Happy New Year!

Willow Christmas tree by Marian Medlyn, photo from Poppy Hatinger

With the daylight hours starting to lengthen, now is a great time for making plans. Here are a couple of things you might want to consider.

 

Jo Campbell-Amsler and Lee Zieke Lee will host their second Willow Gathering in Decorah, Iowa June 27-July 2, 2013. The 2012 event was amazing, and this year's line-up of instructors is all you need to start feeling inspired: Allison Fitzgerald from Ireland, Margaret Matthewson from Oregon, and Joanna Schanz from the Amana Colonies in Iowa. The conference brochure is here. Don't wait to register!

 

There's also an opportunity to study with Jo Campbell-Amsler and Joanna Schanz in the Amana Colonies March 9-10, 2013. This is a new date for Willow Weekend, a long-running event where each instructor takes no more than five students and tailors the event to each student's needs and desires. Details are here. 

 

Thank you to Poppy Hatinger for the holiday photo at the top of this post. She writes: "I have had Marion help me several times with Willow in the Garden presentations and willow garden towers workshops but she didn't need a tower in her garden. I kept saying it could be a christmas tree. So after harvest this year she gave herself a big project and attached are the results. I had to laugh since she intended for something somewhat smaller  but the willow just seemed to grow!  To finish it she was up on a ladder."

 

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013 with thriving ideas and willow that grows the the way you need it!

Willow Gathering 2012 Info Is Out

Here's a link to the PDF brochure for the 2012 Willow Gathering in Decorah, Iowa. For more info please contact Jo Campbell-Amsler. Don't just mark your calendar for June 21-26: Workshop registration is first come, first served, so claim your spot!

It's Hip To Be Square

Sandy Whalen will be teaching squarework at the 2011 Festival of American Basketry in Iowa's historic Amana Colonies. Information about the conference is posted on the Living Willow Workshops Page.

If you've been wanting to tackle squarework, don't miss this opportunity. I made the basket below in a class with Sandy at the Association of Michigan Basketmakers Conference in about 1997 and it's still one of my all-time favorites.

At Amana, Sandy her teach her willow Trinket Trunk as a 2-day workshop. She'll also teach her round Swirl Patio Tray as a 1-day class.

If you have willow workshop information to announce on this site, please email it to donnastitches[at]gmail[dot]com.

Willow Weekend & Other Workshops

Jo Campbell-Amsler's Step-By-Step Rib-Style Basics

Information about the February 2011 Willow Weekend at the Amana Colonies is now available on the Living Willow Workshops page. We'll let you know when additional events are posted on the page. If you have an upcoming willow workshop you'd like to have listed, please send the info to donnastitches[at]gmail[dot]com.