Weaving the Grasses and Flowers of Summer

I've been wanting to make nature weavings for a while now - I remember seeing the activity in the inspiring Earthways book, and was reminded of it again last fall, with this picture from the Crafty Crow. My blogger friend, Lisa, from 5 Orange Potatoes has some lovely pictures of a day spent making these with her kids, and we finally found the time and the inspiration to do this ourselves.

Here are our merry weavers, pausing at our favorite neighborhood tree (my girls, and their beloved cousin, Lucy) as we head out to collect our bits of nature.

Collecting in a light drizzle was definitely the highlight of the process. Rain did not deter these girls one bit: "I don't like rain....I LOVE rain!!" We talked about what we were finding, what we thought might last for a while, drying nicely in the weaving, and what we couldn't resist (chicory), but might wilt and rot after a while.

It was such a nice opportunity to look at all the different grasses growing in our area (ok, not ALL of them, but quite a few!) - the seeds are gorgeous right now, some dark red, some a light brown, and everything in between.

We found some Y-shaped sticks in the backyard, and later in the day we gathered to make our "looms" with some yarn.

Eliza, choosing some wide leaves to weave into her loom, next to the beautiful Queen Anne's Lace. It was not too difficult for little fingers, though I think I would string them a little differently, as our yarn tended to be too loose and slipped easily.

Here is one of the 5 weavings we made (somehow my sister and niece got away with their pieces, without me getting a final picture of them all together). I think it looks like a snowshoe! The girls have theirs hanging in the bedroom, where the lighting is not so good for a picture, but trust me, they are really beautiful.

I think this is a project we will return to, to mark the changes in the seasons or to commemorate a special event or visit. When I was describing the project to the girls earlier in the week, Lucy said that she thought it would be a really nice reminder of her days with us here in Ohio...we'll all think of the happily drizzly day we spent gathering some of the beauty around us.