The Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Rd, Harleysville, announces a special basket weaving workshop on Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm led by master basket weaver Karen Wychock.
Participants will weave a Shaker basket made of ash. Using beautiful Berkshire splint, we will be weaving a small, knife basket. The basket is woven over a wooden mold with black ash and topped with hardwood rims and handle. The small knife basket measures 4” long, 2 1/2” wide and 1 1/2” deep. The basket will be chase woven.
We will be using ash prepared by JoAnn Kelly Catsos, a nationally known ash basket weaver from Massachusetts. The Catsos family harvest and process black ash trees (Fraxinus nigra) that grow in the wet soils of cold swamps in New England. The labor intensive process includes splitting the logs into billets about 2 inches wide and 25 – 30 growth rings thick and pounding each billet with a wooden mallet to crush the fibers between the growth rings so the individual growth rings can be peeled apart.
Instructor Karen Wychock is a member of the Bucks County Craftsmen’s Guild and the PA Guild of Craftsmen. As a weaver of traditional Shaker baskets, she has sold her work through various shows throughout PA and Delaware. She was also president of the Penn-Jersey Basket Weavers Guild for six years and has taught numerous basket weaving workshops.
The workshop fee is $60 ($55 member) plus $50 for the materials fee. Preregistration is necessary as the workshop size is limited.