The Longest Yarn

Last updated

The Longest Yarn
The Longest Yarn - Helmet on beach.jpg
Helmet on the beach
Year2024
Dimensions80 m(260 ft)
Website https://www.thelongestyarn.com/home

The Longest Yarn is an artwork commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, which took place in 1944. [1] It consists of a number of dioramas created in knitted and crocheted wool. Each diorama represents a scene from the 1962 movie The Longest Day . [1]

Contents

There are 80 dioramas - echoing the 80 years that have passed since the landings. [2] Each scene represents what happened during the few days before and on June 6th 1944. Scenes illustrate the doubts and difficulties faced by the allies such as predicting the weather. When the decision to proceed is made men and equipment board ships and aeroplanes, the invasion force crosses the English Channel and fierce fighting takes place to establish allied forces in France.

Exhibitions

The work has been displayed in France and at a number of locations in the United Kingdom, [3] and will visit the United States. The display is free to enter with donations being collected. [1]

2024

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crochet</span> Technique of creating lace or fabric from thread using a hook

Crochet is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term crochet, which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made from different materials, sizes, and types. The key difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used for their production, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before you begin the next one, while knitting keeps many stitches open at a time. Some variant forms of crochet, such as Tunisian crochet and Broomstick lace, do keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitting</span> Method of forming fabric

Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarn</span> Long continuous length of interlocked fibres

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses. Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Normandy landings</span> World War II landing operation in Europe

The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldershot</span> Town in Hampshire, England

Aldershot is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, 31 mi (50 km) south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Aldershot Urban Area – a loose conurbation, which also includes other towns such as Camberley and Farnborough– has a population of 243,344; it is the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diorama</span> Three-dimensional full-size or miniature model

A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes it is enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle modeling, miniature figure modeling, or aircraft modeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tinian</span> 1944 World War II battle between the United States and Japan

The Battle of Tinian was part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The battle saw napalm used for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Lancaster's Regiment</span> Infantry regiment of the British Army

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The title of Duke of Lancaster merged with the Crown on the accession of Henry V in 1413 and remains dormant, subject to any future revival. Customarily, however, the Sovereign is referred to as the Duke of Lancaster within Lancashire and in relation to the Duchy of Lancaster, and is the regiment's Colonel in Chief. The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is the county regiment for Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and the Isle of Man, and as such, recruits mainly from these areas.

<i>The Longest Day</i> (film) 1962 epic historical war drama film produced by Darryl F. Zanuck

The Longest Day is a 1962 American epic historical war drama film based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 non-fiction book of the same name about the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox, and is directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki. The screenplay was written by Ryan, with additional material written by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall and Jack Seddon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">352nd Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 352nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Deployed on the Western Front, the division defended Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. In late 1944, the division was reassembled as the 352nd Volksgrenadier Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DD tank</span> British WWII amphibious swimming tank

DD or duplex drive tanks, nicknamed "Donald Duck tanks", were a type of amphibious swimming tank developed by the British during the Second World War. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the M4 Sherman medium tank, that was used by the Western Allies during and after the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Cota</span> U.S. Army Major General

Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota Sr. was a senior United States Army officer who fought during World War II. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in June 1944, codenamed Operation Neptune, and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. He is known for rallying demoralized troops on Omaha Beach on D-Day, by engaging in combat beside them and personally leading their first successful breakout, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile manufacturing</span> The industry which produces textiles

Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods such as clothing, household items, upholstery and various industrial products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Overlord</span> Successful Allied liberation of Nazi-held western Europe in World War II

Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.

The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, with color and patterns, which turns it into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of coloring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Millin</span> Bagpiper during World War II

William Millin, commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian-born Scottish bagpiper, and was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of the British 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day.

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was an African American United States Army unit that saw combat in Europe during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard T. Schroeder</span> American soldier (1918–2009)

Leonard Treherne "Max" Schroeder Jr. was a colonel in the United States Army, who served on active duty from 1941 to 1971. As a captain during World War II, he commanded Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division in the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944, landing on Utah beach in France. Leading the men of his company, Schroeder was the first American soldier to come ashore from a landing craft in the D-Day invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarn bombing</span> Type of graffiti or street art

Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called wool bombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airborne Museum (Sainte-Mère-Église)</span> War museum in rue Eisenhower, Sainte-Mère-Église

The Airborne Museum is a French museum dedicated to the memory of paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions of the United States Army who parachuted into Normandy on the night of June 5–6, 1944. The museum is located in Sainte-Mère-Église.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Home". The Longest Yarn - A Thread Through History. 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  2. "Army of knitted soldiers raise awareness for D-Day". BBC News. November 2, 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  3. "Aldershot: Knitted D-Day installed at British Army's spiritual home". BBC News. November 1, 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.

Further reading