Powys Brecknock Panel

Description

Powys Brecknock’s panel startsin 2010 on the left hand side with the entry of the timeline as a road
which winds its way around the panel, changing from a road to the Brecon and Monmouthshire
Canal and then to the Rivers Wye, Usk and Honddu. This river flows from their federation badge to its confluence with the Usk at Brecon where the federation office is based. The various aspects of
the timeline have been machine embroidered in variegated thread onto the calico and backed with
stitch and tear and Bondaweb® which was used to iron it to the panel before stitching it in place
with invisible thread. The names of all the federation’s WIs have been embroidered onto the road,
canal and river bridges and these were sewn by a member from each WI so that every WI had a hand in the panel.

In the top left hand corner a Red Kite, a bird native to the area, hovers over the scenes on the panel. This has been machine embroidered onto calico and backed with stitch and tear and Bondaweb®.
As the timeline travels around the panel the many campaigns that the NFWI has been involved in are evident. To the right of where the timeline enters, the heavily pregnant women in retro floral prints, appliqué and Bondaweb® highlight the Women Reaching Women and the Mums Matter campaign; also note the beaded bracelet on the wrist of the woman on the left. The three year Women Reaching Womencampaign aimed to raise awareness of world poverty, inequality and
climate change, focusing particularly on how women were affected, and the Mums Matter maternal health campaign called for more action to improve maternal healthcare focusing on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 which promised to reduce the number of mothers dying in poor countries by three quarters by 2015.

Above the women a scroll celebrates Powys Brecknock’s Woman of the Year 2014 award sewn using silk threads and cross stitch. The awards are given in recognition of outstanding contributions made by members of Powys Brecknock Federation in the areas of Community Work, Charity Work and for the Unsung Hero. An independent panel of judges chose a winner in each category and the Woman of the Year is awarded to the person considered the most worthy from the three
categories.
The fun montage shows the Teaching Children to knit project in all its glory, the figures have
been appliquéd on and their school uniforms are those of local schools in felt and fabric. The pictures with knitting instructions are hand painted and have been scanned and painted onto fabric as has the scene through the classroom window of the Brecon Beacons and Pen y Fan, the highest point in the county. The woollen items have all been hand knitted and the miniature knitting needles hand made.

On the right hand side of the panel, the heart shape focuses on the Love your Libraries campaign which built on the understanding that public libraries are cherished spaces. WI members have championed the library service, highlighted the important role that public libraries play, particularly in tough economic times, and raised awareness of risks to the service. The heart has been made using an original watercolour painting on paper, printed onto cotton fabric and appliquéd.

The ladders and people sorting out the books were made of fabric and appliquéd. Beneath this, the hands protect the precious bundle inside and highlight the More Midwives campaign using fabrics, Bondaweb® and appliqué. The campaign arose out of a resolution passed in 2012 which read ‘There are chronic shortages of midwives. The NFWI calls on the Government to increase investment in training, employment and retention of midwives in England and Wales to ensure services are adequately resourced and are able to deliver a high standard of care’. Since the WI
has been campaigning on this issue, there has been a renewed focus on maternity staffing in the NHS.

At the bottom of the panel the cow calling out for a fair price for its milk denotes the Mission Milk campaign building on the Great Milk Debates in 2007. By teaming back up with the NFU in 2010 to revisit these debates, the NFWI hoped to demonstrate that consumers have a real stake in the
vibrancy of the British Dairy industry and called on retailers, processors, consumers and the Government to play their part in ensuring a long-term future for British milk. The scene has been completed using felt, fabrics, machine embroidery and Bondaweb®.

To the left of the panel above the federation badge the black bars in felt and the green prison door
in fabric with the bold words Care Not Custody represents the 2008 resolution calling for an end to the inappropriate detention of people with mental health problems. The NFWI called for people with mental health problems to get the right care for their condition via more diversion schemes
and better community mental health services offering safe alternatives to imprisonment. In January 2014 a further £25 million was committed to the ongoing development of liaison and diversion services and ten trial sites were announced.

The white ribbon to the right sewn in machine embroidery features the Not in My Name campaign which aims to recruit male ambassadors to speak out against domestic abuse, and by wearing the white ribbon they pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.

Behind the white ribbon are the signatories from the Powys Brecknock area stitched in handwriting in thread shaded black and grey.

The federation badge has been sewn using silk threads and cross stitch. It represents the Brecon
Beacons, and the gold bands between the W and I represent the seven groups that comprised Powys Brecknock Federation in the 1980s. The badge was the winning entry in a competition won by a member of Llangynidr WI.