Make your own pack basket and in the process learn one of the  oldest crafts in human history.  For thousands of years baskets served  as indispensable objects in every culture. Carry on the tradition and  take home a beautiful, durable and useful basket crafted from local and  responsibly harvested, hand-pounded black ash logs. In this workshop  students will craft a daypack sized traditional Adirondack style  packbasket with cedar runners and base and adjustable webbing straps.  Great for hikes, farmer’s markets, picnic lunches and whatever else you  would use a regular backpack for. This basket is made to last and be  used.   Included is a discussion and demonstration on how the material  is harvested and processed.  Good hand strength is necessary.-

Guest Instructor Penny Hewitt- 

Among other things, Penny is a homeschooling mom, craftsperson and  homesteader, who is inspired by the traditions of other cultures to  revitalize and share skills useful to everyday life. In an effort to  deepen her connection to the land and limit her participation in  consumer culture, she strives to grow, craft and participate in seasonal  harvests for as many of her needs and wants as possible.  She is also  grateful to be part of a generous community of talented makers and  growers with whom she trades skills, ideas and wares.  She uses hand  harvested resources from the forest, letting the qualities of varying  materials dictate their use.  You can find her teaching children and  adults all over Vermont and beyond; in private homes, on farms, at her  studio in the Northeast Kingdom, at art centers and traditional skills  schools and gatherings.