The Guild of Straw Craftsmen - What's New

a corn dolly in the shape of a carpet beater

"Carpet Beater"
Worked and Photographed
by Janet Twigger

What's New in the Guild of Straw Craftsmen On-Line.

This page details the changes made to the Guild web site. Changes will be in chronological order with the oldest changes at the end.
April 23rd 2008
Exhibitions and Courses Details of new courses and events at which Guild members will be present.
March 19th 2008
On the Links page we have put the links to Bee Skeps and Orkney Chairs under the heading Lip Work as we have found a great website that explains what Lip Work is and how it is constructed.

The Lip Work link is part of a museum web site and so we have added it to our places to visit page.

January 5th 2008
It is not long to St Valentines Day so here is a Valentine card for you to make to give to a special person in your life, as usual we have provided a link for you to download and print the instructions.
January 2nd 2008
Exhibitions and Courses Details of this years courses.
November 27th 2007
The date of the Midlands Area Chat and Plait Workshop at the Lickey Hills Country Park has had to be moved to 8th December (details are on the Events, Exhibitions and Courses page).
This has been done so that folks can go to a Memorial Gathering to celebrate the life of Dorothy Horsfall who sadly died earlier this month. Dorothy was one of the founder members of the Guild of Straw Craftsmen and will be missed by all who enjoyed her friendship.
September 8th 2007
We have been doing a bit of housekeeping and so all the courses are now on the Events, Exhibitions and Courses page. Some courses and events have been added as well as some new pictures.

A new place to visit is Shugborough in Staffordshire, where there is a splendid display of corn dollies.

We have a new simple project for you - a Countryman's favour made from a 3-straw Hair plait, as usual we have provided a link for you to download and print the instructions.

May 11th 2007
Exhibitions and Courses More details of the Fairs at which one of our members will be showing strawcraft. Details of a new (not to be missed) workshop with Doris Johnson.
April 30th 2007
Exhibitions and Courses Details of the Fairs at which one of our members will be showing strawcraft.
February 26th 2007
Events,Exhibitions and Courses Details of the Midlands Section Workshops and "Chat and Plait" dates for 2007 have been added.
February 4th 2007
Knots and Hitches for straw workers This page is now available in pdf format for you to download.
February 2nd 2007
Knots and Hitches for straw workers The look of your straw work can be spoilt by finishing it off with an untidy knot. Starting with a loose knot can also lead to problems with your plaiting. These knots/hitches are ideal for starting and completing your work. They are effective in that they are simple and easy to tie.
January 26th 2007
Exhibitions and Courses New courses and events for 2007 have been added.
December 10th 2006
Exhibitions and Courses Updated page detailing the courses that take place during 2007.
October 21st 2006
Countryman's favour Surprisingly, we have not to date given any instructions for making a basic corn dolly, but concentrated on simple projects that are particularly suitable for beginners. Now here is a Countryman's favour; this is very simple to make, and is a useful introduction to plaiting.
April 30th 2006
Exhibitions and Courses Details of the Fairs at which one of our members will be showing strawcraft.
March 25th 2006
Like many people the Guild received a lot of emails with worms and viruses in them. At the time we decided to suspend email contact until we could find a suitable way of encrypting addresses. The Guild is using the Syronex Anti-Spam Email Adress Encoder to eliminate the problems we encountered. Please do not save our address in your address book as we intend to change the address on a regular basis. We still urge you to ensure that you install virus protection software on your computer so that these harmful programs are not spread.
November 24th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Details of Veronica Main's workshops for 2006 have been posted.
November 11th 2005
The Sreepur Village in Bangladesh produces very attractive Christmas cards using wheat straw decorations. This is what the website says about them:
"Individually hand crafted cards made by the women of the Sreepur Village Outreach Project. All proceeds from the sale of cards are returned to Sreepur Village, Bangladesh, a home to over 500 abandoned children and more than 100 destitute women."

http://www.sreepurcards.org/

Note: These cards have to be ordered by 25th November 2005 via their website.

The Sreepur Village is an independent charity and the Guild is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites.

November 10th 2005
The two projects we have on the website are now available in PDF format. Here are the links 4-Straw Compass Plait and Christmas decoration and A Straw Marquetry Greetings Card
November 9th 2005
4-Straw Compass Plait and Christmas decoration Here is a new project for you to try. It is very simple and is ideal for beginners of all ages. Youth groups may like to try this as a project for Christmas. The plait can be adapted for any festivity throughout the year.
November 6th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Details of the 2006 Courses have been added.
October 4th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Details of the 16th October 2005 workshop have been posted. It tells you what the workshop will do and what you need to bring and what you can buy on the day.
August 9th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Two new workshops that take place in west Wales.
July 18th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses We've added a picture of the Exhibition held at the Witney and District Museum, Oxfordshire.
June 1st 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Updated page detailing two new courses that take place during 2005.
March 1st 2005
Membership The latest version (2005/2006) of the Membership Application Form is now available.
January 28th 2005
Exhibitions and Courses Updated page detailing the courses taking place during 2005.
May 25th 2004
Exhibitions and Courses - The August 1st 2004 course at Duns Tew has been moved to July 31st 2004.
Details of events at Lickey Hills Country Park have been added.
April 18th 2004
Links New links for straw hats and the Aughakillymaude Community Mummers.
April 6th 2004
Exhibitions and Courses A new page detailing fairs and exhibitions where you can see The Guild of Straw Craftsmen in action. The Guild has started courses. The dates of these courses will be shown on this page as well.
March 18th 2004
Like many people the Guild is receiving a lot of emails with worms and viruses in them. We have therefore decided to suspend email contact until the situation improves. We would urge you to ensure that you install virus protection software on your computer so that these harmful programs are not spread. The Guild is very sorry that it is taking this action and hopes that normality returns soon.
Requests for information about courses, suppliers, etc. may be sent by snail mail to the address given on the Membership Details page. Please enclose a SAE for reply.
June 12th 2003
Membership The latest version (2003/2004) of the Membership Application Form is now available.
March 3rd 2003
ResourcesDetails of an International Straw Festival to be held in Minsk, Bearus..
February 22nd 2003
FAQ - StrawThe first in a series of frequently asked questions. So many of you have asked about how you can grow straw suitable for straw work that we have written a page devoted to the cereals we use and how it is grown, harvested and stored.
November 3rd 2002
ResourcesThe latest list of courses in the UK can now be obtained via mail.
August 21st 2002
Crying the Neck is an old West Country tradition described here in words and pictures.
August 10th 2002
Finials Added two more pictures and a link to a thatching website.
Links Added a new straw marquetry link.
May 15th 2002
Membership The latest version (2002/2003) of the Membership Application Form is now available.
May 14th 2002
We have just had a general tidy taking out links that are no longer valid and removing old courses.
April 23rd 2002
Resources Due to the success of their restoration business our friends at Former Glory are no longer able to supply small quantities of dyed straw. We would like to thank them for their support in the past and hope they will be able to supply us with dyed straw in the future.
January 9th 2002
Where to see Straw Work The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a small exhibition of Straw Work.
November 19th 2001
Membership The latest version (2001/2002) of the Membership Application Form is now available.
October 6th 2001
September 26th 2001
The Granary
We have (at long last) added the new area called The Granary. In it will be articles (Thatched Roof Decorations) and projects.
A Straw Marquetry Greetings Card
As mentioned above we will be putting projects into The Granary, the first of these is a straw marquetry greetings card.

July 30th 2001
Resources
All the courses for Straw Craft have been updated, new courses for 2002 have been added.

June 26th 2001
Resources
We have added a new supplier link to our web site, Inthatch. Inthatch supply straw to the thatching industry, and will be happy to receive enquiries from Straw Craft enthusiasts, too.

May 16th 2001
Where to see straw work New places have been added and telephone numbers (especially Cardiff, Southampton and London) have been updated.
April 21st 2001
Thatched Roof Decorations
We have a new page, it's a page on Thatched Roof Decorations.

In order to further our aims of disseminating information about straw crafts we are going to have a section called "The Granary"

The dictionary definition of Granary is a storehouse for threshed grain. On our website, The Granary will become a storehouse for all sorts of straw-related items of interest - articles, projects, features, references. We hope that you, the reader, will add to our store of knowledge with your contributions. Please send articles, pictures, information or suggestions to the Web Master. These will all be acknowledged, and please don't worry about formatting, this will be done for you.

You may notice a small logo at the end of the page. This logo is means that the page is written according to guidelines set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Not all our pages conform to the guidelines but any new ones will and we will update the existing pages in the future.

March 9th 2001
Links
At last the links page. If you find anything else that you think other folks would like to see then send us an e-mail.
January 6th 2001
Resources
New courses added tutored by Veronica Main.
October 2nd 2000
Resources
Dorothy Horsfall has moved and so we have put in her new address.
Where to see straw work
More details and a map reference of All Saints Church, Siddington, in Cheshire.

September 23rd 2000
Resources
Details about one of the early books written about Corn Dollies was Decorative Straw Work and Corn Dollies but is sadly out of print.
August 17th 2000
Resources
Corn Craft and Former Glory now have web sites.
Former Glory have told us that they now do bunches of 200 straw in mixed colours. This is ideal for people who want to have a go at straw marquetry without having to spend too much on coloured straw.
August 1st 2000
Resources Four new courses run at Westhope College for 2000 and 2001 have been added.
July 30th 2000
Resources Two new courses run by Peter Shelley for 2001 have been added.
Click on the "Open Atlas" icon to show a map of where the course is located.
If you do make enquiries regarding the courses please mention that you saw them advertised on the Guild of Straw Craftsmen web site.

Where to see straw work The link to Great Bardfield Cottage Museum has been removed.
June 7th 2000
Guild Appearances Additions and Corrections

New
28th - 30th July Basildon Park, Lower Basildon, Reading, Berks

Corrections
26th - 28th August should be Highclere Castle
2nd - 3rd September should be Claydon House, Nr. Buckingham
10th - 12th November should be Chiltern Open Air Museum

April 16th 2000
Guild Appearances A new page detailing the events and fairs where you can see The Guild of Straw Craftsmen in action.
April 2nd 2000
Membership What I had called a Star by Janet Brewin is in fact a Snowflake. To compound my mistake I said that it was also photographed by Janet when it was actually photographed by Janet Twigger. My apologies to both ladies.
February 26th 2000
Membership Details on how to join the Guild and a link to enable you to print a copy of the membership form.

February 5th 2000
Resources Corrections to publication dates and ISBN catalogue numbers.
January 16th 2000
Resources page added.

Where to see straw work was added.

January 1st 2000
The introduction page was created.