As I was cleaning wheat this summer, I was thinking about just how thrifty wheat weavers are as I sorted my wheat into piles. I had a bucket for broken wheat heads, a box for first straw, a box for second straw, one for usable third and misc straw with the intention of trying to make some wheat paper as Pauline G. has taught us, a box for misc junk which would end up as weed control on my garden and a box of leaf sheaths because Joan A. saves them. Now that I saved them, I asked Joan to teach us what to do with them. We all know what beautiful work Joan does with all styles of wheat work, but she is definitely a master of wheat sheath flowers. I’m sure you all remember the baskets of flowers she made for center pieces at the Pennsylvania convention that were perhaps even more beautiful than real flowers, all made from wheat sheaths. Though basically marquetry flowers, the sheaths seem to dye up with rich color and being softer make more delicate and softer flowers than straw marquetry. So the next time you clean wheat, save your wheat sheaths and try making some beautiful flowers.
Kathy D.