Southwestern Ontario Basketry Guild

The Southwestern Ontario Basketry Guild is proud to present the basketry workshop schedule for 2024. We have a great lineup of instructors this year that will teach students of all skill levels new materials, processes and techniques. The blog will be updated as teachers, descriptions and photos become available. The workshops are help every third Saturday of the year (except January, February and December) at the Chatham Cultural Centre. All workshops require pre-registration. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail ( SWOBG.TREASURER@gmail.com ) or message us through Facebook.  Saturday, January 20, 2024 No workshop this month. Saturday, February 17, 2024 No workshop this month. Saturday, March 16, 2024 - Martha Sands - Focus on Embellishment (beginner)   This simple basket will focus on three different embellishments. Students will have a choice of colour and embellishment. Basket size: base = 6" x 5"; height = 7". Saturday,  April 20...

I joyously participated in Cherilyn Fontana’s Melon Basket workshop on April 17th.  She led us so smoothly and painlessly through the basket steps, it was hard to imagine coming home with anything less than a flawless result.  I wasn’t the only one who appreciated the continuously calm and patient approach of Cherilyn and the equally skilled Gina Zientara, who assisted.  A bonus opportunity was being able to try out some unfamiliar but very useful tools which were available for purchase.  I particularily love my new scissors and shaver.  It was a fun day and I wouldn’t hesitate to take a workshop with Cherilyn again if I got the chance.  Janice T. Everyone celebrated the guild's 7th anniversary with a piece of luscious chocolate cake!

What a great day!  Thanks to Catherine for all of her hard work in putting together this workshop.  So many options to choose...so little time.  I had a great time doing this workshop.  As always, everyone had chosen colours and textures that I wish I had done.  I was really pleased with the way the open coiling was more freestyle and allowed for a variety of placements.  Add in some beading and some textured yarn and Voila!...coiling masterpieces!  I did have some issues with breaking my needles but three was the charm and completion was a success.  There was a lot of giggling followed by ooohs and aaahs that day that makes these workshops priceless.  Edy M. Photos by Linda I.

When setting up the year's program, a range of techniques and materials is covered, from manufactured reed to naturals and from beginner to intermediate level. Monthly meetings feature a class for members and guests. Here is the look of the program for the current year including a couple of classes that were cancelled due to winter weather. A few kits for the February onion/garlic basket are available for $15. JANUARY - Willow tension tray FEBRUARY - Onion/garlic basket MARCH - Coiling on a gourd APRIL/MAY - Divided tool basket with swing handle JUNE/JULY - Lined cat head bread basket with feathered corners AUGUST - Round reed bowl SEPTEMBER - Tapestry basket in natural materials OCTOBER - 2 day workshop with Dolores Von Rosen featuring her award-winning double wall market basket with hexagonal overlay NOVEMBER - Multi-coloured round reed decorator balls - photo coming soon! Some guild members are meeting in July to set up the 2010 program which will feature a number of rib bask...

This is an intermediate level basket but lots of help was available to beginners. Every basketmaker needs a good tool basket. This one features a divider and a liner complete with pockets! The swing handle folds down out of the way to make it easier to find that tool. Nancy was our teacher but lots of mentoring was happening around the room. Here we are at work. Look for a class photo next month when all 16 baskets are completed!

The April meeting featured one of our members teaching a two day (April and May meetings) workshop. The project is a tool basket with divider and swing handle. The day passed swiftly as everyone immersed themselves in the basketmaking. There was a busy hum as members helped each other with technique and the finer points of creating this very useful basket. Watch for more next month. Doesn't this beat any show and tell you've ever seen? Proud grandma, lucky grandkid!

The program featured gourd art teacher and author, Catherine Devine. See her work here . We are fortunate to have Catherine in SOBG. Guild member, Edy wrote: I must admit that I really didn’t know what to expect with this workshop. I’d seen pictures of gourd works of art but it remained a mystery to me until Catherine Devine’s introduction to coiling. What a great class! I learned so much. Once I had the base row completed the rest seemed to fall into place. I had a lot of “a-ha” moments when it came to joining rows and connecting rows together to get the shaping. With a little bit of luck and Catherine's patience, somehow my gourd was completed. Waxed linen seemed to be quite easy to work with until a knot reared its ugly head.  Most knots were worked out with a little patience and a good needle.  The hardest part was picking out the colours because the options were endless. Every gourd in the class had a colour combination that I wished I had picked out for myself but in...

Due to bad weather, the meeting was cancelled, so our AGM will be held March 21st at the Chatham Cultural Centre where Catherine Devine will lead a workshop in closed coiling on a gourd.  Then see you all in April for the first of two classes taught by Nancy Flickinger.  The project will be a swing handled tool basket with divider, sounds challenging and fun.  Watch for more news on this.

From the guild newsletter, WeaveScape: An almost full house participated in the Christmas stocking workshop, based on a pattern developed by Dolores Von Rosen. In between, we took time out to enjoy the potluck lunch and put together a basket of goodies for the Chatham Cultural Centre ’s silent auction on December 6th. The market basket was made by Linda and it was filled with many handmade items donated by guild members including other small baskets. The winning bid came in at $175 and the Centre is very pleased that we put together such a wonderful donation that contributed to the success of their fundraising evening. Here we are, happy with our creations at the November workshop . . .