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27/9/2018 0 Comments Weave It Out!As if us crafty folk here at BVWI need another new hobby to try, Chris Baxter joined us to tell us about her fantastic traditional willow woven baskets and it's safe to say we all fancy having a go now! One a booming trade in Nottinghamshire - in fact, quite the epicentre of willow weaving with over 7000 makers in the county alone! - it died out mid 20th century and there are very few makers left at all. Chris herself trained over in Norfolk as there are so few teachers remaining and it's a skill that takes a lot of time to master. Willow was so popular in Nottinghamshire due to its abundance of growth along the Trent, particularly in the Sutton on Trent region, where the largest supply originally came from. There are around 5 types of willow, all of which require soaking and stripping to make them malleable enough to weave, and to develop the beautiful colours we see. The typical brown willow and white willow are naturally coloured, and white willow can also be dyed a variety of colours. The popular and most recognisable buff, or golden, willow came about through accidental discovery. The willow, left to stand in willow pits after soaking, turned a golden colour due to the cheeky men of the time piddling on it! It turns out that boiling the willow produces the same effect, as it releases tannins from the bark which develops the colour. Luckily, buff willow nowadays is produced with water only... Fresh cut willow is also fine to use for projects, but ideally should be used within six weeks or it will lose the flexibility. This is ideal for Christmas wreaths and fresh decorations that are typically for a seasonal event and not made to last more than a few weeks. The scope for making willow woven items is limited only to imagination, as Chris has discovered. Everything from bird feeders, to trivets, to Christmas decorations and classic obelisks are artfully woven, as well as a range of traditional baskets for every purposes. Classic log baskets, storage and food display, and even as our members suggested, yarn storage! Chris runs workshops and classes around Nottingham and sells a range of items via her website www.chrisbaxtersbaskets.co.uk if you are tempted to have a go. With the season nearly upon us, perhaps a festive item is up your street? Following on from our discussion on winter venue last meeting, a vote decided that the community centre is our preferred location, so from November this year to March, we will meet there and this will include the Christmas party. Our Knit and Knatter sessions and committee meetings already take place there and it was our original home back in the early days of BVWI. The Poppy project is steaming along very well, with some 'acquired' netting being used to string up the plastic poppies, of which there are around 700 so far. The count on knit and crochet poppies is quite staggering, so far 1420 red, 560 white and 300 lilac made and more hot off the needles every day! To this end there will be two more craft sessions to bring these together, with the aim to display them around Dynamo on the weekend of 13/14th August so we have plenty of time to appreciate all the work and let the village see what we've been up to! If you can spare an hour or two to help out with the display, let one of the committee know, menfolk are also welcomed if you want to keep your other half out of trouble for a while! The fundraiser on 28 October will be at a new time of 12-4pm to allow set up in the morning and volunteers are always welcome if you fancy baking, serving, manning a stall or dragging - sorry, welcoming - the punters in!
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