It was a sunny morning so I got a fairly early start, arriving on site about 9:30.
First order of business was to slather myself with 50 SPF sunscreen. That stuff does not absorb, it just sits on the surface of your skin and makes you look like you've gone wild with white face paint.
I finished making the holes for the alder along the back at 6 inch spacing and got them in place, then added the holes along the south side for the willow, and got the willow in the ground. The south elevation shows the weaving method I learned from John for the living willow structures. A criss-cross pattern.
Next thing. Tie the top pieces together to keep them from unwinding, using the ever popular 'clove hitch', then weave in all the alder from the back forming the 'roof'.
Hard work finished for a time, now it's time for the pure fun! Start weaving!
I started with a couple rows of pairing to lock everything together and give myself a good strong base. This is the same weaving method used in the upset of a basket.
The outside ends of the pairing weave rows are finished by twisting the willow and wrapping it around the uprights. This requires significant hand strength. My hands are pretty strong, but, this technique was not something I mastered while I was in England. I had rummaged through my little tool box and brought tools with me that seemed like they might help with this process. A couple sets of pliers and this other plier type thing that seemed like you could lock it in place. (I now know this is called a vice grip, because the next morning I stopped at the hardware store and bought another pair!)
My wrapping turned out beautifully. John Waller would be so proud of me. This is a close-up of it...
That may look like a mess to you, but trust me, it is beautiful to a willow weaver!
An interesting note about the willow. The leaves turned
black on the willow harvested at Carla and Freds. Those bundles spent their
first few days out of the sun, in the barn. The leaves on the other willow
harvested in Waitsfield turned brown. That bundle I had kept outside in a
bucket of water under the apple tree at my apartment. As far as I could tell, they looked to be the same native variety to me. Willow identification can be a tricky business. I'm just trying to keep as thorough records as I can about everything along the way, since the varieties here are not what I was used to using in England.
After that it was on to the easy, let your mind wander weaving, over and under, over and under.
Gotta love it.
Here's a close-up of a section of that for your viewing pleasure as well.
A storm rolled in somewhere around 3 or so in the afternoon,
effectively putting an end to my weaving fun. I felt good about what I had accomplished!
One last picture of the entire piece at days end.
Stay tuned for the next installment which will be comprised of weaving, weaving and more weaving!
with joy-
susie
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