A special installation to mark the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day will be a centrepiece at this year’s Wonderwool Wales event.

Tansy Forster and her fellow knitters have agreed to create the new installation especially for the 19th Wonderwool Wales, the premier wool and natural fibre festival in Wales, which will be held at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells on April 26 and 27.

The new work follows the great success of The Longest Yarn, an 80 metre, 3D wool art depiction of the D-Day landings in France on June 6, 1944, which is currently touring the UK. More than 1,000 knitters from across the world contributed to the project which snowballed from Tansy’s initial idea of a display for her garden wall.

“We are thrilled that Tansy and her group of fellow knitters in France are producing the VE Day display just for us and it will take pride of place at our exhibition for 2025,” said Wonderwool Wales director Chrissie Menzies.

“I am certain that the exhibition will attract a lot of interest here in Wales and across the UK. It’s exciting to have this work made exclusively for our 2025 show and I can’t wait to see their work.”

An award-winning two-day event, Wonderwool Wales celebrates all that’s great about Welsh wool and natural fibres, attracting around 6,000 visitors from across the UK and as far away as America, Canada and Australia. Wonderwool Wales covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process. Exhibits of sheep, raw and hand dyed fibres, yarn for knitting and crochet, embellishments, equipment, dyes and books can be found alongside superb examples of finished textile art, craft, clothing and home furnishings.

Woolschool workshops, Sheep Walk fashion shows, demonstrations and have-a-go sessions hosted by some of more than 200 exhibitors are regular features of the popular eventTickets for the show and the Woolschools are now available online at www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk. For the latest news about the show, like Wonderwool Wales Ltd on Facebook or follow on Instagram @wonderwoolwales.

Picture caption: Tansy Forster with some of the knitted soldiers from ‘The Longest Yarn’ on Utah beach.

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