Willow basketry workshops scheduled

It has been a busy summer – and I will tell you more about that including my travel for basketry classes – but it is time for some willow basketry workshops here at Lakeshore willows in Wainfleet, Ontario.
I have just scheduled workshops for September, October, November and December and you can see the details on my website under Workshops and Events




The weather has been perfect this year for growing willow here and I look forward to an exceptional harvest next winter. It is not so easy to take photos in the field that will show just how large some of the willow is, but the other day I had some help. With people walking in the field by the willow I was able to capture – from a distance – just how tall some of the varieties are growing.
Right behind the two ladies are Salix miyabeana and S var ‘Daves Green’ and further down is S x ‘Americana’





I have been practising some of the techniques that Anne Mette taught at the classes here last month (see previous 3 blog posts) as I am preparing for the upcoming markets.


The Tatza baskets (Polish bread baskets) are fun to make and pretty. Using the same technique they can be made to look quite different depending on number of rods used, colours and variations in the pattern.
The baskets in the photo on the right are baskets on a Catalan base.






As it is not common that you receive any written instructions at a willow basketry class, I usually take lots of notes and photos (just love digital cameras).
Unfortunately – as I was the hostess and go to at the classes as well as participating as a student – I didn’t take the time to take notes and only a few pics. That is why you can see my little notebook on the table next to the base of the basket that I made, while I still remembered a lot, after the classes. So what I missed during the days of classes, I caught up on a few days later.