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War Stories Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the End of World War 1

with

Exhibitions throughout the UK each one comprising 100 Hearts in association with

SSAFA – The Armed Forces Charity (WILTS)

Create an embroidered heart commemorating the life of a family member, a significant moment in time, objects of war, an act of bravery etc

An object of beauty, honour, courage,

remembrance, truth or passion.

The Heart design has been used through history as a means of conveying ideas.

You might like to research embroidered hearts and pin cushions before you decide on your final idea.

Quilters of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom for an

exhibition in Salisbury Cathedral

We are inviting Guild members to take part in the commemoration of the ending of WW1 a 100 years ago by producing one heart. Each heart will be included in at least one exhibition and, ideally, the exhibition would be as near to your home location as possible. Between 100 and 200 hearts will be included in exhibitions at the 2018 Knitting & Stitching Shows (space permitting) and/or the NEC in 2019 and in other major venues throughout the UK.

Our Intention – As part of the Guild’s 5-year plan (2016/20) to bring stitch and textile art to attention of the wider public (adults and young people) in greater numbers than ever before we are embarking on a project to create at least 20 exhibitions each of 100 hearts to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1.

Important Dates – 5th February 2018 & 31st July 2018

5th February 2018 – The final date by which you need to inform the Guild of your intention to stitch a heart to be included in one or more exhibitions in 2018/2019. Please use the Registration Form that accompanies this project briefing to let us know that you intend to take part. Once we know your choice of size and colour we will be able to send you the fabric you need and further information on creating your heart. This will include a template; stitch & stuffing notes; design ideas;

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hanging options; and guidance on identifying your heart. You will receive these notes by the end of February 2018.

31st July 2018 – Final date by which your heart needs to be ready to despatch prior to being included in one or more exhibitions in 2018/19. This will give you a period of 5 months to complete your heart and give the project team time to allocate hearts to exhibition venues and make the necessary arrangements to create each exhibition of 100 hearts.

Design - You are invited to create your own design to cover all or part of the front face of your commemorative heart and, possibly, the seam. The design can depict an aspect of the war from the battlefields, ships, planes, munitions, military insignia, war horses and other animals and specific events to the experiences of a family member or friend who took part in the war whether as a member of the armed services or in a civilian role. Your design can include the use of photos, medals, ribbons, braid, buttons, uniform materials, clasps, closed pins, printed materials, and other items from your family’s archives. 2018 is also the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force. You will be able to choose the size of heart you wish to create either 30cm (12”) or 15cm (6”). If you are a member of a branch it may be that the ‘100 Hearts’ projects is discussed at a meeting or meetings early in 2018 with a view to sharing ideas and sources of information. There is a section on the members’ side of the Guild website devoted to ideas and further information on this project.

Fabric - Your commemorative heart must be produced in the material we supply. We have agreed with SSAFA Wiltshire to use only three military colours – Light Blue, Dark Blue and a Mid Red. SSAFA Wiltshire supplied Pantone references for these colours and we have sourced suitably matching fabric on your behalf. Hearts produced in other colours will not be included in exhibitions.

Guidelines – The commemorative hearts will not be heavy but will take up a lot of space when stored together and will present a transport challenge when en-route to and from exhibition venues and transit holding points in between. For these reasons we ask that you take account of these practicalities…

- No open sharp objects or objects so positioned that they may cause harm when the heart is handled.

- No frames or display boxes or glass.

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On-Line Exhibition – In addition to the exhibitions at host venues we will endeavour to create a Pinterest on-line exhibition of commemorative hearts. Many hearts will also be featured on the Guild website. This will require good quality close-up images being supplied to the Guild; more on this later in the project.

Further Information – When we see the number and locations of members taking part we will start to plan the exhibitions and the logistics of getting hearts to the exhibition venues in more detail. We have already made approaches to many of the CB exhibition venues and been welcomed by them. We also expect to partner with new organisations for these exhibitions. Again, we already have some initial successes.

Costs & Contributions – The Guild has allocated significant funds to pay the background costs of a project on this scale. It will also take several thousand hours of volunteer time. We are only asking you to contribute £12.50 to these costs. This is to cover…

Sufficient fabric for a 30cm or 15cm heart as you require.

Template and notes packing and postage to you.

Transporting your heart to and from one or more exhibition venues and, where required, returning

your commemorative heart to you.

Suitable, secure storage as needed.

Out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers.

For this project we are asking for payment by cheque. On other occasions we will continue to encourage payment on-line or by DD. For further payment details please see the Registration Form that should accompany this introduction to the ‘100 Hearts’ project.

Registering – Please use the Registration Form in Word that accompanies this briefing. It can also be found on the members’ side of the Guild website. If you are intending to take part please post your Registration Form and cheque for £12.50 as soon as possible and certainly no later than 5th February 2018. 100 Hearts Registration, Embroiderers’ Guild, Bucks County Museum, 9 Church St., AYLESBURY HP20 2QP

Fundraising – We would also like to raise funds from this project. Fundraising monies will be shared with SSAFA Wilts. It is permissible for us to do so. The intention is hold a sale in 2019 of hearts donated by members. At this stage we are not asking for your decision on retaining or donating your heart. We will only do this at the point at which you send your heart to us for inclusion in an exhibition.

Keeping up-to-date with the project as it develops

Via the Guild Website – www.embroiderersguild.com. Log-in to the Members’ Room using your 5-digit Membership Number and Password. Please check the website for information updates before emailing the project team – 100Hearts@embroiderersguild.com

We can only send information and answer questions by email. Please check the Guild website in the first instance. There will be regular updates. If you do not have an email address but would like to take part we suggest that you provide an email address we can use for this project, perhaps the address of a family member, neighbour or friend who will be happy to pass on a printout of our emails to you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, is the longest serving national tri-service military charity. For over 132 years, they have provided lifelong support to those who are serving or who have ever served in our Armed Forces and their families. Registered as a charity in England and Wales Number 210760; in Scotland Number SCO38056; and in Republic of Ireland Number 20006082. Established 1885. Twitter : @ssafawiltshire Facebook: SSAFAWiltshire Website: www.ssafa.org.uk