Hallson Gardens

I *LOVE* baskets... they are so functional!

I wove my first basket quite by accident... there was a basketmaking demonstration and I was handed a started base and told to finish it. lol! That was in Aug. '99.

I'm self-taught, use purchased reed, and weave mostly during the non-gardening/non-golfing months (which is about 6 months of the year here).

Any others out there? and has anyone had good success with natural materials they've collected themselves?

Basketmaking is something I've wanted to do for a very long time but haven't tried yet. On this property I have an overabundance of things for making baskets, such as willow, carex, lonicera...........Heck, I'm even planting for that reason! Dierama, daylily, lavender..............

Methinks that this could turn into an addiction!

I used to - it's a lot of fun and very satisfying work.

I love baskets, too, but I've never had any idea how to get into weaving. I use a lot of baskets and I own a couple of really old baskets that are getting so fragile.

Ann

I have taken three lessons with the goal of learning the basics in order to make baskets from materials that can be found here on the farm. So far I have three baskets from the lessons...

hmmmm.... I "played" with willow cuttings from a friend once, just to see how they handled. I also experimented with honeysuckle vine (lonicera heckrottii).

Viktoria, were your lessons directed at collecting and preparing natural weaving materials? that's an interesting concept!

I wish I could find someone with wild grapevines that they'd like trimmed out. lol!

I have grapes that I could be talked into trimming! Yes they have gone wild with the over spaying of Messenger when I did my corn.

The lessons were to make a specific basket from commercial materials and it is up to me to extrapolate what I learned into what I have on hand.

Lotsa wild grapevines here in the hedgerows...where are you?

ah.... good luck with your basket-works! I'm in central NY state.