Straw Craft

We welcomed two visitors to our meeting in October, obviously looking forward to a 'hands on' craft session. The Beryl  Behague Christmas Friendship Tea was briefly discussed. This is our main community effort, in conjunction with the Parish Council and St Peter's Church. Most of the WI members provide some item of food for this event and also volunteer to help in the kitchen or in the hall.

The Blythe Group Meeting was advertised for the final time. This will be a group meeting with a difference, we will be having a '100 years of NFWI' Celebration Party, including a special cake, wine, a buffet and a 'super' raffle.

One of our members reported back to the group from the Council Meeting. We were informed that there were 4279 paid up members of the WI in Staffordshire and that 2 new institutes had been formed. The morning speaker was Lydia Slack who gave an amusing slant on farming. Michael Portillo was the afternoon speaker and he spoke on his background in politics and his more recent interest in the railways. It was noted that the trading stands were much improved and there were various arts and crafts on display, associated with the competitions.

Our speaker for the evening was Rose Sault who gave a 'hands on' talk on 'Straw Craft'. Corn dollies are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs before mechanisation. In traditional pagan European culture it was believed that the spirit of the corn lived amongst the crop, and that the harvest made it effectively harmless. Among the customs attached to the last sheaf of the harvest were hollow shapes fashioned from the last sheaf of wheat or other cereal crops. The corn spirit would then spend the winter in this new home until the "corn dolly" was ploughed into the first furrow of the new season.

In Britain, the straw used is mainly from wheat, oats, rye and barley. Traditional varieties of wheat such as Maris Wigeon are used as they are hollow, long stemmed and strong. The lengths of straw are carefully cut and soaked in very hot water for about an hour and then wrapped in a hot towel. Rose actually grows the corn herself and provides other crafters with this material. It is cut in the green, with a special reaper, and then hung in a shed to dry. The harvest usually takes place in the 3rd or 4th week of July.

We were all provided with 2 bundles of 4 straws. Folding one bundle at a time, we positioned the straws at right angles. With a simple folding technique the straws were plaited, and this was repeated with the other bundle. They were then tied together in a heart shape. We proudly admired our first attempts at corn dolly making.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 11th November when our speaker will be Ann Brown giving us ideas for Christmas flower arrangements. We meet in the Parish Hall at 7.30pm and visitors are very welcome. For further details please contact Penny Bailey through the link at the bottom of this page.