First Willow Basket of the Season

 Well, the snow finally melted and the pussy willows are out. I went for a big walk last week and cut some of them to make my first willow basket of the season. This one has a willow rim, handle and ribs with mixed fibres under the God's Eye 4 point lashing. The body is woven from 1/4" flat natural rattan. I made it for an old friend who I haven't seen for 28 years. A hand crafted basket is a unique gift, and if course he told me he loved it. I think he did. Now to locate some elm, dogwood, alder and a few spruce and/or cedar roots...

Basket Weaving Day

Any day that I get together with a group to weave baskets is a great day! Last week I had the opportunity to spend two days making Shaker Cat Head baskets with a group at The First Presbyterian Church in Pembroke, Ontario. Everyone enjoyed themselves and they have a new found appreciation for the art of basketry. F.Y.I, there has never been a machine invented that can weave a basket, each and every one is hand made! One of the ladies attending brought some samples of baskets that she and her father have collected on their travels. The black basket pictured below comes from Africa, and was made by the Zulu Tribe. The hat, woven from palm leaves came from New Zealand and the birch bark basket decorated with porcupine quills was made by a local First Nations artist. (Sorry, but I was unable to find the name of the artist).
I always find it amazing that even though the same pattern is used, we used a 7x7 stake cat head pattern, the baskets all look so different. I guess they are kind of like people, each one is special and unique!

This palm leaf hat was made in New Zealand.

A few baskets made during the two day course.

Birch Bark basket, decorated with porcupine quills, Gorgeous!!

Coiled basket made in Africa by the Zulu Tribe. Amazing!!

A Fishing Creel for Kyle

Kyle, my oldest daughter's boyfriend, has been a part of our family for the past 4 years and knows how much I love basket weaving. He asked me a few months ago to make a fishing creel for his father for Christmas. I was delighted to make it, and here it is!
I shaped it so that it is flat at the back and has a rounded 'belly', it looks like a capital 'D' with the lid open. I used chocolate brown twill tape for the strapping and all the findings, clips etc., are an antique brass finish. I turned the basket upside down and traced it to make a pattern to cut the lid. My friend Jeff Sylvester, who is a local cabinet maker, cut the lid out for me. He did an outstanding job! Thanks Jeff!
The front closure is made from a piece of willow that I carved and fastened with jute through a hole I drilled in the lid. The hinges are brass, and the whole basket, lid included, is stained with Minwax, Provincial colour.

The Cat's Meow

The Shaker Cat Head Basket is one of my all time favourite baskets to make. This is a fairly large Cat Head, measuring about 10" across the base, and is woven from 1/2" and 1/4" flat Rattan Reed. I have been experimenting with dying reed lately, and although the picture doesn't do it justice, the weavers of this basket are dyed a rich chocolate brown, achieved using Cocoa Brown Rit Dye powder. I have tried the liquid and have not been happy with the results, the colours are not as vibrant as the powder, and I don't recommend it. Not sure yet if I want to stain this basket, I'll have to live with it for a while.
The handle is a commercial push-in swing handle, available at most basketry supply companies, in a variety of sizes, this one is a 10" handle. They are easy to install, and after a light sanding accept stain beautifully.
I am currently working on compiling my basket patterns into a book about basketry. I hope to have all the patterns ready this summer. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

The Wednesday Night Weavers

I get together with a couple of friends every Wednesday (a.k.a. Humpday!) evening to basket weave. These natural ribbed melon baskets are the fruits of our labour so far. The basket rim, handle and ribs are made from Willow which I cut about two weeks ago.  When weaving with natural Willow, it is important to let it dry and shrink before you weave with it. If you use it too soon, it will shrink and your weaving will come loose. Ask me how I found this out!! My friend, a kindred crafting spirit, added lovely beading to the rim of her basket. This is the first basket she has ever made and I have to say she certainly has got the hang of it! It's a gorgeous piece of weaving!
I made the other basket shown along side the group to demonstrate the weaving technique. It's also made from Willow and I used #2 round reed, dyed black, as an accent. The one thing about this type of basketry that I really like is the 'God's Eye' that holds the rim and handle together. No nails, no glue needed! This type of basketry is hundreds of years old, and is still as pretty and useful as it was in the pioneer days!

First Basket of the Season

The willow is beautiful this year, a bumper crop so far! I cut the willow for the handle, rim and ribs for this basket about two weeks ago, and it has already cured from bright green to vanilla bean black.  Willow is the perfect weaving material as it stays flexable long after it has dried and the colour just gets deeper and deeper as it ages. Northern Ontario, where I live, is loaded with with all kinds of weaving material such as alder, dogwood, elm, birch, cedar and of course the over 35 different varieties of willow that grow here. The rule for selecting twigs to weave with is simple, if you bend the twig into a circle and it doesn't crack or split it's suitable weaving material. Basket weavers of the past and present often use whatever grows locally to create their baskets. Anything from seagrass and pine needles to wood splints made from ash trees. Can you guess what the Inuit, who live in the Arctic use? They create breath taking woven works of art from whale baleen. Baleen is the 'strainer like' material many large whales have in their mouths instead of teeth! Now that's creativity!
Did you know that there has never been a machine invented that can weave a basket? Every single basket you see in every store has been hand woven by someone. Most are made by young girls and women from developing countries, often earning very little for their hours of hard work. Human beings have been weaving baskets for about 50,000 years. To put that into perspective, the last ice age was only 10,000 years ago. Basketry pre-dates pottery by thousands of years and is also the only art form we share with birds and other mammals. A bird nest is definitely a basket, in fact, not only do birds weave but they do it without verbal instructions and no hands! I can't figure out how they manage to do it. A bird nest is a true feat of engineering! I remember how frustrating it was to make my first basket, I can't imagine trying to do it with no fingers or tools! Many primates such as gorillas weave a fresh sleeping mat to sleep on each night. They carefully select palm frawns and tear them into strips with their teeth and create intricatley woven mats. So next time you see basket, stop and admire it for a minute, because each and every one is hand woven by someone, somewhere :)

It's Basket Weaving Season!!

The willow is finally ready!! I went to my favorite willow cutting place over the long weekend and did a big cutting to make baskets over the next couple of weeks. Actually, my husband did the dirty work, gotta give credit where it's due! Thanks dear! The willow is really nice this year and the mosquitos weren't out which was a relief!
If my arthritis co-operates, I will be teaching several different baskets this season including: naturals made from willow mixed with commercial rattan, Shaker cat heads, market baskets, hanging weed pouches and a mail basket. If time and the strength in my hands allows I will add a few more designs.
If basketry is something that you are interested in and you would like to give it a try, you can contact me by email at, craftiepants123@gmail.com. I like to keep class sizes small as it is a hands on craft, so seats are limited. If the weather is nice we will weave outside. (Basket Weaving is a little messy!) I'll post the pictures as the summer progresses and share what we are making. Happy summer :)

Frank's Beautiful Baskets

 My good friend Frank Rosbottom and I have been weaving baskets together for many years now, and I went for a visit today and he showed me his latest baskets. This large basket's frame is made from willow and elm that he gathered last fall. The weaving material is telephone wire! We have a mutual friend that owns a computer business and he gave Frank some left over wire, and just look what he did with it!! Amazing. I am always in awe of the creativity of artists like Frank, we see scrap wire, he sees weaving material. Gorgeous Frank, you are a true inspiration! Frank has severe degenerative arthritis and has some serious mobility issues, but it certainly hasn't affected his artistic ability, he is a gifted artist and one of the kindest most gentle souls I've ever known. He has just started a new blog, not much on it yet but if I know Frank it will grow and be worth a visit shortly. www.themidnightweaver.blogspot.com

Quilter's Tote with Burgandy Accent Band

It's a sweltering -30*c outside today, but at least the sun is shining and it stopped snowing! I decided to photograph this tote outside in the sun and I'm glad I did, it really shows the colors well. This tote is woven from 5/8" flat rattan reed, and the handle is wrapped in 1/4" wide reed cut from the outer shell of rattan. It almost has a 'tortoise shell' look to it. The rim is made from 5/8" flat oval, packed with #3 seagrass and wrapped with #2 round reed.
I will be teaching basket weaving later this spring/summer so stay tuned! I would like to do a weekend workshop when the snow melts, on natural basketmaking. We will start it off with a little field trip to cut the materials we will need. Should be a fun weekend! I'll post pictures of the upcoming basket projects in a few weeks.