Knitted poppies needed

A MAIN street full of knitted red poppies is what Katrina Christison would like to see in Ōtorohanga this Anzac Day.

The Ōtorohanga District Development Board member has teamed up with Ōtorohanga i-SITE to make it happen – but they still need help.

Knitters and crocheters are being asked to put their needles and hooks to work in honour of the national day of remembrance.

The hope is for the yarn poppies to be displayed in shop windows for about two weeks leading up to Anzac Day, and Katrina said there was no such thing as too many.

“We need as many as we can get, really.”

The idea was inspired by a display by the Royal Horticultural Society as part of the Chelsea Flower Show in London, England in 2016.

There, 300,000 knitted poppies formed fields as a tribute to those who served in war.

A few years ago, Katrina had some poppies made for display and in the past week four knitters have donated poppies to the i-SITE.

“We’ve got a couple hundred, but I’d like to get a couple thousand,” she said.

Katrina aimed to get every Ōtorohanga shop participating, with the potential for the poppies to become an annual part of the town’s commemorations.

Katrina and i-SITE manager Teresa Ferguson estimated they would need at least 15 poppies for each shop.

The i-SITE has patterns available for people to follow and is open from 10am-4pm, Monday through Saturday, to receive poppy donations.

Katrina said she hoped the community would get behind the idea.

“I’m not a knitter and not a crocheter, but I don’t think it takes that long.

“It’s something that anyone can try. We’re not fussy about the patterns and there are lots on the internet for people to find.”