Miniatura 100 Banner - 2024
The finished banner measured nearly 8' long and was displayed near the show entrance at Stoneleigh Park.
Below is a brief summary of how it came about and pictures of just some of the cushions that were used on the banner.
Click on an image to see further information about that item.
Miniatura have been supporting the Miniature Needlework Society since it was founded in 1987 so we felt it would be only fitting to support Miniatura's celebration of its 100th show by creating something that could be displayed to promote that fact.
The idea of a banner was the easy part but what to put on it that would be big enough to be seen (bearing in mind miniature needlework by definition IS miniature)? The use of individual cushions to spell out the word Miniatura and the number 100 was a wonderful idea. It meant that members were free to contribute as many or few items as they wished towards the project, they could choose whatever technique they preferred and (hopefully) it wouldn't take too long to produce something just 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" square.
The original idea was to spell out "Miniatura 100" using 100 cushions and we weren't sure how many people would take up the challenge to make so many cushions. In June we were a little concerned as we had only received about 40 cushions and had visions of committee members frantically stitching enough cushions to complete the plan. However, we needen't have worried.
We received a wonderful selection of cushions from some of our US members, delivered to our stand at Kensington in May. They had already planned to visit the UK at that time so it was convenient for one of them to collect all donations and bring them over in person. It saved them horrendous postage charges from the US and luckily didn't take up much room in their luggage.
Another selection of cushions came from Australia (collected in person by the MNS Chairman who happened to be taking a holiday in Australia from the end of May to the beginning of July), whilst others arrived in smaller numbers from members in the UK and Europe.
Gradually, more and more donations arrived until we had well over 100 by the end of August when we laid all donations out on the cloth and arranged them to create the the text "Miniatura 100". There were discussions about the best way to attach so many cushions to the cloth: using Velcro or stitching had been mentioned as possiblities, then someone suggested using safety pins! So much easier, quicker and less potentially damaging than sewing. And easier to dismantle afterwards.
In the gallery below are just some of the wonderful cushions we received. As we have come to expect from our members, the techniques they used were wide ranging. Some cushions are more basic than others but they all added to the overall fantastic effect that was achieved when putting them all together.
We did not ask people to supply details of their designs, materials or techniques used, so we have not been able to include these in any detail for many of the items. There were also a few that were donated anonymously, so we do not, at the moment, know who stitched them.