Get this – all woven baskets are handmade. Mind blown. So the next time I pick up a woven basket I’ll think about all the work and care that was put into making that piece! And that brings me to my latest obsession: melon basketry! Melon basketry is one of those skills I didn’t know I wanted to learn until I saw the Handcraft Studio School workshop offering. When there was a date that worked for me, I signed up right away and waited with much anticipation! Our instructor, Michele Hament, creates baskets with natural materials like reed (what we used in class), pine needles, and kelp. I arrived as she was setting up… She brought some samples, too. For this class we learned how to make a melon shape, but there’s also an egg basket (aka butt basket), and options to create smaller or larger basket bases. First things first, a refresher on how to create a god’s eye weaving. This is the technique we used to attach the handle to the rim of …