A basket for autumn.. and cattail appreciation

Just finished a little cattail basket sample for a workshop planned for the fall with Honey Bee Homestead in Lanark County.

Good to get my hands working with cattail again. It's got its nuances, and I'm learning... Made a few mistakes, and remembered a few things, and I'm pleased with the result!

I've been working with straw plaiting earnestly for about 4 or 5 years, (and excited to be going deeper!) and though nothing beats that golden hue, the shiny lustre, the super pliable strength of straw, I'm so in love with cattail and excited to keep exploring working with this plant. Cattail is so light and spongy, so easy to manipulate and plait. It's not shiny at all- it's matte, it's plain and rustic, but that holds its own charm :)

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In Ukraine and Poland it's used a lot to make basket bags, hats, even slippers, and anytime I wear my cattail hat in Canada I get lots of interest and compliments.

my cattail hat from Ukraine that's shaped like a cap

On this most recent trip, I spotted this cattail hat at the Vernissage market in downtown Lviv. I was very tempted to bring it home (but at this point was already packing too much stuff plus wearing my new straw hat)!

It's different from the other ones I've seen, and I found out-- is made by a weaver in Yavoriv.

You can see slippers in the background (these are traditional styles I've seen before).

These slippers were featured as receipt holders in the folk-concept restaurant Old Mill (Stariy Mlyn) in Ternopil.

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Cattail grows EVERYWHERE around our parts, and I cannot believe that this wonderful plant is so under-represented in our local crafts. I'm passionate about promoting the possibilities, and need to dedicate time to trying out the different techniques myself, and seeing where they take me. Last fall before I even knew what I'd do with them I hastily harvested some, so I have a little stash to work with. However, this coming fall I'll be doing an intentional big harvest to have ample material at the ready for workshops and my own experimentation.

I'm excited to share this with you all! If you're interested, let me know :)

My cattail basket workshop will be with the Lanark Basketry Museum this October.

Details here: https://www.lanarkhighlandsbasketrymuseum.ca/cattail

I took workshops on cattail weaving with Serfenta, in Cieszyn, Poland, and with a weaver in Volodymyr, Ukraine and will share more about that later! So much more to say :)