Well that's much better!

I guess I didn't really make friends with willow for basket weaving last week....too many joins, too easy to snap, too big a difference in thickness from one end of the rod to another. Cane, which comes in long, even coils, sounded like it might be easier.

and it was:

It's a bit more expensive to buy, and rather less home grown and local, but so much more satisfying to work with.
But then sometimes Nature gives you a home grown and local present too good to resist: a very large branch had broken off a willow tree in the village, probably under the weight of the recent snow, so there, on the ground, good for noone apart from passing basket weaving scavengers, were lengths and lengths of fine, bendy fresh willow.



Welshman included for scale

It was still a little trickier than the smooth cane, but since it was still fresh, it was a lot less prone to splitting and easier to work with than the thick willow I had before. I used it to make a slightly smaller basket for a change, and I'm very pleased with the result. It will be interesting to see how it changes as the willow dries out and sets.