Any basket makers among us?

[Zenbirder]

I piled just a few of my baskets around the rocking chair. The center one on the seat has my handmade wire beaded flowers, above it is a divided basket for tools. The right arm has a cat's head basket, that takes a lot of hand strength to mold the reeds. The blue on the seat to the left is my sewing basket and is woven so tight that I have never even lost a needle through it. tHERE ARE TWO PINE NEEDLE BASKETS IN THE BUNCH, LOOK FOR THE SMALL ON ON THE LEFT SIDE ARM (MADE BY MY mOTHER) AND RIGHT SIDE SEAT. oPPS, CAPS LOCK MALFUNCTIN...

 

[Henrietta23]

I made a few about 15 years ago or so. I stuck with a simple rectangular market basket style. I enjoyed making them but wasn't very good at it. I'd love to give it a try again some day though.

 

[MorelCabin]

Wow Zenbirder, those are really nice! Are the pine needle baskets always smaller? How do you use pineneedles like that? I live in a huge grove of white pines and the needles are everywhere around here...so much so that it is hard to find a place to garden besides my front lawn:>) I am goiong to have to look that up:>) Thanks for the ideas!

 

[freemotion]

*GASP!!!* .....s p e e c h l e s s .......

 

[me&thegals]

Zenbirder--Those are beautiful! Makes me drool for even more basket patterns to try

 

[2dream]

*GASP!!!* .....s p e e c h l e s s .......

I with freemotion here.

I would never be able to complete even on of those much less all of them.

 

[plucky]

I used to make baskets, but other hobbies kind of took over...I started making custom fly rods, and NOW I'm learning to make a fiddle. But this topic inspired me to dig around and see what I have in the way of basket-making materials...I have a bunch of natural and dyed reed I'd totally forgotten about, and now I'm getting in the basket-making mood! (I hope I remember how)


Zenbirder - Those are some BEAUTIFUL baskets!

me&thegals - Where do you order your supplies?

 

[me&thegals]

I find my basket making goes in spurts, too I order from Gratiot Lake Basketry. Their web site is gratiotlakebasket.com. They're incredibly helpful. I can call with a certain pattern in a certain book with questions about how much of this or that I will need, and she can always find exactly what basket I'm talking about and get me the needed materials. I started with them since the guild I first joined shopped with them. I've never priced out other places, but I am really happy with them.

 

[freemotion]

I would love to be able to make baskets to fit certain things...is this possible for a beginner? I was thinking it would be nice to make square baskets to fit my canning jars, maybe to replace the cardboard boxes they came in that I use to keep them contained and neat when they are filled or going back into storage empty, waiting for the next canning project. I have a lot of them in a bookcase and the boxes are ugly.

Waddaya think? Do I need another hobby?!?!?!?

 

[freemotion]

Oooo, ooo, oooo! I could just cover the boxes with wallpaper! The baskets would still be prettier, though.....