Blue Mountain Baskets

Page 4 of 13

Week 6: Spiral weave willow on wood base basket

2019-02-10 / Andrea / 0 Comments

Due to weather, we had to postpone Clarksburg has h”ART until March 23, so my weekend was free to explore a new weave and new potential half-day workshop to offer. It is the first project I have tried from Jenny Crisp’s new book Willow: A Guide to Growing and Harvesting – Plus 20 Beautiful Woven Projects (2018) and has a marvelous weaving rhythm to it once you get the hang of the pattern. I did use 3 resources in total to learn this weave, so I recommend you take an in-person workshop to learn it if you can. After that, you can keep creating with ease! My resources toolbox:

Egg Basket chapter from Willow: A Guide to Growing and Harvesting – Plus 20 Beautiful Woven Projects by Jenny Crisp
Great diagrams of spiral weave steps in Jonathan Ridgeon’s chapter on Dragonflies in his book Willow Craft: 10 Simple Projects
A video by Elena Tischenko who uses the same weave using recycled newspaper in the form of rolled up straws!

I am adding this to the March 23 workshops for Clarksburg has h’ART and offering it on an alternative weekend too. A successful weekend in my 2019 hobby-to-business goal- so excited to add this to the list of introductions to basket weaving I can share with other who want to explore the craft!

Week 5: Rooting willow cuttings indoors

2019-02-03 / Andrea / 0 Comments

While the tradition is to plant cutting in the the Spring, my environmental background lead me to research that planted willow cuttings in the fall in order to restore Riparian banks along rivers and ponds. So risking only the time it took to gather heirloom cuttings from road allowances all over the township, we planted hundreds in the late fall just before the ground froze. I had leftovers that were in buckets of water in the garage with little natural light and guess what happened! They rooted wildly in the water buckets over the weeks left alone there.

So I went to the dollar stores for galvanized metal buckets in order to find affordable ways in which to pot these cuttings and let them grow all over the house where ever there is a a window. I wanted small pots so they could sit on the window sills and look nice in the house. Maybe one day we will build a greenhouse. I have used soil for seedlings and no chemicals because willow has its own growth hormone.

I have meticulously labeled each pot with where I found the willow, so if it dries to a nice colour, I will know where to go back for more. I am enjoying preserving the species that have been growing wild here for years and hope to identify what kinds I have as they grow. I will update you along the way on how they do in pots and in the spring we will plant them in tilled soil.

Varieties found along road allowances in the Blue Mountains.

Look at the lovely colour variation when dried! It might change some as cutting are planted in new soils etc.

Week 4: Baskets with Wood Bases

2019-01-27 / Andrea / 0 Comments

There is a round basket in Jon Ridgeon’s book, Willow Craft: 10 Simple Projects, that inspired me to try different shapes too. To keep with the theme of Clarksburg has h’ART, I made a heart-shaped basket using the same technique. Notice the lovely red contrasting dogwood woven in with the willow. These baskets turned out somewhat rustic as I only had dogwood stakes with me at my parents’ when I wove these. Because you start with a wood base instead of weaving one, this is a great way to introduce basket weaving in just a couple of hours, so I am teaching this project in the morning workshop on February 9.

1. Start with wood base.

2. Poke stakes through holes.

3. Lock in butts of stakes.

4. Secure stakes with waling.

5. Weave sides. Add waling on top.

6. Create border with stakes. Clip ends.

Week 3: Garlands & Hearts

2019-01-20 / Andrea / 0 Comments

I tried some sample heart silhouettes from Jon Ridgeon’s book, Willow Craft: 10 Simple Projects and had fun chaining them into garlands. The photos don’t quite capture the magical look they have with the ribbons tied on.

My next step will be making stars from Jon’s book for the garlands and a woven star project from Jenny Crisp’s book, Willow: A guide to Growing & Harvesting- Plus 20 Beautiful Woven Projects.

These will be the afternoon workshop project on March 23 at Clarksburg has h’ART.

Week 2: Kitchen Table Talent Inspiration

2019-01-14 / Andrea / 0 Comments

My favourite magazine and the article about basket making that lead me to get hooked!

There is just one magazine I buy faithfully each month: the British version of Country Living. Since 2015, I have enjoyed the simple relaxed decor featured that makes you feel like you could conjur up the same atmosphere with just what you have and maybe a fresh coat of paint, rather than layouts that require fancy furnishing. I love old houses so relish the spreads about centuries-old stone houses of Britain. They highlight the rural life and agricultural families in this magazine and I have even made a few of the recipes. Christmas and Easter crafts are simple but delightful and often incorporate nature. The first thing I turn to in each new copy is the their Kitchen Table Talent feature which highlights crafters and artists who have turned their love for a craft into a business. In the February 2017 issue, they featured basket weaver Annemarie O’Sullivan in “A Way with Willow”. I poured over the words and photos and it inspired me that year to sign up for my first basket workshop!

In keeping with my 2019 goal, I am going to follow their special publication Turn your Hobby into a Business: Volume 2 Finding your Confidence. I didn’t catch the Volume 1 when it was on sale in Canada, but this volume is the result of feedback they received from workshops they ran. This volume goes beyond the how-tos of business set-up and delves into some of the nagging challenges people shared. Each chapter title speaks to me in my hobby-to-business journey, so I’m going to share what I learn as I work through this book one chapter at a time.

Week 1: New year & new goal

2019-01-07 / Andrea / 0 Comments

My 2019 collage of goals & inspiration!

2019 goal: This year I commit to spending time each and every week to weaving, learning, teaching, cultivating wood crops and/or growing my hobby into an emerging artisan business. Check out my collage of plans & inspiration to the left here…

You will know from my 2018 posts that I learned so much from Jon Ridgeon’s book, Willow Basketry: A How-to Guide. This year, I am exploring alternative willow weaving projects with his book, Willow Craft: 10 Simple Projects because I needed to come up with ideas that could be taught in just a couple of hours for Clarksburg has h’ART. In fact the night I ordered the book I couldn’t wait for a paper copy, so I went straight to his website and ordered the instant eBook.
I am also expanding my skills with Jenny Crisp’s 2018 book, Willow: A Guide to Growing and Harvesting – Plus 20 Beautiful Woven Projects. This book will help me in the cultivation of the willow crop as learn new weaving skills through new projects.
In February I am taking a workshop to make an asymmetrical basket to hone new weaving techniques at Lakeshore Willows with Lene Rasmussen.
In March I am taking a two-day workshop Making it Work: Defining business goals & individual success for professional crafts people through Craft Ontario and will also explore their online training modules.
And pictured in the collage is also my mug which is my morning inspiration each day as I wake up with coffee.

Are you ready launch out on your own artisan adventure or are you already building an artisan business too? I’d love to hear from you.

A guild north of Toronto?

2019-01-01 / Andrea / 0 Comments

17th Century copper etching by Jan Joris van Bliet, Korbmacher, Kunstmuseum Hamburg

I would love to participate in the Southwestern Ontario Basketry Guild but sadly it is a four-hour drive from home. I am keen to meet and gather with basketmakers and willow crafters anywhere from the Bruce Peninsula to Penetanguishene. How about a future South Georgian Bay Basketry Guild?

We could also meet in the Newmarket area as I visit my parents and daughter there every week. I love meeting others from all over when I attend workshops and would enjoy informal gatherings too. Whether you are new to basketry or a seasoned expert, let’s connect if you like the idea of company when weaving and live somewhere above the GTA!

Week 52: Double-decker kitty condo

2018-12-31 / Andrea / 0 Comments

Grand finale of 2018…

Organically shaped 2-level cat basket out of Willow, Dogwood and wild vine.

During the Christmas break week I returned to a long-delayed peaceful mindful pause for busyness…13.5 hours of creativity over several days the basket shape grew organically. I started with some old willow I had forgotten under the snow, added Dogwood I had cut and left outside for 6 weeks, added wild vine so the cats could be entertained with the curly cues, and finally had to use some good Willow because the creation was becoming so big!