longest Yarn project, Britain at War. They will be making a scene showing American troops arriving in Northern Ireland to prepare for the invasion. Some of the people involved in the D-Day project have travelled to Enniskillen. Jean Wood, who lives in County Cork, said she was drawn into the project after she saw a post on Facebook. Although she enjoys sewing and making clothes, she had not done a lot of knitting or crocheting. "But I do now," she declared. Ms Wood made a field hospital near Utah Beach, with an ambulance, tents and injured soldiers. To make the scene as historically accurate as possible, she looked at photographs and carried out extensive research. Ms Wood says it is "brilliant" to be a part of something important. "I love it if the children can be attracted by it and find out just a little bit about what happened in the past so that we don't forget all the guys that gave their lives and were so brave." Jo Groves, from Cornwall, made a scene showing the first village to be liberated, depicting a church and local people greeting soldiers. She said it took her and a friend more than 300 hours of hard work to put together. "It was well worth paying homage to the veterans, we don't want to lose this part of our history," she added.
