Willow-weaving and Basketmaking Workshops

A full day of Christmassy creations! Make a nordic reindeer (2-D, not a 3-D sculpture, which would be a bit ambitious!), Christmas Trees and a few stars if time allows. Pace and quantity of creations will be dictated by you!

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Sunday afternoon workshop is: CHRISTMAS TREES (repeated on Friday morning).

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Sunday morning workshop is: REINDEER (repeated on Saturday afternoon).

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Saturday afternoon workshop is: REINDEER (repeated on Sunday morning).

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Saturday morning workshop is: STARS (repeated on Friday afternoon).

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Friday afternoon workshop is: STARS (repeated on Saturday morning).

Part of a 3-day Festive Weekend, 23-25 November, making willow Christmas decorations: six half-day workshops covering three individual topics. One half-day workshop £30, additional half-day workshops £25. This Friday morning workshop is: CHRISTMAS TREES (repeated on Sunday afternoon).

This type of platter, or 'tension tray', is surprisingly quick and easy to learn and create - so you will certainly be able to make more than one during this workshop, allowing you to experiment with different colours, shapes and handles. Use your finished platter for serving/displaying fruit, mince pies (my favourite!), bread, etc; or as a trivet for hot pots and pans; or simply display it as a thing of beauty! NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Friday 19th October - see “Also Teaching at …” tab.

Make an attractive woven-willow bird feeder that can be hung from a tree branch or hook in your garden. Fill with fat-balls (provided) and enjoy watching the birds feed, knowing you are helping them survive the winter months. You will probably manage to make two bird feeders during this workshop, so one for you and one for a friend: a great Christmas present!

This Bread Basket is an ideal introduction to basketmaking. You will learn fundamental basketry skills: how to weave a round base; the insertion of side stakes and weaves around them; and finally a simple border to finish off. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Tuesday 2nd October - see “Also Teaching at …” tab.

This sweet little basket introduces lots of traditional basketry techniques and is simple enough to complete in a day. The techniques learned will provide a grounding for more complex basketry projects. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Friday 15 June - see “Also Teaching at …”.

Enhance your garden pots and borders with willow dragonflies that gently sway in the breeze, and willow sunflowers to brighten a shady corner or place against a wall. The technique used for creating the sunflower is a stepping stone to creating the base of a traditional round basket. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Saturday 12 May - see “Also Teaching at …”.

You will make a large wigwam support suitable for training beans and flowering climbers, as well as a smaller one that can fit into plant pot. You will complete at least one of each size during the day, possibly more if you are a quick worker! WARNING make sure you have room in your car to transport your finished wigwams! - the tallest size could be 8'. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Saturday 21 April - see “Also Teaching at …”.

You will make a beautiful self-supporting planter ready for your sweet pea seedlings. The planter holds a large plastic plant pot (provided) to accommodate 6-12 seedlings which will happily scramble up the supports. This workshop will introduce key basketry techniques which will be a stepping stone to more complex basketmaking projects. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education, Weeke, on Sunday 4 March - see “Also Teaching at …”.

Dispense with ugly plastic or wire bird-feeders and make some natural willow birdfeeders to enhance your garden and keep the birds happy during the winter months. You will make two different designs of willow bird feeder, one can be hung in a tree, as with the fat-ball bird feeder shown in the photograph here, or staked into the ground and filled with seeds. NB: This workshop is also available at Winchester Adult Education on Saturday 3 February - see "Also Teaching at ..." for more details.