EDMONTON – Robert Kuhmayer is like a magician weaving order from chaos.
In his hands, the blue and orange baler twine that seems to grow like tangled weeds in pastures, hay fields and corrals is transformed into sturdy baskets and floor mats.
The farmers and ranchers that walk past Kuhmayer’s table at the farmers’ market at Farmfair International can’t believe something so useful can come from used plastic twine.
“Some people think it’s a real art,” said Kuhmayer of Colinton, Alta.
His uncle began weaving sisal twine into mats and baskets years earlier. When the uncle died, the tools were passed onto Kuhmayer who taught himself how to weave the sturdy baskets.
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The trick to strong baskets with stiff sides is pulling the binding string tight around the twine.
“If you don’t pull it tight, they cave,” said Kuhmayer, pointing to the thick calluses on his nicotine-stained fingers.
About 20 lengths of twine, the thickness of a finger, are stuffed through a plastic tube to keep the twine together as he binds it in place with a needle and string.
Even though the twine is free, the baskets are not his main source of income.
“You don’t get rich overnight. It’s just a hobby,” said Kuhmayer who sells most of the baskets at farmers’ markets in northern Alberta.
It took 31/2 weeks to weave a knee-high clothesbasket that sells for $140.
The baskets and mats are made to last a lifetime. Some of the mats in his family home are more than 30 years old, he said.
