WW1 remembrance in cross stitch

[mrs Stan]

I love to combine hobbies and interests. WW1 is my number one interest after that very first visit to a WW1 battle area which became a very moving experience.

When this kit was released it was a must have for me. A great one to work on!

[mrs Stan]

The cover of my hymn book did not really look nice; a not so nice colour and some damage. I wanted to stitch a cover for it and wanted it to be something special. I wanted a cross on it, but prefered a "Cross of Sacrifice" as to be seen on the British military cemeteries. There's no pattern for it and at the time I was not able to make in on my pc and so I decided to do it as drawing something from a picture, but this time with needle and silk... Only the poppy in the front comes from a pattern; from the kit mentioned above!



On the back I stitched my initials. The pattern for these come from the Poppy Alphabet which was published in a magazine. I connected them together.

[mrs Stan]

Of all I ever stitched, this is my number one favorite, the Menin Gate, memorial to the missing at Ypres, Belgium. The Menin Gate has over 55000 names on its wall of boys and men who have no known grave, lost in WW1. Every night at 8:00 pm "the Last Post" is played during a moving ceremony.

I made the pattern from a photo using a pc program. It was my first time to use this program and only after many hours of stitching I could see that the program works well.
I added the words of a poem to it that is read each time during the Last Post Ceremony, every one attending repeating the last line of it. And I added a poppy, the flower of remembrance, to it, taken from the Poppy Alphabet once published in a magazine.







It took me some time to find the right frame. After a long time I found one at a charity sale.




Margreet

[JA Fan]

Oh, bravo, bravo!!!!
You have done some beautiful, very meaningful pieces -- combining different elements too.
Well done!!

My grandfather was in the trenches of France and would never speak of it for the rest of his life. Understandable, but I was sad that I never knew of his experiences in WW1. These things do need to be told of. Future generations need to know what these men sacrificed.

[karen4bells]

Very very nice stitching projects!!

[rcperryls]

lovely projects with so much meaning.

Carole

[Carole]

They are very special. Well done to you

[quilty]

very fitting projects for remembrance,I really like the book cover.

[pattiebelle]

stunning and profound.

so much thought went into these. thank you for your sharing.

[Fljotsdale]

How creative! Lovely, thoughtful projects. And well-stitched, too!
That little verse always brings a tear to the eye for those young men, who may or may not have felt very brave, but who sacrificed their futures for ours anyway.

[Squirrel]

Thoughtful, meaningful projects and so beautifully stitched too. The one of the Menin Gate is magnificent.

Strange co-incidence I was reading yesterday on my NZ news site that the remains of another unknown NZ soldier has been found in a field near Ypres - and reburied in the military cemetry there will full honours of course.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful tributes to so many who gave so much for us all.

Sally

[coffee_freak]

[Rose]

Wonderful, wonderful projects!!!!!!

[Athalie]

Lovely work and a great subject, something we should never forget.

[megan_bright]

All of these are so great and meaningful! It's good to see that people still remember after all this time.

[wendywombat]

My grandfather was in WW1 the "War to end all wars"
He said only a few things about it.
How to get 'clean' water they had to sieve it through their socks and how he 'traded his body for food'.

Your wonderful Stitching has brought a tear to my eye...but thank you for sharing.

[Lessa54]

Lovely work. My DH is a member of the Royal British Legion and we do a lot of events to raise money for them and these are simply fantastic evocative pieces.

[Nachstenliebe]

Very impressive work!!!
Faith

[meerkat]

Your stitching is beautiful. Like JA fan my grandpa was in the trenches in France and never ever spoke of it. He was only 17 in 1916 when he went to France because he lied about his age. When our sons' were 17 respectively it made me think all the more about my Grandpa.
You have chosen a lovely way to commemorate and remember this part of our history.

[Raine]

Your beautiful projects bring tears to my eyes.