Cat Head Basket

West Virginia basketmaker Gail Hutchinson instructed a class at the 2013 Weaving Odyssey in Gettysburg, PA sharing her expertise with twills and hand shaping. During her class I made a cat head basket that included a three rod wale with a step-up, a 1-2 twill, and hills and valleys of  increasing and decreasing color reed. The rim is finished with waxed linen.













Forming base of cat head










My second basket began with a small cat head base.  The sides were then woven straight up to make a tall thin basket.

Weaving in Gettysburg

I spent the weekend weaving in Gettysburg.  The Central Pennsylvania Basket Weaver's Guild hosted the 2013 Weaving Odyssey featuring workshops taught by gifted weavers and teachers from throughout the United States .  Classes were offered from Thursday evening through Sunday morning.






 The first workshop I took was taught by Marla Helton, a mixed media weaver from Indiana.  Beginning with palm inflorescence as spokes  I wove a tapestry of mixed fibers and textures.  The weaving was attached to a table top frame.  One weaving has a purple color scheme and the second weaving has a blue and yellow color scheme.

Christmas in July

 
Even though the holidays are month away I made some early Christmas decorations.  Using cream and colored flat reed I wove a tapered round basket to be inverted as a bell shape. 











I added a jingle bell, ribbon hanger and a bow to complete the the look.  The reed bell is ready to be hung.

Hand Felted Ring on a Gourd

I spent the past week participating in activities at Common Ground on the Hill at McDaniel College.  One class I took was Exploring Wet and Dry Felting using  Navajo-Churro wool.  Instructor Roy Kady is a master craftsman and shepherd from the Navajo Nation reservation and he shared his knowledge of his culture and his craft throughout the class.

The first project was to create a wet felted ring.  Once the ring was dry I attached it to the top of a painted gourd using wax linen cord.  I added beads around the top as well.

First Friday's at Eclecticity

During the month of July my baskets will be featured  in the Wickes Reading Room at Eclecticity along with my friend Leah Spencer's mixed media paintings on wood.  The opening for the month long exhibit is this Friday, July 5th from 5pm until 7pm.  The gallery is located at 13 Johns Street in downtown Westminster.





 Hope to see you on Friday evening. If not, stop by Electicity sometime this month.  Contact Eclecticity  at 240-409-4863 for more details.

 

Blue Green Egg Basket

    

Summer time brings opportunities for trips to the beach and time in the water.        

  I associate the beach with cool color schemes of blue and green, so it was time to weave a summer time beach basket.  This 10" diameter egg basket using blue and green dyed reed does just that.

Happy Mother's Day !

You are never too young or too old to start making baskets.  Continuing last years Mother's Day blog post tradition, I've found a photo from 1989 taken by my dear friend Rebecca.  I am enjoying a summer day making baskets with my son and daughter.

My hair is grayer, my kids are grown, but I'm still making baskets. Love, friendships, and baskets all stand the test of time.  Happy Mother's  Day to all!