Door Knob Basket

A door knob basket is a simple, flat splint basket to make.   It is designed to hang over a knob or hook.  It can be filled with any number of items... kitchen tools, dried flowers, hand towels.  The list goes on and on.

The simple basket shape can be acented with colored reed bands.  Sometimes I add a woodent heart with jute string to give a country touch to the basket.

Reed Covered Vases

Basket makers often weave baskets around a mold to form unique shapes.  Usually the mold is removed prior to the finishing of the basket.  The exception to this is when you weave around a glass bottle or vase.  Throughout history you can find examples of woven sleeves covering glass bottles.  Below are two photos of antique reed covered wine and rum bottles I took while visiting a San Juan distillery on vacation.

I like to weave around glass vases to create reed covered flower holders.  I begin weaving a circular starburst pattern with round reed to cover the base of the vase.  I bend the spokes up to weave tightly around the vase, using various colored reed to create a variety of color patterns.   I continue to weave around the vase following the shape of the glass.  When I reach the top of the vase I complete the weaving with a decorative rim finishing.

The finished reed covered vase holds water and makes for a color coordinated flower arrangement.

 









Hubba Hubba Hub Cap

Recently I took a break from weaving baskets to complete an entry for the Carroll County Arts Council’s Hubba Hubba Hub Cap exhibit.  Weaving on a hubcap was a fun change from weaving vessels with reed.  I first wove narrow black tubing, brown ribbon and gold cord around the outer cutout slits of a hubcap.  Using wire and beads, I twisted and wove random freeform sections attached to the hubcap base to complete the sculpture.  



For a second hubcap entry I made a mosaic mandella design of glass pebbles, beads and broken mirrors.  





The artist reception is Thursday, June 14 from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Carroll County Arts Council on Main Street in Westminster.  The show runs through August 14.  Hope you can come check out all the entries.

Market Basket

A market basket can be any rectangle basket that is used to hold, carry and transport items, whether to town or to the next room.  Market baskets often vary in size from very small to quite large.    A variety of reeds can be used to create designs and patterns woven on the sides of the baskets.

This basket allowed me to create a Native American pattern on the side of the basket.  Using two colors of dyed reed I was able to create an interlocking diamond design. The design is visible on the outside and the inside of the basket.