Making Willow Baskets - Jenny Pearce

Hello everybody,

I am back online and so I've been catching up on lots of internetty stuff. It's raining too so I don't feel too bad about it!

We are settled into our new house and as usual we have more 'stuff' then I am willing to accept. So I am going to open an Ebay shop and flog it all!

Since being offline I have been on a basketry course with Jenny Pearce. I have been wanting to do a course with her for ages and finally managed it! I love her style of basketry, beautiful and practical. Not overly fussy. Well, she was a great teacher and the group on the course were a lovely bunch of women.

The course was held at Canon Frome Court, a community I looked into moving to when I finished school. I didn't have enough money to at the time and so did 'other' things instead!



I didn't get any photos of the actual course unfortunately but here are some pictures of the baskets I made while I was there...




These aren't the most complicated baskets in the world, but they are a joy to make and solid too.


This little shopping basket is so strong! I am chuffed to bits at making my first ever handle and I'm quietly pleased at how tidy it all is!


This knot holds the handle in place and is made from the ends of the withies that are wrapping the handle bow.


There were four of us women sitting in a vague circle making these herb baskets. It felt so wonderful! A feeling of solid calm and industry descended on us. We mostly talked about the importance of outdoor experience for children.


This is the herb baskets bum. ***blush***


This is a platter, but really it is a stick basket without it's handle. A joy to make as it was so simple. I'm not sure about my finishing on the sides (a wee bit flouncy!) so might do what I was supposed to do and cut all the rods flush to the hoop! I love the curvyness of the six rods in the middle of the platter, so much so that I sneaked in a couple of pegs either end to make them more curvy making the triangle shape at the ends.


I am desperate to make another basket. This is what I was made for! It makes me so happy to have found my job in life! Making baskets! Even if there isn't much money to made from it!

Unfortunately I went and left my bodkin (a pointy tool for making spaces between a weave) mixed up in Jenny's course tools! Cripes knows when I'll get that back!

So, that's that then!

Good to be settled.

I'm moving house ... again

This week I've moved, and am moving, into a new cottage in the Cotswolds, nearer to Bristol. Devon is going to have to wait for a bit longer, for reasons out of my control.

Life, eh?

It's a stunning little place with 3, yes 3 gardens and a workshop. Soo, Leo and I will be able to get on and build up our little enterprises while we're waiting to get down to the land. We will, of course, still be working on the land as much as we can, but it will be limited due to these meddling circumstances. So we are considering renting out the pasture and just focusing on the conservation work needed in the regeneration areas and the woodland.

Oh well, *sigh*. I'm going to make the most of being nearer to Bristol. I've not lived near a big town for years!