Let there be willow and weaving for everyone!

Have you heard me gush about my basket weaving journey? (...for longer than you thought possible?? ) Or maybe you love basket weaving like me?

Have you seen my FB posts of tiny baskets, giant baskets, head baskets (aka hats), and photos of my foraging finds? And want to see more or learn how?

Have you taken a weaving or foraging class with me and caught the basket weaving bug?

Let's start a willow (and weaving) farm together!

First, let me introduce you to my friend willow - genus Salix! Willow grows in every state and on every continent but Antarctica. We have over 30 native species in the PNW alone. Willow has been cultivated and used for thousands of years — for baskets, medicine, tools, erosion control, beauty, and more.

PHOTO: Harvesting cultivated willow on a cold January day...with the willow all aglow!

I fell in love with willow in 2023 - for its versatility in basket making and the beauty and tenacity of the plant itself. From its slim withies (the rods you grow for weaving baskets) to its strong leathery bark (my fav for hats!), and from its lovely leaves blowing in the wind giving birds safe harbor to its striking colored rods in the winter, willow is such a giver.

Photo: Harvesting wild willow in a local park (shhh...don't tell).

In January of 2024, I applied to join the SnoValley Tilth Experience Farming Project to grow basketry willow. I'm thrilled to say I am now the proud leaser of 1/16 of an acre in Carnation, WA. It may not sound like much but is the start of a willow empire. The site can support close to 1,000 willows with room to grow. I'll be planting over 500 this March!

My goal is to create a healthy productive self-sustaining willow plot that will supply willow for my own creative pursuits AND enough to organize willow basket workshops for others. As the plot grows or I add additional locations, I hope to also start small scale sales to local weavers.

Will you help my willow farm put down roots? Each $10 gift will plant one wonderful willow (and protect it, too — young "delicious" willow starts needs deer-proof fencing).

$10 for decades of beauty, utility and life!

I dream of a field of willow tied to friends, family and fellow weavers. When I'm tired and sore from harvesting, I will feel your support in each rod I gather. And every basket made comes with a little bit of community woven in.

Staying involved and watching it grow...

I will share periodic updates on the project as well as share any scheduled work parties with supporters if you would like to join the fun.

In Fall 2024, I will invite supporters out for an open house to see the first year growth and progress. Share some hot apple cider, a weaving project, and learn a bit more about willow varieties, planting, harvesting and storage.

My willow and weaving journey is only getting started...so stay tuned!

PHOTO: My first wild willow friends...thanks to Brian & Tom at Elkamp in Elbe, WA!

PHOTO: Gathering willow bark in my special way...

PHOTO: Look what you can do with WILLOW BARK! Wha?? Thanks to teacher Judy Zugish.

PHOTO: My willow pack basket and wild willow from Idaho. Thanks to my teacher - Jake Hartner.

PHOTO: My first willow baskets doing what baskets do best! Thanks to my teacher - Mo Walrath.

Did you want even more reasons to love willow?

1) A healthy basketry willow plant can be harvested for decades. Cut it down-to-the-ground every year and it comes right back!

2) One health basketry willow can produce 30-60 withies/rods every season.

3) Willow is well suited for growing in small plots not ideal for more traditional food/annual crops - making using of neglected corners of precious farm land!

4) Cultivated willow doesn't need fertilizers, insecticides, or weed killers.

5) Willow is happy in soggy areas that would kill other crops.

6) Willow doesn't need watering after established.

7) Willow varieties have different bark colors! (so pretty)

8) Willow helps stabilize river banks, captures carbon, and pulls heavy metals out of water.

9) Willow is one of the earliest flowering shrubs around, making a great food source for early season pollinators.

10) Willow is MAGIC!