More than spoons at Spoonfest 2015

My trip to Edale for Spoonfest 2015 was extended to a whole fortnight this year. I spent the actual weekend busy with teaching spoon carving to beginners and improvers with not much time for photos. Here are some of my highlights, which you may have missed.
The reason for my long stay was a course on ash splint basketry which I organised with April Stone Dahl from Wisconsin. On saturday afternoon April gave a talk and demonstration of pounding, splitting and weaving ash splint to a packed hall. There’ll be more on ash splint and the course in upcoming blog posts.

The Spoonfest scything is gradually  becoming a regular event. Jarrod & April from the US and Jan Harm ter Brugge from the Netherlands wanted to learn to scythe using my Continental scythes. English leather worker Ruth Pullan came to try out some longer blades while Fritiof Runhall from Sweden mowed with a Swedish-style foraged scythe which he simply cut from the hedge on the way to Edale Orchard. A great way to relax after the festival and pass on the skills.

Finally, it’s always a treat to catch up with Nigel Leach to discuss ideas and see his latest designs. This year I managed to convince him to give a talk and demonstration of the beautiful spoon drawings he uses to design his distinctive work.