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Local hobbyists weave their way through Ancient-old handcraft

Photo

Photo by Kyle Bursaw

Laurie Shepel of Edgerton works on an egg basket at Edgerton Public Library as Linda Meyer offers tips. The two are both part of the Saturday Basket Weaving group that Meyer founded. The group meets every Saturday at the library from 10-3 to work on baskets and other projects. The group is free and open to anyone.

Photo

Photo by Kyle Bursaw

Laurie Shepel carves a piece of wood that will become part of her egg basket that she is making at the Saturday Basket Weaving group's meeting at the Edgerton Public Library.

JANESVILLE — When Sandra Thorp needs an escape, she turns on calming music, pulls out her toolbox and reed and lets the world fade away.

"It's therapeutic. I go off in my own little world when I'm basket weaving," the 60-year-old Janesville woman said.

Thorp weaves whenever she can, and that's been pretty often since she got hooked on the hobby in 2004.

She's attended classes, seminars and then more classes. During the past six years, she estimates she's made at least 500 baskets.

The appeal, she said, is creating something with her own hands.

"It's like sewing a dress. Even though I used somebody's pattern, there's me in it."

Thorp is not alone in her enthusiasm about basket weaving. There has been a recent renewed interest of the handcraft.

After organizing free basket weaving sessions at two Rock County libraries, Linda Meyer, 48, Milton, had to stop offering it at one library when the number of participants, ages 7 to 70, outgrew the space, she said.

"There was more of a surge in this country after World War II, particularly during the 1960s to 1970s, then interest fell off in the 1980s and started to surge again in the mid 1990s,” she said of the interest in basket weaving.

"A regional convention in Indiana sold out the second day, and the John C. Campbell Folk School (in North Carolina) usually sells out rapidly," she said.

"People want to get back to something they can make themselves. It's an art form they can accomplish. I could never paint a portrait, but this is something I can do—create," Meyer said.

Jan Knutson, treasurer of the Wisconsin Weave Basket Guild that serves members from throughout Rock County, said basket weaving has become more popular since the opening of the East Troy Basketry, which sells supplies and offers classes.

"It seems like when these weekends, conferences and basket-making things are offered, some of them fill up the minute the word goes out," Knutson said.

Getting started

If you'd like to try basket weaving, it's cheap to get started. All the tools you'll need can be found in your home, local weavers said.

When Knutson teaches a beginning class, she asks students to bring a dishpan or plastic bucket to soak reed, a pair of utility or kitchen scissors, 15 clothes pins, a ruler, pencil, an old towel and flat-head screw driver.

"As they get more into it, they are special tools they can buy. But the first couple years, I used an old pair of sewing scissors," said Meyer, who started weaving a decade ago when she quit smoking to keep her hands busy.

Knutson said people of all skills levels can find basket weaving patterns, including many that are free, on the Internet, from instructors and at shops.

Meyer, who has created nine basket-weaving patterns, also has created a basket-weaving newsletter. Anyone who wants to receive it can contact her at hotlinda3000@yahoo.com. She has organized and leads weaving sessions in Edgerton and Janesville for weavers of all ages and skill levels.

"People are welcome to come weave their own projects, work on new projects, bring their knitting or other hobby and come and go as they wish. There is no specific start time," Meyer said.

"Most all of my baskets are utilitarian. They all have a use," she said. "Creating something is only limited to your imagination.”

Local weave basket guild meets monthly in Beloit

The Wisconsin Weave Basket Guild, established in 1993 by Lynn Berger of Janesville, moved its meetings to Beloit in 1997.

The guild, which has 17 members, is a group of beginners to master weavers who share their joy of basket weaving from 6 to 8 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 617 St. Lawrence Ave., Beloit, said Jan Knutson, treasurer.

The evening is spent in friendly camaraderie, working on challenging baskets and learning new techniques from each other, she said.

Throughout the year, members work on community projects that include offering a beginner weaving class to the public, donating baskets for Meals on Wheels, teaching elementary school weaving classes and on occasion a basket weaving class at the Beloit Public Library, Knutson said.

Weaving opportunities

-- Edgerton Public Library, 101 Albion St., Edgerton—10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Open to beginners and experienced weavers. Visit als.lib.wi.us/EPL for details.

-- East Troy Basketry, 2082 Church St., East Troy—Classes are offered almost daily by 10 teachers. Nationally known instructors are brought in to teach several times a year. Call (262) 642-3732, toll-free at 888-424-9866, visit easttroybasketry.com or e-mail basket@wcf.net.

-- Basics Co-op, 1711 Lodge Drive, Janesville—Noon to 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 17, open weave so you can come and go any time during these hours. Noon to 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 21, weave a shopping tote. Cost is $25 that pays for the kit and pattern. E-mail weave organizer Linda Meyer at hotlinda3000@yahoo.com to order kit.

-- Beloit College, 700 College St., Beloit—Society for Learning Unlimited will offer fall weaving classes. If interested, call SLU at (608) 363-2254 to get on a mailing list.

-- Bushel and Peck's, 328 State St., Beloit—1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18. Weaver and basket designer Jan Knutson will teach a shopping tote basket class. Call (608) 363-3911 before April 6 to register.

-- ArtWalk, downtown Beloit—5 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 21, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 22. Basket weaving demonstrations by Jan Knutson.

-- St. Paul Lutheran Church, 617 St. Lawrence Ave., Beloit—9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16. The Wisconsin Weave Basket Guild will offer a market/tote basket class to the public. For details, call Jan Knutson, (608) 365-2430 or e-mail jdknutson@netzero.net.

-- Holidazzle, downtown Beloit—5 to 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 10. Basket weaving demonstrations by Jan Knutson.