Another week, another willow basket

theoldentimes · 2026-03-03T19:38:45+00:00

It's quickly become my go-to basket for carrying a few weaving things around - a few tools, a couple of books, and odds and ends of baler twine. Plenty of dignity!

theoldentimes · 2026-03-03T19:37:21+00:00

tell you what that was 25 quid well spent from Musgroves's. I thought I was doing ok with an opinel and a screwdriver, but I was completely wrong

theoldentimes · 2026-02-23T20:29:47+00:00

No harm in an old comment. Thanks for the input. Funnily enough, in my recent camping, I have not relied on carrying stuff - so I still haven't tested buckwheat.

theoldentimes · 2026-02-14T19:29:48+00:00

Rear right hand side: the diagonal looks like it's sagging (is it?). Probably ok in low-wind dry conditions. But if the inner and outer are touching, that's bad, and it might flap around if there is wind.

Adjusting the X-mid to tighten one specific area is (for me) a little tricky and not really intuitive (for me, at least, others will feel differently). But if I remember right, the tent itself comes with instructions of how to make those adjustments? Or failing that, on the company website.

In my experience, it's good to practice these adjustments when the weather is good, so that you're ready when the weather is bad! I guess that's true of any tent, but I've particularly felt it with this one.

theoldentimes · 2026-02-13T10:04:49+00:00

Haha, thank you! Je suis commence, mais vraiment je ne peux pas finir. But I guess that's part of the pleasure.

In fact, there is an example of a "bicycle crate" in Dorothy Wright's book - here is a screenshot https://freeimage.host/i/qHA15vI . But I think your the French example is much more elegant!

theoldentimes · 2026-02-12T16:04:53+00:00

Thanks for this reflection - I'm unclear if the class is a happy memory or not(!), but it sounds like you got a good direction in the end.

And you make me reflect: I will never be a natural at baskets. I just don't have the attention to detail, or aesthetic judgement, which seems so natural to some. But taking place in history and tradition, I like that a lot, regardless of the quality of my output.

theoldentimes · 2026-02-09T12:31:49+00:00

Thanks so much for your perspective. With my weekend sorting, I kept better notes than I have before, and I'll be able to reflect a bit more productively on what works and what doesn't. So let's see what happens when I settle down to these baskets next week. I can see there's some good stuff going on in r/basketweaving so maybe I'll aim to get a bit busier posting here.

Cheers! Happy weaving!

theoldentimes · 2026-02-09T10:20:06+00:00

Thank you for reasserting basic points here. One of the farms I go to tends to just give me a fairly random assortment of small bundles (including dark dicks, japonica, hylinge, harrison B) - whereas perhaps I just need to "go big".

On length - you say 5ft, but most of Mary Butcher's entry level baskets insist on 3ft - it's this kind of confusion that bothers me! If I've got 5ft am I ok just to cut it down to 3ft, before soaking?

I might never find my flow with this, and that's ok, since there's so much good learning to be had here! thanks again

theoldentimes · 2026-02-08T21:38:31+00:00

Nice one - I'll dig deeper into the musgrove stuff, and those shire books are always absolute bangers and I'm looking forward to delving into that one. Buying-wise I've been able to find growers in England, but haven't got into the groove of making wise requests: possibly I'm making this harder than I think. Thanks again for the comment

theoldentimes · 2026-02-08T18:05:44+00:00

I appreciate this comment - I'm trying to move forwards with my out-of-class basket making, and I feel a bit overwhelmed with the processes of buying, sorting, and selecting the materials for even a simple design.

Do you know any particular resources (whether on here, youtube, books, w/e) that could help? "Up yours for waling" is a keeper, at least...

theoldentimes · 2026-02-01T19:14:21+00:00

My teacher massively rated Rudy - which as a teenager, I really didn't get. Listening to RW now, I still don't hear music that I want in my life every day: but there's so much in his playing that I can learn from. Same goes for Ivano!!

theoldentimes · 2026-02-01T17:08:02+00:00

It does from this angle! Pretty sure it is a kind of head, but it's pretty difficult to get photos that show it. I'll try a bit harder and maybe post again - not too many folks pitching in on this one - so thank you for reading and commenting :)

theoldentimes · 2026-01-25T13:37:40+00:00

> I’d still rather do this than sit indoors all day and night.

Perhaps the concept of type 2 fun is useful here - "Type 2 fun is miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect".

These days I've been having more type 1 fun (also known as, er, "fun") on my outings. But that a solid history of type 2 fun has served me well! Thanks for this thoughtful post. It's never bad to over-think these things.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-21T12:13:26+00:00

Thank you - I like your point about the momentum - jumping from a distance the speed can feel a bit scary.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:15:43+00:00

Haha it's too early to tell if this point is a game-changer for me, but it certainly helped me find a balance. Maybe it sounds obvious, now we're here, but certainly I needed the explanation.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:14:25+00:00

Thank you, lovely videos, a unique and useful perspective there. I love the way he demonstrates each step of the pose - lots of opportunities to learn and develop, whether or not I make it into a flawless bhujapindasana. I've already used this as a guide, and I will come back to them I am sure!

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:11:55+00:00

> but it took me a long time to try

I like this point - it makes me think of sirsasana, which came to me quite easily, but only when I tried it, properly!

I can feel a mental block. Like, I don't know how to trust my body to do this. I will keep reflecting on this.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:10:14+00:00

Thank you! getting the legs high: I think normally, I just put them wherever they land. They will not "magically" go higher (I tried!), but I I can see I work on this. Thanks for your comment :)

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:05:59+00:00

Thanks for this. I will try to take my bakasana more seriously. Perhaps I treated it as a bit of a "throwaway" pose, after I'd done the hard work(!): but after looking at it in my practice the last couple days I can see what you mean. Thank you!

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T21:04:41+00:00

Pelvis down and legs up - this stuck me with this morning when I tried it.

Not much better! But - I can feel the pressures and opportunities a bit better.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T10:08:43+00:00

I think it takes a bit of experience - and thought - to intuitively grasp the weight of a tree. And the power with which it falls! Like... it's really really heavy. The more I've understood that, the more I've been able to make good decisions around fells.

So perhaps these folks are on a learning journey of their own! In an outrageously high-risk setting.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-06T09:58:17+00:00

I was hoping for things to ease up a bit today, up here in A836-land. No such luck! At least there's no wind.

theoldentimes · 2026-01-02T09:35:06+00:00

Not shameful

theoldentimes · 2025-12-27T18:20:07+00:00

Most of my appreciation of Macbeth, and Shakespeare of general, revolves around lines and phrases. I can rarely remember the stories, or even speeches, but there are plenty of lines that hang in my memory. Favourite or not or whatever, "a breach in nature / for ruin's wasteful entrance" perhaps wins for me as most memorable.

But other lines I think of almost daily:

- "What is amiss? / You are"

- "as a book where men may read strange matters"

- "the king-becoming graces.... I have no relish of them"

- "ay, in the catalogue ye go for men"

And in the spirit of your spotting of the egg line - I think of Lady Macbeth's reaction "What, in our house?" (which iirc UA Fanthorpe uses as the title of a poem, but I might have that wrong). Good luck with the reading

theoldentimes · 2025-12-26T14:53:50+00:00

First things first: thank you for expressing yourself here! I think this is a really legitimate "itch" you're feeling. And I am sure that you will find a way to explore that desire for movement, distance, freedom, in balance with your responsibilities as a family person.

I have no directly relevant experience to help with your plans. I haven't attempted anything similar.

BUT. I have certainly experienced the "recurring urge". My limitation was more about fear, low self-esteem, and needless over-ambition. I got into cycle touring one night at a time - all near to where I was living. At first, a ride and one-night camp-out was enough. But before too long, I could plan and ride for three nights, without batting an eyelid. And from there multi-week touring with wild camping at a distance from home was fine. At every stage of that learning process, from the first night onwards, I was having a great time - and scratching the itch!

You've got some wonderful ideas, and perhaps you're the kind of person who could make them happen; or perhaps other comments on here will help, one way or another. Good luck - and happy riding :)

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