Autumn newsletter

Autumn Newsletter

This is always an interesting time of year isn’t it with the autumn days providing a mix of rain and lovely weather, it’s a great time to get out and about and do some foraging.

This is  an ideal time for collecting willow/ dogwood etc and other bendy materials to create with

, so whether you are able to go out foraging or have some friendly neighbours or are fortunate to have some growing in your garden it’s a great time for gathering materials such as these which will stay workable if you leave them outside for several weeks so if you have some growing near you why not have a go.

As usual, this time of year is pretty busy I have several Christmas workshops on the go and I’m attending several fairs and markets including

• Chawton House Christmas Fair on the 26th and 27th of November
• New Forest Makers Market in Lymington on the 3rd December and Romsey Makers Market on the 11^th of December
• Moors Valley Country Park Saturday 17th December

So if you in the area why not pop in and say hello?

Every now and again it’s lovely to share our skills with others so I thought that I include a link to a willow fish tutorial that I made on youtube a couple of years ago, its great to do with others I even have one made with paper straws as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcDg-pco0qg

On the topic of interesting things to watch I thought that you might also like this one about making seagrass baskets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcDg-pco0qg

Events

I also thought that I should mention that I have a few places remaining on my workshops before Christmas:

• Christmas stars evening with a meal 1^st December 6 – 9 pm at Bay Leaves Larder in Chandlers Ford
• Willow penguin workshop 10^th December in Chandlers Ford Community Centre
• Christmas rag rugs on the 8^th of December

 Next Year’s activities

New workshop course

I am going to be starting a regular monthly willow weaving course on the first Thursday on the month, this will be a progressive course aimed at beginners and those with a little experience, at the end of each session students will be taking materials home to practise This course will be taking place on at Chandlers Ford Community Centre nr Eastleigh from January to August. on the Third Thursday of the month from  11am – 3pm If you are interested in attending then check out the information on my willow weaving page 

Stand alone workshops

I have also listed below the workshops that I will be offering until the summer which include willow and textile activities. I will be adding more dates in the New Year for rag rug workshops and other outdoor activities focussing on foraging and woodland crafts.