Well, today the garden has been a no-go area, what with all the snow, sleet and ice. And let’s not forget the bitter arctic wind! In fact I discovered last night that there is something about the design of our new(ish) windows that makes them resonate in high winds from particular directions. I felt like I was trying to sleep inside a church organ. Tissues shoved in the ears didn’t work, so I moved around the house until I found a quiet(er) place on the opposite side and settled down for the night!
In spite of the rather raw weather, I’ve been outside to search for things to put in a vase for Cathy’s Monday Vase meme. Our garden flowers were looking pretty sad though. So I mostly collected twigs, some with catkins. The contorted hazel in the front garden looks at its best at this time of year. I’ve used twigs in vases before, so I decided that I would try something different this week. Something that I noticed on a Pinterest craft board once … a woven piece, where the weft ‘threads’ were actually ‘found’ bits and pieces from nature.
So I made a rustic frame from four lengths of lashed together twisty hazel twigs. Warp threads were created using some green hemp twine. Then I wove twigs (with coloured bark or interesting texture) and seed heads (grasses and sedum) into the structure.
Finally, I used some dried flowers to create spots of interest.
Weft Ingredients :
Dog wood (red and green) Rosemary Abelia grandiflora North Sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) Sedum 'Autumn Joy' Clary Sage (a blue selection) Gomphrena globosa Helichrysum bracteatum Iris foetidissima (a seed pod) Corylus avellana contorta (a few extra bits)
The final piece looked like this:
I need to work on keeping the warp threads in place on the frame (the contorted hazel was rather too flexible, which made it hard to put any tension on the twine), but otherwise it was a fun experiment. I’ll have to try it again sometime.
Don’t forget to click through to Cathy’s post for links to other vase contributions!
Frogend dweller's Blog 
Love this so much! A bright spot in winter.
Thank you
Now this is a clever art piece, Allison. Well done!
A work in progress, but thank you!
It’s just lovely! I hope you found somewhere good in the house to continue enjoying it.
It’s on the wall next to the fireplace currently. It should last until my next project!
Such creativity is worthy of praise Allison! Not only did you brave the elements, but you have made a wonderful piece of art too. 😃
You are very kind. Thank you! It was a borrowed idea that I am happy to share.
My goodness, Allison – this has completely bowled me over…it’s wonderful! I remember I wove cornus stems one Christmas for a Monday arrangement, but this is on a completely different level altogether! The wildness of the hazel frame adds to the charm and you have been so inventive with your additions. Did you ‘dry’ the clary, or was it still standing in your garden? I would not have thought of drying it, so will be interested to hear if it does successfully dry. I am adding more varieties of helichrysum this year, but your creamy white one looks really pretty too although perhaps it was part of a mix? You have reminded me to order more gomphrena seed… All in all an inspiring post, for which I am very grateful
Thank you, Cathy. It’s a fun idea and open to many variations, so I’ll probably try it again. The clary sage is indeed dried. We were removing plants from the borders at Wimpole and it seemed a shame to lose that lovely colour, so I took it home and dried it (upside down, bunched in a dark cupboard). Yes, the helichrysums were mixed, because they seem to be stronger plants than selected (which aren’t all that common in any case). I need to buy more gomphrena seed too.
I will try that with clary this year as I love the stuff. I haven’t had a problem getting separate shades of helichrysum – have had 2 different shades of pink and have added a yellow and a fiery orange for this year
Yes, I like that…and it will keep too as a wall piece.
🙂 Just have to find somewhere for it!
I absolutely love this. I’d put it on my wall in a minute. It will be interesting to see how long it keeps its appearance. I suspect it will be a good while. I dried some basket flowers once, and they kept their color for three years, until I moved and threw them out in the process.
Thank you. The strawflowers are already 2 yrs old! They’ve been hanging in a dark cupboard. The arrangement should last for months, but it is probably one of those things where you don’t notice changes, until something catastrophic like the weaving comes undone and it all falls down.
So original. A good solution to the weather problem.
Thx! Yes, it’s so cold all the flowers have their faces on the ground and I often find myself gathering twigs at this time of year.