The Craft group had a wonderful afternoon weaving swallows from willow. 18 members listened to Robyn from Nature Makers tell us of the buying of the willow from Somerset and the soaking of it for a few days to make it supple enough to use.
We all started with a 2 metre length of willow and made the basic body shape of a bird. Admittedly some looked thin and some fat but then we began to weave the body using the basic shape and we gradually pulled it into shape. We did find that the more we worked the willow with our fingers the easier it was to bend.
With a break for tea and cake (thank you to Joan our tea maker of the afternoon) we then added the wings. All 18 members were so thrilled to have had the opportunity to try a new traditional craft and go home with a completed swallow ready to hang in preferably outside to keep moist and last for many seasons to come.