Southwestern Ontario Basketry Guild

A what?!  Yes, a basket weaving cruise from chilly Port Canaveral to Nassau to beautiful and warm St. Thomas and San Marteen and back.  I'm not a foodie or a night owl, but Dolores vonRosen convinced me to sign up with news of the basket activities and wonderful description of her friend, Jane, for my cabin mate. The trip was like a basket conference but on a giant ship holding almost 4000 guests and 1400 staff waiting on you with a smile.  It was complete with top notch teachers, a beautiful weaving room just for us, and about a hundred down to earth, creative, friendly weaver-types.  We had 3 days of weaving and 3 days of port tours, beaches, and sailboats.  Jane and I enjoyed a balcony room, which I highly recommend for people like me who get a bit claustrophobic.  The views of dolphins, birds, sunrise/set and islands from the balcony big enough to weave on, if desired, was worth the extra cost. Our assigned dinner table of 10 had 6 weaving addict...

JANUARY & FEBRUARY - Twill Tote in two tone reed. Hannah’s Marriage Basket from Lyn Siler’s “The Basket Book” Guild Workshop leaders Germaine Osborn & Nancy Hager FEBRUARY - Willow Tension Tray Guild Workshop leader Frances Thorn MARCH - Free-Form Coiling on a Gourd Guild Workshop leader Catherine Devine APRIL - Rib Construction, basic technique - 10" Melon basket Guest instructor Cherilyn Braun MAY - Connie’s Carrier in flat reed - a great basket for your vehicle Guild Workshop leader Wanda Haydt JUNE - Rib Construction - Four 8-hour workshops in willow Guest Instructor Jo Campbell-Amsler Gypsy Melon Basket & Wisteria Bowl - Chatham Willow Ridge Herb Basket and Charm Basket - Strathroy JULY - Garden Harvest pattern by Debbie Richards, flat oval & round reed on a wooden base Guild Workshop leader Linda Dobinson AUGUST - Morning - Modified Gretchen rim on Garden Harvest basket, Afternoon - open weave and instruction on gat...

Two mini-workshops were featured simultaneously so the large group was divided into 2 classes of 8. Some students made a pretty star of willow taught by Frances Thorn and some created a plaited box of paper, either brown wrapping paper or Christmas gift wrap, taught by Nancy Hager. People loved their little star and the paper patterns were amazing.

Two days with guest instructor, Dolores von Rosen and learning to create her own hexagonal overlay weave market basket, what could be better? A class of 14 students set to work adding stakes to a large oval wooden base. As members worked through the process, a unique basket emerged. A few of the students with their finished baskets. Since there was a limit of 14 for Dolores' class, an additional one day workshop was offered to accommodate other guild members. They wove a large market basket in gorgeous colours hand dyed by instructor, Linda Dobinson. Some had finished their basket by the end of the day, quite an accomplishment. Here is an excerpt from an account written by member Ruth Ann Wilhelm and published in the guild newsletter, WeaveScape. As I was working at weaving the hexagonal outer wall of the basket that Dolores von Rosen, our friend from South Carolina, had been teaching, I felt joy in seeing the coming together, the understanding of how the spoke-weavers intermin...

With leaves of 3 different iris, daylily and cattail, together with palm inflorescences, philodendron sheaths and any other we could gather, we all had a day of extreme creativity, if there is such a thing. The mold was a large pickle jar and with a wooden base attached to the lid and stakes of 3/8" flat oval reed, chased weave of fine cane was used to hold in the stakes and make a beginning. In these photos we see the different baskets developing their own character and beauty. The stakes were set in beforehand to save class time and there's a photo taken on that day. It was quite a production line with 15 or so to do. The concept of finding materials in your own garden is one that inspires our members and we're looking forward to more of the same in 2010. For larger image, double click on photos.

Everyone enjoyed making this challenging basket and the room was quiet with steady concentration. Here we are weaving the sides. If you look closely you may notice a couple of us working with willow skeins using a Chinese knot technique. Members are welcome to work on their own projects at meetings.

The June/July program involved 18 members making a lined cat head bread basket with feathered corners. This basket incorporated many "firsts" for a number of us. The bottom of the basket was woven in a 3/3 twill, and then the sides were woven in a chase weave, using flat and round reed. With much manipulation, the "cat ears" were formed at each corner, with a little help from an elf who went around to the struggling weavers. Feathering the corners was a delight. To me, the embellishment looked like a wheat sheaf, an appropriate emblem for a bread basket, but I wanted the sheaf to stand out against the basket. So I took out what I had done, and after dyeing the basket in a walnut dye, I redid the feathered corners in flat oval. The light/dark contrast of the feathering against the walnut-dyed basket gives the basket a finished look. The removable liner was inserted with a double circumference of thick round reed looped through the sewn pocket at the top of th...