Farmer’s Wife Started Wheat Weaving Business
A week or two before the combines hit the fields to begin winter wheat harvest, Peg Nelson does a little preharvest of her own near Potter, Neb. She cuts the long stems with a battery-powered hedge trimmer and secures the stalks in bundles with baler twine. Working a few early morning hours for 3 or 4 days yields about 200 5-in. dia. bundles that she transforms into hearts, crosses and other pieces of art. Recently she added wheat replicas of rancher’s brands to her repertoire.
Nelson’s first exposure to wheat weaving was 40 years ago when she married a farmer and moved to Cheyenne County, Nebraska’s largest wheat-producing county. Her husband was a member of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association, so she joined the women’s auxiliary group called “Wheat Hearts.” The women wove wheat into gifts for members, and Nelson liked the art form.
“I’m still amazed with the idea that you can take something like wheat out of a field and make something,” Nelson says.
She read books and taught herself to use various techniques - weaving, spiral weaving, flat braids, round braids, etc.
“I do a lot of hearts. I take a pattern and tweak it to try to make it my own,” she says. As part of her business, High Plains Wheat Weaver, customers have asked her to create brands, a turkey, and custom designs for weddings, crosses and wreathes. She has also made a 3D cowboy, a Victorian doll, cornucopias, and has woven wheat into straw wreaths for cemetery wreaths.
Most weavings have all parts of the wheat stalk from stem to heads. Nelson prefers long slender stems that require less splicing, and she likes varieties that aren’t as coarse, such as Good Streak.
For weaving, the wheat must be cut when the heads are upright and in the dough stage - not milky, but soft. Nelson stores her bundles in a Quonset building. The wheat is soaked in water as she uses it. Some, like a black-bearded wheat variety she purchases from North Dakota, is coarser and requires a hot water soaking. Though it is harder on her hands and more difficult to work with, Nelson appreciates the color and texture it adds.
From Christmas ornaments ($4) and crosses on magnets to personalized brands and wedding bouquets and boutonnieres, Nelson has taken on a variety of commissioned orders. Hearts and crosses are typically 10 to 12 in., but some pieces such as the Bride of Corn is almost 30 in., including the black beards.
She accepts orders through Facebook and sells items at craft shows and other events in Nebraska.
Wheat weavings last for decades, Nelson says, if they are kept out of the sun and in places they won’t be bumped.
“It’s fun to watch people look at them when we’re at shows. Some have never seen them. Husbands are interested,” she says.
Their interest is something she tries to keep in mind as she does her least favorite part - harvesting the wheat by hand. She’s tried hedge trimmers and other cutters, but cutting each stem by hand seems to work the best.
“I’ve heard a binder would work great,” she concludes. But so far she hasn’t been able to find a vintage machine that works.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Peg Nelson, Box 383, Potter, Neb. 69156 (ph 308 249-5615; highplainswhtwvr@gmail.com; Facebook: High Plains Wheat Weaving).
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Farmer’s Wife Started Wheat Weaving Business MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous A week or two before the combines hit the fields to begin winter wheat harvest Peg Nelson does a little preharvest of her own near Potter Neb She cuts the long stems with a battery-powered hedge trimmer and secures the stalks in bundles with baler twine Working a few early morning hours for 3 or 4 days yields about 200 5-in dia bundles that she transforms into hearts crosses and other pieces of art Recently she added wheat replicas of rancher’s brands to her repertoire Nelson’s first exposure to wheat weaving was 40 years ago when she married a farmer and moved to Cheyenne County Nebraska’s largest wheat-producing county Her husband was a member of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association so she joined the women’s auxiliary group called “Wheat Hearts ” The women wove wheat into gifts for members and Nelson liked the art form “I’m still amazed with the idea that you can take something like wheat out of a field and make something ” Nelson says She read books and taught herself to use various techniques - weaving spiral weaving flat braids round braids etc “I do a lot of hearts I take a pattern and tweak it to try to make it my own ” she says As part of her business High Plains Wheat Weaver customers have asked her to create brands a turkey and custom designs for weddings crosses and wreathes She has also made a 3D cowboy a Victorian doll cornucopias and has woven wheat into straw wreaths for cemetery wreaths Most weavings have all parts of the wheat stalk from stem to heads Nelson prefers long slender stems that require less splicing and she likes varieties that aren’t as coarse such as Good Streak For weaving the wheat must be cut when the heads are upright and in the dough stage - not milky but soft Nelson stores her bundles in a Quonset building The wheat is soaked in water as she uses it Some like a black-bearded wheat variety she purchases from North Dakota is coarser and requires a hot water soaking Though it is harder on her hands and more difficult to work with Nelson appreciates the color and texture it adds From Christmas ornaments $4 and crosses on magnets to personalized brands and wedding bouquets and boutonnieres Nelson has taken on a variety of commissioned orders Hearts and crosses are typically 10 to 12 in but some pieces such as the Bride of Corn is almost 30 in including the black beards She accepts orders through Facebook and sells items at craft shows and other events in Nebraska Wheat weavings last for decades Nelson says if they are kept out of the sun and in places they won’t be bumped “It’s fun to watch people look at them when we’re at shows Some have never seen them Husbands are interested ” she says Their interest is something she tries to keep in mind as she does her least favorite part - harvesting the wheat by hand She’s tried hedge trimmers and other cutters but cutting each stem by hand seems to work the best “I’ve heard a binder would work great ” she concludes But so far she hasn’t been able to find a vintage machine that works Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Peg Nelson Box 383 Potter Neb 69156 ph 308 249-5615; highplainswhtwvr@gmail com; Facebook: High Plains Wheat Weaving
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