Underwater Basket Weaving Merit Badge

So have you heard the one about the college course in underwater basket weaving? Yeah, it is an old wife's tale, folk lore, urban legend, or whatever you want to call it. As a basket maker I have had people ask me about it with a wink and a smile, though I think the ask-er actually thinks it is a real thing. Anyway, like the Shakers, Quakers or Bushwhackers, I am taking back the derogatory moniker. I am now going to proudly display my Boy Scout's merit badge in underwater basket weaving. I think after all of the baskets I have made that I have earned it.

By the way, if you didn't already know, this is a joke. It is a real patch, it just isn't one that the real Boy Scouts will be awarding anyone. I will be sewing it onto the apron I wear when I do conventions. I am sure it will be a conversation starter.

2016 Eric Taylor Workshop

Eric Taylor will be back in St. Louis again this May to teach two great classes. Eric Taylor has been making traditional baskets and Shaker boxes since 1983. His love for working with wood and the black ash trees inspired him to experiment further in the art which lead to creating his own contemporary designs that combined the elements of the Shaker and Nantucket baskets. Eric has taught the art of basketry, nationally, for over twenty years.

Saturday - Sunday, May 14-15, 2016

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Boxcar #4

10" L x 7.5" w x 10" H
 

The Boxcar #4, like the train car this design is named after, is suitable for moving a heavy load. The tall straight sides, and sturdy cherry rims and handle are matched with skates that lift the basket and reinforce the woven black ash base.

AND 

Birds Nest

4" Dia. x 3" H

Two rows of curls separated by a wide band add a new twist to one of Eric’s unique baskets. Woven of hand pounded black ash, this little basket is accented with a cherry base, rims and flared side handles.

$305 (includes both baskets)

Monday, May 16, 2016

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Cottage Garden #2

12" L x 7.5" W x 7.5" H

This is the second basket in the Cottage Garden set. Nest this gem inside the Cottage Garden #3 we made in 2014. Woven of black ash with cherry rims and handle, and cherry skates that act to lift the basket and give it a firm stature.

$180 

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Cottage Bun

15" L x 5" W x 4" H

A new basket for 2016, the Cottage Bun is the little cousin of Eric’s Cottage French Bread. Woven of hand pounded black ash, it features a cherry base, flared side handles and rims that curve into a graceful oval.

$165 

Class fee includes all materials, handouts and use of mold, weaving stand and
basic tools (if you have particular tools you like, please feel free to bring them).

Level: Intermediate
Contact: Tony Stubblefield
if you would like to receive registration information

Tiered Stands

So I saw these on some DIY blogs so had to give them a try. They are made from old pie tins and enamelware plates, and table legs. As these "simple" projects you find on Pinterest go these were a bit more tricky than I expected. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to find the exact center of a plate, but when you are as much of a perfectionist as I am it can be. Also taking a table leg and sectioning it by making perfectly perpendicular cuts is really challenging. I know I said I was a perfectionist, but making these cuts just right was crucial otherwise your tires end up at wonky angles, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. I did have to do a bit of sanding to get them just right, but cutting as close to level as possible to begin with really helped.

I was really pleased with how they turned out and I have supplies to make more. I just need to find the time to do it (famous last words, right?)

JoAnn Kelly Catsos Workshop 2015 - Recap

Well I can't believe I am just now getting around to posting photos from JoAnn Kelly Catsos' class that were at the end of October, but that seems to be the way things seem to go anymore.

We had a wonderful four days of weaving with a great group of basketmakers. Over the first two days we worked on a trio of 4" versions of classic Shaker utility baskets, a carrier, a laundry basket and a woodchip. Miniature mattress ticking liners were available to be stitched inside the baskets. Liners like these would have kept the mess from the garden vegetables or chips of bark off the nice clean floors of the Shaker community homes. The woodchip basket also featured wooden skates lashed to the bottom of the basket that would have not kept the bottom up off of the snowy wet ground, but also would have allowed the laden basket to be dragged across the ice and snow.

 

The mini laundry basket featured equally mini ear handles that had to notched prior to inserting into the basket.

On the third day we started the Shaker quadrafoil medallion. This disk featured a saw-tooth rim that creates a decorative frame for the weaving.

As always it was great fun to have JoAnn teaching at the house. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in 2016.

Display Table

I am always trying to come up with creative ways to display my baskets. I have so many that they literally are in every room and every corner of the house. One of the hardest style/shape of basket is the tray or shallow bowl. Fortunately my father makes and sells a glass topped display table. It is basically a coffee table with a big shallow drawer, but the top is glass, so you can see whatever is in the drawer. This works perfectly to display my many Native American baskets, pine needle trays and other shallow baskets.

I must apologize for the crappy pic, but with the glass it was challenging to photograph.

Old Tech Meets New Tech

Does anyone else do this? Do you take pics with your phone so that you can remember things? I now take pictures to remind me of gifts I want to give or get, flyers of events I want to go to, and steps of processes I am afraid I am going to forget.

So when it came time to change the thread color on my rarely-used vintage sewing machine I FINALLY stopped to take a picture first so I would know how to re-thread the damn thing. Ever other time I would look at the path and think, "OK, this is simple I can do it again," only to have absolutely no recollection of all the dips and doodles. Of course, now that I have actually taken the reference photo I will probably be able to remember now, but at least I have it, when 6 months from now I need to do this all over again.

Pinterest Ideas

If you are like me, you like looking at all of the great ideas on Pinterest. Unfortunately many times it seems like the projects are completely impractical or worst, aren't even projects at all and just links to Google images so there are no instructions or any additional information.

This idea of using a restaurant style cheese shaker (or sugar dispenser) as a twine holder was actually one that needed no further instructions to make. I like using butcher's twine in my card making or for making tags, but between the cat going absolutely bonkers and the spool shooting across the table, I find it can be a test of one's patience. I had been on the lookout for one of these vintage restaurant wares for the last year, but had never run across one. I hit the jackpot earlier this summer when I found not only this cheese shaker, but also a sugar dispenser as well. Both looked like they had never even been used before.

While my big cone of red and while baker's twine won't fit (until I use up more of it), my other spools fit perfectly and keep the spool on the table and away from playful kittens. It made sitting in front of the TV tying strings to tags a pretty easy task. It also doesn't hurt that they look cool hold the twine too.