9 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca The Poppy Blanket Story Submitted by Lorna Hislop The Poppy blanket idea started back about a number of years ago. I came across a picture of one hanging from a turret in a castle in England. That image of those red poppies flowing down the side of that castle left such an impression – one that I cannot explain. Fast forward to 2019, when there was a clip on the Winnipeg news about a group that had made one and it was laid out in the Legislative Building. I belonged to a crochet group at our local church and I approached them with the idea of making one for Minnedosa. They were fully supportive and eager to learn. I searched out a couple of easy patterns for both crocheting and knitting. The poppies were to be made from red yarn and no bigger than 5” in diameter. It seemed like we just got started when COVID hit and everything shutdown and we were all isolating in our homes. It seems that this was one good thing that did come out of our lockdown – we needed something to keep ourselves busy. Word soon spread about our project and we had offers for help for the surrounding communities. We even received some monetary donations to help with costs of wool – people just wanted to get involved. In October 2020, we had collected 4600 poppies. It was about this time, that things began to open and we were able to meet face to face while distancing. We approached the Town to see if they would allow us to set up in the hall in order to put this idea together. 50’ of chicken wire strung out over many tables lined the hall and we asked the public to help us tie the poppies onto the wire. Over three days, with a total of 21 hours, volunteers worked at getting the blanket put together ready for November 1st. (Continued)
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