Willow birdhouse - Part II

So here is my finished woven birdhouse:

I was really pleased with it.  The weaving seems secure and it all holds itself together well.  Our instructor gave us the option of decorating the houses with lichen and seeds and nuts and other things, but in my usual minimalist style, I left it as it is, with willow for the base and the roof woven in leaves.

My friends' houses came out great too. Here is Elisa with her large house, where the roof is made from eucalyptus bark and the house is decorated with twigs with lichen:

And here is Monique's house with her flower style roof made from leaves. Isn't it fabulous:

This final photo shows Monique with Cheri on the right - our instructor. 

It was wonderful day and I do think I'll be trying willow weaving again sometime....especially as I have a weeping willow tree in my garden.

Have you tried anything new recently?

Willow birdhouse class - Part I

This week I took a class in Sebastopol to make a twined (woven) willow birdhouse. Another new technique to learn!

I had purchased this class at a silent auction to benefit Bouverie, a local environmental and wildlife non profit that I used to be on the board of.  The class was for three of us, so off I went with two French friends to Cheri's home.

Elisa concentrating hard

What a great day we all had! Cheri had been collecting willow and bark and leaves etc and had soaked them all the previous day in a big bathtub she has outside.

Monique

We began by selecting 8 long willow sticks and holding them in a cross.  Another willow stick was then twined around these to make the base of the birdhouse.  The stick was twisted and woven and when it got short, we had to figure out how to add another.

It was awkward at first - holding everything and getting the twist correct, but then you get into a rhythm and it goes fine for a while, until you stop and forget where you are! 

The next challenge was shaping from the base up to the sides. There is no real technique for this - you just have to think about it and gradually bend the willows upwards.

Then there needs to be a little door for the birdies to come in and out of, so that meant changing direction of the weaving.

We had a wonderful lunch half way through our class - which was much needed, as we were all concentrating hard!

The rain just poured down all day, so it was lovely to be busy inside.  I'll show you the finished houses tomorrow......