Grapevine bark: too much effort for too little return.

Today I finished stripping the bark off the remaining grapevine branches I had in soak. While I filled a large container with the bark, in reality very little of it was usable for weaving. Over 90% of the strips I removed were too short to use. There were only enough longer lengths to weave the body of a rib basket made from 8" diameter oak hoops. So the total output from days of labour was enough for a very small basket of  5" oak hoops and a slightly larger one at 8".

I will revisit this idea of using bark in the spring when I prepare the white willow by stripping it of its bark. Perhaps I will find that the percentage of useful weaving strips will be larger.

I did coat the two baskets with varnish today. My memory says that the Vancouver basket of willow weavers was similarly varnished. The two baskets are now drying. Hopefully they will be dry tomorrow when I head for the Exhibition and Sale of the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild.
That sale is at the Glebe Community Centre in Ottawa, from 4 00 to 8 00 pm on Friday, 10 00 am to 5 00 pm on Saturday, and from 10 00 am to 4 00 pm on Sunday.

Success in weaving with grapevine bark

 Success! I had some 5" diameter oak hoops that I joined together with God's eyes woven from 1/4" rattan cane. I then added ribs from round rattan cane. Then I wove the body of this small rib basket using strips of grapevine bark. As I said in an earlier blog, I had seen baskets in Vancouver woven with willow bark. Could grapevine bark be used too?

The result is quite pleasing to the eye. Anne says, "Cute."