Gallery of Gifts

It's time for holiday shopping.  My baskets are part of the Gallery of Gifts at the Carroll Arts Center on Main Street in Westminster through December 23rd. 

The shopping boutique is open from10am to 4pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Tuesday and Thursday the gallery is open until 8pm. 

For more information visit www.carrollartscenter.com  or call 410-848-7272

WMHS Falcon Craft Show.

To celebrate the fall season, I wove three mock ears of corn with multicolor reed.  Joined together with a rafia bow, the three "ears of corn" make the perfect wall decoration. 

This wall hanging and more of my baskets will be on display and sale at the Winters Mill High School Falcon Craft Show this Saturday, November 15th from 9am until 2pm.  

Come by and say "Hi" as you get a jump start on your holiday shopping .
 
Winters Mill High School
560 Gorsuch Road
Westminster, MD 21157

Cathead Basket with Handle

   

















I spent a relaxing weekend at the 8th Annual "Weaving Your Cares Behind" retreat in beautiful Bedford, Pennsylvania.  I took two classes from Pati English, a juried artisan, basket maker and instructor from South Carolina. If you ever have a chance to take a class from her, don't pass up the opportunity.  You will learn a lot from Pati.  (www.BasketsMySpecialty.com)

The basket started with a cats head open weave base.  The sides have a band of triple twining in blue reed plus a blue and cream over two under one trail.  The rim of the basket used a cable stitch over a seagrass filler.

Free-form Pine Needle Basket

This pine needle basket is coiled around a shell.

I drilled a row of holes around the shell using a drill press.  Using waxed linen thread I attached coils of pine needles to the shell to form the bottom of the basket. 




 


 Since the shell was an irregular shape I coiled a free, unattached row of pine needles to create a more round shape for the basket.  Once the base was more rounded I brought up the sides.  On the final row I left a portion of the coil unattached again to offset the open space on the bottom of the base.

Lastly I wrapped a band of the waxed linen in a pattern on both of the free coils.






6 inch  diameter x 2 inches high

Market Basket with Reed Flower Embellishments

I ended my Odyssey 2014 weekend of basket making by taking a class lead by Sharon  Klusmann, a basketmaker from Ohio.   I made a 8 1/2" W x 16" L x 12" H market basket using black, maroon and cream read.











The handle was woven into the base.




The sides were pulled up and a simple pattern of wide black reed, thin maroon and cream reed was woven. 

Then a band of twining was inserted with colored round reed.  A decorative handle was woven incorporating the colored flat reed. The black rim was attached and lashed in place.  Two flowers formed with round reed were attached to one side as the final embellishment to the basket.

Ribbed Hearth Basket

Anne Bowers is a skilled basketmaker from West Virginia.  Ribbed basketry is her specialty and she shared her expertise at the Central PA Basket Weavers Guild Odyssey 2014 by teaching a Saturday class on a  Ribbed Hearth Basket. 










I began my hearth basket by weaving a decorative chevron cane pattern on the wooden hearth frame handle.









Then I wove a tear-dropped shaped God's eye on each side of the basket using 1/4 inch flat reed.

The primary ribs were whittled and inserted behind the God's eye. Weaving an over-under-over pattern with cane held the ribs in place as I spread them evenly between the rim and handle base..

 The secondary ribs were then added to complete the rib frame.  After about 9 rows of weaving with cane, I switched back to 1/4 inch flat reed to finish weaving the basket.

Twill Plaid Tote

I spent my Friday at the Central PA Basket Weavers Guild Odyssey 2014 weaving a 3 by 3 twill plaid tote basket.  The basket features two leather handles attached to the rim. The pattern for the basket was designed by Annetta Kraayeveld of Wisconsin.

Using burgundy, teal, cocco and cream
 reed the 3 by 3 twill pattern is established
 as the base is woven.




The sides are turn up and the pattern continues up the basket.


                      
                        The basket is finished by attaching leather handles to the outside rim. 

Woven "faux" Cattails

Mary Balint, a basketmaker from West Virginia,
conducted a fun workshop the first evening of this years Weaving Odyssey hosted by the Central PA Basket Weavers Guild.

The cattail is woven over the handle of the common pumber's helper.  After weaving about 10 to 12inches the woven tube is removed from the handle.  The splints are woven to a tapered point.  A pointed piece of round reed is inserted into the top of the weaving. The woven "cattail" is stained to a dark brown color.

To finish the cattail a 1/4 inch dowel is inserted into the tapered end of the weaving.  Tapered wide reed for leaves and palm inflorescence are attached to the dowel using floral wire.  Floral tape is wound around the dowel to the end. 

Wine Cork Tote

I spent an enjoyable day with the Central PA Basket Weavers Guild making a Wine Cork Tote basket.  The basket has a solid wood, drilled base. The tote is woven with round reed and  three rows of drilled wine corks.  The handle is made using round reed. 

Hen Basket

The Hen Basket gets its name from its original function. Farmers used to take their hens to market in this style of basket.  Not many people have such a need anymore, but the basket continues to be a favorite style to weave.

This hen basket has 10"diameter openings on each side.  The center of the basket  has a 12"diameter.  The raspberry and brown reed create a pleasing color design highlighted against the natural cream reed.

Baskets and more......

Spring Art in the Garden was a fun day of weaving baskets while meeting old and new friends.  The weather cooperated and the location was beautiful.

The end of May and early June is a busy time for teachers and it cuts into my basket making. Schools out for the summer now so I'm looking forward to making lots of baskets.   Be on the lookout for photos of my new baskets on this blog site soon.

Weaving a 10" Egg Basket

Spring Art in the Garden

Hope everyone can come see the spring flowers and crafts on Saturday.  I'll be demonstrating my baskets throughout the day.

Basket or Hat?

 
I have been making baskets a long time - since before my children were born.  As I look through photos of the past I have to chuckle that my baskets are in so many images.

My baskets were always around the house when my children were young.  Some baskets held their toys, some their books and some even became their hats!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day.  Make some new memories and cherish the old.  

Cental Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild Spring Retreat

I spent an enjoyable Friday evening and Saturday with the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild.  They held their Spring Retreat at the Gitt Memorial Library just outside of Hanover, PA.  The beautiful 2 story home, built in the late 1920's, features wrap around patios over looking the  landscaped grounds bursting with spring flowers. 

Jean Poythress Koon, an artist from Morattico, VA was the featured guest instructor.  Friday evening we used a Dremel drill press to create three drilled bases -  hardwood, seashell and hand hammered copper.

Using glycerin-treated pine needles, we coiled around the bases using synthetic sinew to sew the pine needles to the base.

Saturday was spent coiling the pine needles around the hand hammered copper base made the night before.  In addition to the sinew to bind the coils, copper wire was used to add both strength and ornamentation to the basket.


By using glycerin-treated pine needles, there was  no need to dampen the needles while we wove.


All in all it was a fun and productive weekend!

To learn more about the basket  weavers guild check out their website: www.basketry.homestead.com

Colorful Easter Basket

Springtime, Easter and Baskets go together. 

This colorful basket begins multicolored spokes
inserted into  a wooden base.  The sides are brought
up by weaving a continuous cream reed weaver.

Bands of color are added as the sides take on a round shape.  The carved handle is added and
the top rim is attached. 

It makes the perfect Easter basket. 
Bring on the Easter eggs!

Pine Needle Baskets

Long pine needles can be grouped together and bound to create small baskets.   Starting in the center, a circle is formed and the pine needles are wrapped to form the base of the container.   Using a thin cane strip of reed, one row of pine needles are joined to the row beneath.  Slowly the sides are raised one row at a time and shaped as the weaver wishes.

 


 
Making a pine needle basket is a lot more fun than picking up pine tree branches and limbs after a long, hard winter of snow, ice and wind damage to our trees!
 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentines Day is a little more special

 when you weave a red and cream heart basket to share with those you love.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baskets 2014

Happy New Year!  After a post holiday break from weaving, exhibiting and selling my baskets, it's time to resume my passion - making baskets 2014. 

 

 

This colorful basket is built from a wooden oval base with colored flat reed spokes.  Using a variety of flat and round reeds the sides are raised.  It showcases basic over-under weaving  plus some triple twining.  A wooden handle is added.  The resulting basket is a colorful market style basket.