Making Baskets with Gretchen Gavlahn: Part 1, Willow Harvest & Rawhide
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- Опубликовано: 14 фев 2020
- First in a planned series, making baskets with my friend and artist Gretchen Gavlahn. Harvest, sorting, curing and making some rawhide.
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hope to see more of Gretchen
Steven puts more helpful, handy tips per minute into his videos than just about any other channel.
Now I need willow... Damn.
he he
LOL! Know the feeling. I have a nicely shaped axe with a thinned-down and oiled handle now and nothing to cut. Steven's enthusiasm is infectious.
That said I'd like a basket or two for shopping (like my Mum used to use) and there's nothing better than making your own. I might have to see if I can find someone who grows willow and see if I can buy some.
Welcome Gretchen. Cool topic an great energy. Can't wait to try this.
+
You kill me girl, when you snort and laugh..cant help but laugh too!
Overhead shot of the willow clanging while being cut is a beaut.
yeah, that was cool I wish I had paid more attention to the shadow direction on some of that though.
Gretchen is cool., Looking forward to this video series!
shes super cool
Thank you soooo much from Italy!!! The method you use to select the length is wonderful!
Fascinating topic. I look forward to the next one.
And now I want a basket for the homestead! Never thought I'd be into baskets.
they really have no functional substitute in some situations. I mean, aside from basket-like substitutes that maybe aren't woven, like a trug etc. but even the weaving allows small particles to fall through, for better or worse at times. Mushrooming doesn't work to well with out baskets. having a handle means you can carry with one hand, or carry two baskets at the same time. The light weight, varying shapes. Yep, baskets are distinctly utilitarian in their own way. coming from a primitive technology background gives me a great appreciation for containers. Try doing things with natural containers and you quickly see how spoiled we all are now.
@@SkillCult I just never thought about it to much but it makes sense. Probably because I'm pretty new to gardening, growing fruit, mushrooms, tubers ect. All within the last 3 years. I can see how valuable a good basket will be for me especially if you have some acreage. Living previously in suburbs and a large city you just don't think about things like this, it's kinda sad. Plus making your own is just badass!
Thanks Steven. I was hoping you would do this when you showed the willows the last time. Looking forward to learning more.
Thanks for this video! I’ve only done small pine needle baskets before. This seems to be the next step.stoked🤘🏼
You guys... this is so cute and so informational. How fun that we can look forward to more homesteading skill adventures with Steven and Gretchen!
I can't believe the genius of that bucket length sorting trick. Geez. I would have spent hours sorting them in a row for reasons, probably.
yeah, that is standard practice, but it's an pretty elegant solution. I'm glad I learned it :) Maybe when we finish this project Gretchen can come back for some other collaboration. We'll see. I'm kind of bugging her to try out having a youtube channel. Authenticity is a hot commodity on the internet and she's got that.
Very interesting content. We have a pile of baskets that we use for all sorts of things, but all were given to us. I look forward to part two.
Great video. You’ve made us very curious about all of this. Cheers
It looks like you're having far too much fun, both of you! But what can be more fun than more fun? Thanks for sharing the info and creating more fun for fans! Cool! Here's to the Best Beautiful Baskets! DaveyJO in Pa.
Man, I'd forgotten about this project. Hope to see the part 2.
looking forward to part II of this series, especially it could be cool to see willow and rawhide/leather in combination,' I am very much into the hide/tanning thing but don't really see how to combine them in a practical sense. You and Gretchen seem to be a great team, btw
I don' t think thats going to happen; Gretchen isn't around anymore. I miss her though. She's awesome. I still want to do more basketry content anyway.
Hoping to see you demonstrate weaving a basket, I hope this isn’t a forgotten series. Thanks!
thanks a bunch, Steven! This happens to come very handy for me and just about perfectly timed as I am about to harvest willow here in Denmark. As usual I feel very prepared for the task thanks to your content -
Awesome. Is it basket willow?
@@SkillCult yes, part of it is. There are some other shoots but I have to ask the guy who planted if it's any good. I didn't really intend to make a willow basket but now that you are making a series on that I might as well give it a shot
The willow that grows on our blueberry field can not be killed off by cutting, I try, even cutting two to three times a summer. If diligent I can weaken it but if I slack off it will come back easily. It doesn't grow as long as what you have show. A full years growth might come up to my waist. Looking like a great series.
Many wild willows are on the smaller side. that doesn't mean they aren't good though. the best test it tying a one year shoot into a tight overhand knot near the tip end. If you can pull the knot tight, it's flexible enough. some varieties will crack readily. If you have swampy ground though, you could start a patch of basket willow. sounds like you'd have to cut them back as much as every other week all summer consistently, or even into the next year. I've put stuff over plants like that for a year, like a metal or plastic tub that excludes light. doesn't work on a large scale though unless you tarp a whole area with black plastic.
Not particularly interested in hide but I'm super excited for the willow!
10:30 lol this is hilarious
Just checked Gretchen's website, she's very talented! Looking forward to part 2.
Willow is an amazing material. My parents have a big willlow basket for carrying firewood from the stack outside into the livingroom. No idea if it was made here in Sweden or somewhere else. It's about 3' diameter and 4' tall I think. Have held up great since at least the 80s. It looks good as well, always placed next to the fireplace. I know they told me it wasn't very cheap when they bought it, but it has held up well over the years. Money well spent I think, they definitely weren't ripped off.
gretchen is not just a talented artist, but very diverse. she's always coming up with new stuff and her pottery looks like it might have been made by a bunch of different people. she's a point of light making waves in the sea of humanity.
I planted some shoots of Weeping Willow and they are about 8 feet tall now. They are taking off and starting to look beautiful.
Almost all willows will grow easily from cuttings like that. Many are not good for baskets though, just FYI. Whenever I've tried weeping types before they shoots have been brittle. It's easy to test by tying a shoot from last year in a knot near the tip end. If you can snug it up, you're usually good to go for weaving.
Thank you!! Your videos are incredibly informative and I would even say like the one stop shop for learning these kinds of trades!! How did you first start to do these things and where did you learn them?
I learned it all over. Also, the more you learn different things, the easier it is to learn new things and understand information in context. There is interesting information all over the place, we just miss most of it for lack of context or interest.
You could make birdcages with a birdcage awl with that willow. That looked fun.
I'm a recovering basket maker who used to work in a lightship/shaker style (I took brown ash logs apart with a linoleum knife and hammer for staves), used cane for weaving and species wood for rims and handles.
I've toyed with the thought of growing willow, and am inspired by part 1.
Could you comment on growing willow for basketry?
I pretty much have decided to do a vid on cultivation and starting a patch and such. especially since I sent out so many cuttings. that might be the next one, or later. depends on timing and getting orders out. this week is mostly fulfilling orders and preparing to fulfill orders.
I don't think we have a species equivalent to the ash used for basketry in the east. wish we did.
I planted basket willows 2 years ago with the goal of making baskets. They are growing slowly, but they are growing.
Awesome. It is often advised as I recall tot let them grow for two seasons, then start cutting back. If you cut back this winter, you should have a few shoots next winter.
@@SkillCult I did coppice them last February; they responded beautifully!
I would love to see part 2 of this series.
This is very funny.
Wow Steven. On the heels of your free form log-splitting video (kind of like martial arts!) you give us this? And what is this I'm hearing about quill-pen caligraphy?
Not really calligraphy, I just like doing my illustration and lettering in them with quill pens and ink that I make. Hopefull that will be a series soon.
Could you use willow osiers in furniture making, in place of rattan?
In wattle-&-daub architecture (osiers used to support adobe, seems to have been common in pre-modern Europe), how are rain and critters prevented from harming the integrity of the walls?
I don't know. Maybe just being burried so deep in mud. Or maybe sometimes they do get eaten. Most bugs need a certain level of moisture to eat wood too, so if it's super dry, that might be the difference.
Very good tip on sorting willow lengths! I'm going to write that one down (somewhere) so I don't forget t.
Since a black willow (salix nigra) randomly took root in my back yard, I've taken an interest in making baskets, mostly for laundry. But the bit of reading I did lead me to believe that black willow is no good for basket weaving. I have no doubts there are some willows are more pliable and supple than others, just like every other type of wood has certain principle characteristics. But I'm not looking for the best. Or at least, not yet. I have the desire to plant a willow farm for all the reasons you mentioned. But I figured it'd be wiser to start with what I'm given rather than investing time money and effort into buying a certain willow cultivar. All that said, in your experience, does the type of willow really matter? Should I attempt with the black willow, regardless of its less than preferred recommendation?
A good video. I look forward to seeing the continuation of this little series with Gretchen.
Yeah, it matters a lot. there are perfectly good, native wild willows, but many are useless or just not very good. I dont' know your species, they are different everywhere. If you take a long tapered shoot that is one years growth, and can tie the small end into a tight knot, you're probably good.If they trees are not managed, you might not find much of any iuse. cut one down now and see how it grows back and how flexible it is. email me if you want some cuttings. I'm shipping this next week. If you have the right ground, it can be as easy as poking the cuttings in and walking away.
@@SkillCult What type of willow is it? I've got obscenely sandy soil.
Awesome! I'll have to source some willow here in Nova Scotia, I guess. There's a First Nations community near me and I bet they know where the good stuff is. I'm curious what the white pots are for on the base of the willow...anti-rodent device?
There is certainly basket willow in Canada. I would just look online for someone that sells cuttings up there and order a few. They grow fast, so if you get five, you'll have a lot of cuttings to propagate in a couple of years. Yeah, the collars are for voles. They have worked well, or they don't like willow maybe. The plants are busting out of them now, so we'll see if the voles get to it now.
Maybe I missed it in this video (but I watched twice and didn't hear it) and there's no mention on the website....What hardiness zones do these grow in?
Thanks
I'll link in the description, but it's www.skillcult.com/store I don't know about hardiness. There is a willow farm in vermont that sells all kinds of willow, so Probably not a big issue in most of the U.S.
Good day Sir I am just learning a ton...just a question how does willow grow...from a seed of can jy cut a branch and stick in the grond and then it will grow or is there a other method?
Kind regards.
It can, but they are always propagated from cuttings. It is very easy, just cut dormant sticks and poke them in the ground.
@@SkillCult thank you again for replying I wil try it to start it...I am a Aquaponics person and my system is running for 2years (very small systems) and was thinking to stick a willow in there just to get it started.
Thank you.
by the leaves on the trees behind you, it looks you're quite late spring, but the willow has not yet sprouted leaves? It is some late season variety?
Published february 15th. that's an evergreen tree.
I didn't know any of the plants used for basket making till I watched this, I had always assumed straw and types of grasses, but never a specific plant. Also good for toothaches? Or is that just black willow? Anyway, very cool stuff. Do you think an artificial trench could be made and "waterproofed" (allowing for slow drainage but mostly water holding) if it were fed regularly. I have a bucket under one drain spout that never goes empty of water, and have started thinking about making trenches for retting fibers. If I fill one in with dirt, that might make a good home for willow? Just asking as an opinion, as obviously this isn't the method you are employing. I'm up on a hill so dampness is down in the hollow where it's very shady. How deep do you suppose the roots go?
willow definitely likes it's roots in water and leaves in the sun if possible. I think it would grow in that kind of situation. You can get very strong pond liner material from goodyear and others that is long lived and tough rubbery quality. willow would probably grow directly in water even with enough nutrients, but a trench of depression with some dirt and organic matter would probably work fine. but you need a lot of plants. I hope to get some idea of the yield in baskets from these shoots and can then compare it to how many plants I have, but I would not plant less than 20 and preferable more. good news is they can be 12 inches apart, so one ten foot row, planted staggered at 12 inches apart in staggered rows is two to three feet wide and that's 20 plants. I'd plant the next row further though, at least 2 feet between rows.
@@SkillCult That certainly seems to be the trick with most of these things on my property. I don't want an industrial scale but everything seems to require quite a bit more than backyard project size. My brick making is that way too, just so much needed to make enough to build something.
Penn State University is doing a study on shrub willow. They're currently growing a 34 acre plot that is harvested every three years for its bio mass or bio fuel potential.
That's great if they have the right ground for it. I hope they look at the possibility of producing char at the same time. Lower energy yield, but lots of biochar churned out.
I can see from driving by on I-99, that it seems to grow really well. I believe they harvested it at least twice, and it bounces right back. As far as char is concerned, you may want to Google Penn State. They do a lot of agriculture studies, judging by the amount of farm land they utilize.
Very cool chick.
For those of us who are in humid climates, would drying in an attic be a good idea, or too hot/fast?
some warmth is good, and air circulation. drying fast is okay, but you don't want it super hot.
Because of what you said before in a sharpening video I’m getting a 1000/6000 king stone and a cheap coarse stone
that will work. I like the king 250/1000 but I'd probably rather have a coarse diamond plate and the 1000/6000 and a strop. Stropping with compound is enough after 1000 tho
SkillCult true that, I do have a strop as well if I need it. I have the 250/1000 as well and will probably use it more with my outdoor tools like my axes and hatchets. I made the puck from that 250/1000 stone and wish I did it earlier
SkillCult I regret nothing, just shaved with my Swiss Army Knife after about 30 seconds on the 6000 grit and a pass on the strop
Have you ever tried using wood ash instead of lime the wood ash slips the hear out but so does the lime wood ash is cheaper
Yes. Lime is pretty cheap and I make my own. But wood ash is good. It is not as predictable. It can vary from way too strong to too weak and hard to test.
Dang. I should have watched this earlier, now you are all sold out of the cuttings. Will you be getting more in the store or are you completely out?
all gone for this year there are other sources, but they aren't that cheap. good news is that they grow fast, so you can propagate more quickly. Usually it's a 5 stick minimum for each variety though.
when is part 2?
Dunno yet. everything is derailed.
Willow is also great food for animals like rabbits and goats. i have heard there is some kind of natural antibiotic in them too, but dont quote me on that
maple enderson Bark can be used as aspirin substitute, it is full of the same ingredient
@@mihacurk Ahh ye must have been aspirin then not antibiotic LOL i knew it is some kind of medicine
Yeah, it's good browse, but for basketry, good to keep in mind that if it is cut at all or browsed during the season, the shoots are ruined. So, a combination coppice/basketry/animal feed planting would have to be selectively thinned for animal feed. Haven't heard antibiotic, but yes to asprin and it works. I have a story about that I'll tell sometime.
@@SkillCult Was just pointing out one more reason to keep willow nearby. For animal feed we have been cutting branches from the wild. There is plenty of willow alongside rivers and streams here so we just trim some of the younger branches. Rabbits are like beavers they are capable of pealing off the bark from some pretty thick sticks (like 1 to 2 inches in diameter). We would love to hear the story one day man!
Where is part 2?
enter covid 19...
@@SkillCult I was wondering if that caused a delay... seriously sucks.... looking forward to it when you can... thank you and have a great day.
She's cute.
Not very relevant for weaving but I like the color on the shoots.
It is relevant. Some dry with bright colors more than others, but bark color is commonly used to effect for patterns.
@@SkillCult Right I understand it's nice for patterns.. I'll try the local orange variety I found, this year..
When I was single I used to go to great lengths to meet and impress women.
Never tried basket making though.
anytime i have my everyday utility basket in public, women comment on it. I'm convinced baskets are in the DNA of the female of the species like blades and sharp pointy things are in the DNA of men.
and then coronavirus happened and the basket video never came
zackly, low priority