This summer the plant fibre collection was extended this year due to hot and dry weather in the Central Highlands of Victoria. I collected some extra long red hot poker leaves, watered daily by the irrigation system of a potato crop. Confirming that even though red hot poker is a hardy drought tolerant plant, its leaves are so much longer if they are watered well! I collected over 1000 leaves of red hot poker this year, so I am ready to teach basketry workshops. I think I was excited about the extra storage space I will have due to my new shed studio. I also collected arum lily, a variety of iris leaves, day lily, blackberry and grasses. I added the barbed wire, as it seemed to match the blackberry spools! I also decided to trial an indigenous fibre this year, so I collected a small bundle of dianella tasminica. I planted it a few years ago and it does exceedingly well in this climate. I haven’t used it in basketry, so stay tuned for my explorations with this plant fibre.
Jodie Goldring 
Hello! What an extraordinary collection of fibre. I would love to know more about how you work with blackberry canes. Ouch. 🙂
Vera
You and me both! I have heard some old timers stitch bee skeps using blackberry vines, so I collected some to give it a try. I purchased a thorn stripping tool to use for this purpose! I will legt you know how it goes!