Monday 8 August 2022

4600 Gifts for the Commonwealth Games

 


I live in a suburb of Birmingham and today is the last day and closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games that have been hosted by our city. It is fair to say it has been a divisive event with many people being unhappy it was held here for many reasons. However I have seen it as a positive event and a boost for our city both economic and hopefully people will have a different perspective about our city.

I had the opportunity to take part in a craft event 4600 Gifts. Basically members of the public living in and around Birmingham attended craft sessions and the purpose was to make a gift that would be given to each competitor in the Commonwealth Games. It seemed as a crafty person too good an event to miss out on so I booked my place and headed off to a shopping centre in Birmingham City centre.


The basic premise was to use one big washer and then join it to a smaller washer. There were strips of fabric and coloured wool, all in the colours of the commonwealth flags. All supplies had been donated by local companies and chosen by the designers for the project. You could choose whichever you wanted and all instructions were given with people on hand to show you if needed so crafters of any abilities could take part.

As you may see on my blog I like bright bold colours and the fabric strip for the larger washer instantly spoke to me. You fed it around the washer looping it tightly and then I sewed the loose flap to make it really secure.

I would have loved to use a bright green wool for the top section but there was none available to me so I opted for the blue instead. Finally you join both sections together to complete the gift by looping the wool through both sections. 

We then had a tag to fill in to be given with our gift where you could put a few words for your intended recipient. They were then boxing them up and adding a key ring so the competitor could use it on their bag etc.



It was a great opportunity to meet new people and a couple of the designers who were blown away by the response. It was great to be a part of a once in a lifetime event for our city. It is surreal to think that something I have made has been given to one of the athletes that have taken part. I did add my blog details so if the lucky person ever visits the may even see this post.

We live very close to Alexander Stadium and the Red Arrows flew over our house on the way to the opening ceremony. We love going to air shows and that was a huge highlight for us. Seeing them going over our back garden and then just seconds later seeing it on the BBC coverage flying over the stadium was just epic.


This photo was taken by neighbour over the road. You can see my green car in the driveway of our house. It was tremendously exciting


I would like to enter this project into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)


13 comments:

  1. What a wonderful thing to be a part of and a great idea by the organisers. Love the photo of the red arrows - awesome!

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  2. Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the event! So fun that your piece will go home with one of the exhibitors! It is so bright and creative; I'm sure it means a great deal to the recipient! Thanks for sharing with us at Paper à la Mode! ~Katrina

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  3. Such a cool project and idea for this event. Thanks for sharing at A Place To Start's August, "Anything Goes with a Twist/Books" Challenge.

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  4. Wow, I am so proud of you to have attended the crafting session and making such a great gift for a competitor. It's sad that some in your city would be unhappy at such an event being held there. I think it's a wonderful thing. Thanks for sharing with us at the Jan's Digi Stamps Challenge.
    Donna

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  5. What a great and thoughtful idea,love your project,great design and so colourful
    Carol x

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  6. What a brilliant idea Mandy and it sounds that you had a fabulous time too!
    Thank you for entering our Anything Goes Challenge at Through The Craft Room Door. Looking forward to see you again next challenge.
    Hugs Sheryl xx
    TTCRD DT

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  7. Such a great idea such superb work,Thank you for sharing your creation with us over at 613 Avenue Create and we would love to see you in our future challenges
    Elaine DT

    AAA Birthday DT
    Mix it UP DT
    613 Avenue Create DT
    Love to Craft DT
    Love to Scrap DT
    Peace on Earth DT

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  8. Fabulous project!
    Thanks for playing with us at Paper à la Mode!
    Val DT

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  9. Wow! What a great project for the competitors to take home; and a generous gift from the community of crafters. You should be proud and that the city as a whole have come to see the benefits. Thank you for sharing your story with us at Jan's Digi Blog Challenge. Good Luck and Happy Crafting!
    Hugs,
    Jan
    (Owner & Illustrator of Jan's Digi Stamp Shop)

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  10. Such a kind idea! We saw Spitfires fly over us on the way to the ceremony, it was so exciting!
    Very happy to see this in our mailbox at 613 Avenue Create.
    Please come back again!
    The best of luck with your entry.
    Jackie, DT member at 613 xx

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  11. Such a great event and a wonderful gift that you made for some lucky participants. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us at Saturday Paper A La Mode Challenges.

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  12. Nice idea! Great work! Enjoyed the games! Thanks so much for sharing with us at 613 Avenue Create!
    Hugz,
    Chana Malkah, Owner

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  13. It looks great and what a wonderful idea too, thank you for joining us at the MAWTT challenge xx

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