I was looking for a hobby that allowed me to meet my Maker interests while balancing the lifestyle that comes with young kids. Although “underwater basket-weaving” is a term of derision, I discovered regular basket weaving is a great hobby for the following reasons:
- I’m able to do with kids at the kitchen table (e.g. no toxic chemicals)
- it’s easy to start with basic concepts, but also has continued learning and mastery possibilities
- The materials are inexpensive or free
- You can put away a partially completed project and come back to it without wastage
- It’s pretty easy to undo mistakes (e.g. soak the cane and re-form)
- It produces something useful (”a basket for every use, and a use for every basket”)
Pinterest has a lot of great ideas, but I was really impressed by this introduction course and this introductory book:
Like any hobby, there is a learning curve. But you can start with simple paper explorations:
Then transition to using actual cane. This is my second basket:
Here is the work-in-progress on my third basket:
I’m excited to move to the more advanced possibilities:
