Category Archives: cane

Baskets, cane, Community, creative, heritage, learning, outdoors, public involvement, Weaving

Summer Fun in the Community

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We’ve been sharing the skills of the basketmakers with families at community events in Great Yarmouth. We were at the Family Fun Day at the MESH community centre in Gorleston and the Fun Day at Community Roots in Great Yarmouth.

Jane was delighted to make a basket.
…more beautiful weaving
…made with precision .
Sally clearly has favourite colours.
our youngest weaver of the day.
Andrea from We Are Cycling UK had some time to make a basket alongside promoting cycling
…and Megan too.
Baskets, cane, creative, heritage, learning, museum, Weaving, Willow, Workshop

Following in a Tradition

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The group at Headway are putting their new found skills to use weaving some beautiful things out of cane and willow. We have also had the chance to look at one of the baskets from Time and Tide Museum to compare the techniques we are using with those of the past.

Joan has nearly finished her basket.

Janet has finished hers and started on an egg basket.

Owen has been weaving with willow, making an obelisk and a tension plate.

Baskets, cane, Community, creative, heritage, learning, Weaving, Workshop

A New group…

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For the past few weeks we’ve been working with people at Norfolk and Waveney Headway We are starting from scratch learning weaving techniques, using cane. Group members started with baskets on a base which Sarah had already fixed the uprights into.

Joan starting her weaving.
Janet has a brick inside her basket to keep it still.
Tina weaves in plain cane.
Owen’s colourful weaving.
Stephen is using a paint can as a weight.

Week 2 and Michael joins the group. The others start their baskets from scratch weaving their uprights into the bases.

  • Stephen is weaving a square basket
  • Owen’s basket is oval
  • Janet’s basket is spring colours
The group.
Michael has finished his beautiful multi-coloured basket.
Baskets, cane, Community, creative, heritage, learning, Weaving, Willow, Workshop

Catching the Memories and Passing on the Skills

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Withy Arts’ new project, Catching the Memories and Passing on the Skills, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, has just started. One of the aims of this year long project is to teach participants the skills of basket making which were so important to Great Yarmouth’s past. The fishing industry used baskets in great quantities until plastic took over and for this reason, Great Yarmouth was a place of skilled craftsmanship.

For the first few weeks participants have been learning the basics of weaving in both willow and cane and in the process, made some beautiful objects, pictured below.

tension plates
Tension plates featuring the rosebud knot

making
Making a tension plate

trays
Lovely trays

Dragon Flies
Reed mace

danish bottom basket
Baskets with a Danish bottom

And finally, cane work…

cane baskets
Cane baskets

Pencil pot
Oval basket

cane flowers
A garden of flowers