Jeanette....I've been kinda curious about those straw walls and
I did a little surfing on the net and figured out that the owners
of your house didn't see the whole episode about straw decorated walls
on HGTV!
Here's where you can see pictures of how the project for
Plaster and Straw walls is really done!!

Better Homes and Gardens has featured it too. They call it Rustic Wall Texture.
Their description:
"The textured walls are designed to simulate the feeling of a rustic farmhouse. Much of the texture arises from straw embedded in the finish, just as it might have been when European peasants built mud and straw walls for their cottages."