I recently had the great fortune to learn from my neighbor who is an accomplished Cherokee weaver. She started me on a Cherokee style Peace Symbol/Door Hanger and told me that these would hang in the council house and be decorated with feathers. If the feathers were white, they were at peace, if red, they were at war, and if black, the village was in mourning. There are thirteen spokes representing the thirteen cycles of the moon during the year. I thoroughly enjoyed weaving this. I love the style and the way the light plays through the thin round reed.
Photo description: Wall hanging made of number 2 round reed with a woven center with thirteen interwoven loops
I am not Cherokee, neither in lineage or registration, so I’m being very clear that what I made is “in the style of” or “like” a Cherokee weaving.
I gathered dead leaves from the base of several iris and daylily plants at my folk’s house, along with some daylily stems. To make them flexible I wet a large towel and wrapped the leaves and stems with it, leaving them in the towel for a few hours.
Photo description: gathered materials laid out in an old terry cloth towel
I chose ten daylily stems for my base stakes and did a plain weave 5×5. I then twined iris leaves around the stakes, creating a square basket. To add a new leaf, I folded the old leaf end into the new leaf end, twisting them together to lock it in.
Photo description: basket in progress showing very long stakes and several twined rows
I still need to study how to do borders for the top. I ended up clipping the stakes short and tucking in the twined ends for this basket.
Photo description: twined basket with cut stakesPhoto description: side of twined basketPhoto description: bottom of twined basket
I left the basket at my folks’ place to dry. The leaves had spots of mold, so it shouldn’t be used for foodstuffs, but after a solid coat of sealer, it could be a desk basket.
We picked up a fast food dinner and were given a plethora of paper napkins. I had a stash of straws. Could I make a basket? (Because that is the logical thought process with excess disposable paper products, right?)
Photo description: unbleached paper napkins and paper wrapped straws
I unwrapped and split the straws by running a scissors down the length to obtain four plastic strips from each straw. I wove a square base (6×6 straw pieces). I tore the napkins into 1/2” strips and twined them around the straw “staves”.
Photo description: slivers of red plastic straws woven together and secured with paper napkin twine
It took some time to twine up the sides of the basket. The joining method I liked best was to overlap the end of a napkin strip with a new strip, fold the sides to the middle, then secure with a good clockwise twist. The two clockwise twisted strands were then wrapped counterclockwise around each straw, which isn’t as complicated as it sounds. To finish the basket, I trimmed the end of the straws to a blunt point, and used tweezers to thread them back down through the weaving.
Photo description: in process threading of the straw staves back into the twined weave, calico cat as a background
I was quite surprised that the little basket is fairly sturdy. It certainly won’t hold up to water or washing, but it is a cute little basket. I left the end of the napkin twine inside the basket to remember its humble origins.
Photo description: finished basket, top view, happy calico cat as the background Photo description: finished napkin and straw basket, side view, sitting on a calico cat
I’m retiring a set of sheets and gave them a good wash and dry, then Izzy the cat discovered them in the laundry basket.
Photo description: white foldable laundry basket, gray sheets, and a happy calico cat snuggled on the top
Izzy was so happy and spent all her nap time for days in the basket. But the basket was in the middle of the floor and in the way, and eventually I had to give in to practicality and put the basket away. As a peace offering, I took a portion of the sheet and put it in a smaller basket.
Photo description: Izzy in a woven basket looking at the camera
The offering was reluctantly accepted, but not fully embraced. She will occasionally use it, but not to the extent she did the clandestine basket.
It took a couple weeks, but my eldest’s snake is now using the new basket as a hide! He has crawled over and around it and squished it out of shape, but not crushed it. I’m calling it a successful creation.
