Floral delight for Oswestry

More than 1,000 schoolchildren and hundreds of adults have turned the town into a floral delight by knitting, crochetings and crafting floral decorations to celebrate the Oswestry Makes project which runs throughout October.

The event also includes two huge installations of poppies, one from the Whittington Together group which make more than 3,500 flowers to hang over the castle, and the second from the national Wonderwool exhibition, Curtain of Poppies.

Over the past weeks workshops and demonstrations have been held to encourage people to get involved in making items on this year's Oswestry Makes theme, flowers for peace and remembrance.

Organisers say it is not too late for people to get involved with a free, crafts for wellbeing' event at Oswestry Library on Saturday from 11am until 3pm. People can drop in and get involved, making their own flowers.

Isabelle Waine, one of those involved in the project, said: "We have been overwhelmed with flowers of all shapes, sizes and textures. W live in a town that has so much talent and so many opportunities to learn how to make things too."

Displays in shop windows, in schools, on railing and on buildings, include textile, wire, wooden and metal flowers all made locally.

As part of Oswestry Makes Oswestry Library has an artist-in-residents, Ticky Lowe.

Ticky, who has been sponsored for the event by the Oswestry Rotary Club Mary Hignett trust, is running free workshops based on her 'floral deconstruction' art.

Ian Glennister from the Rotary Club, said: "It seems very apt that Miss Hignett was a naturalist and her trust, set up to help community projects and the arts in Oswestry, can help bring this wonderful artist to the town."

Isabelle said: "Throughout Oswestry Makes we are very lucky to have with us the magnificent touring ‘curtains of poppies’ . Many thanks to Wonderwool Wales for the opportunity to host this amazing installation. "

She said that the curtain was so huge it has had to be separated into four different installations at Oswestry Museum, Oswestry Library, Qube and Willow Gallery.

The Curtain of Poppies commemorates the centenary of the end of WW1 bringing together poppies crafted by individuals and community groups all over the UK in the same way that

Organisers hoped that the project would bring communities together in the same way that people on the Home Front during WW1 were united as they created numerous textile items for the troops serving abroad.

The full curtain features more than 65,000 hand made contributions from thousands of knitters and fibre fans from all over the UK, Europe and North America.

The curtain of poppies will move from Oswestry to Yns Mon on Anglesey and then on tour for the rest of 2018. It will be given a permanent home at the Gower Heritage Centre.

For more information on all of the great things to see and do as part of Oswestry Makes -visit the website oswestrymakes.wordpress.com.