Basket Making 101

 Soooooooooo, I went to the river this past weekend and took my friend, Susan Marie with me.   She wanted to teach me how to make baskets.  Ok...........so she and Billy, the helper dude, trudged off and easily found grapevine growing in a palm tree, cut a huge swath of it off and dragged it back to our deck.   Then, he went off and came back with what looked like a 50 gallon trough that had been used to feed goats and we proceeded to soak the vines after we cleaned all the leaves off of them.

 Susan twisted the largest sections into circles to serve as the handles and the perimeter for our baskets.   She brought handspun yarns, raffia and tools to use so our hands wouldn't get so tired.   Check out the baskets in the background that she made in the past using the same techniques she was teaching me.  

 Here she is hard at work trying to get finished before we had to leave Monday.    It surprised me how many hours go into making something that looks so simple and primitive.   I kept picturing women over the millenia using indiginous materials to make these highly functional items for their homes.   What a cool skill to learn!

Whew!   Susan finished hers and helped me to get mine completed just before we had to pack up and leave.    Thanks, Susan, for another fun, crafty, girls weekend at the river.    Oh, yeah, and we ate really well, too!    Lots of grilling, baking, and creating went on in the kitchen......3 meals a day!

Ready to make another one,
Debbie

Check out "Home"

I've added a new website to my blog list on the right hand side of my blog and thought you might like to check it out.   My oldest son, Jarrad, has started to pursue his love of woodworking in earnest and you can view samples of his work on his site.  Or you can log onto http://sullivanandsonswoodworking.com/ and view his website.   He can build anything.........seriously......he's amazing.   The clock above is just one sample of the gorgeous projects he crafts.  He made this detailed clock for my husband and I for Christmas and we love it!

Hope you enjoy his work,
Debbie

More T-shirt Quilts

 Quilts, quilts and more quilts!   I love making quilts, or have you already figured that out?  This one is for a sweet little girl whose parents participate in marathons.  I tried to incorporate as much pink in it as I could.

 So, I used pink quilting thread and sewed varying wiggly lines for the quilting lines and embroidered her name on the front in pink.  

Every once in a while I included a little flower in the stitching.   Isn't the binding fun?   Black, white, lime, pink, chartreuse and soft teal stripes helped to pull all the colors of the t-shirts together.   This quilt was a pleasure to make and the shy smile on the little girl's face when I placed it in her arms made all the work worthwhile.

Have t-shirts, will quilt,
Debbie

Pin Cushion, Anyone?

Ok, how cute is this pin cushion?   I just love making these!   The base is a painted clay bottom used for outdoor planters.   I could make a dozen of these in different colors.   The idea came from The Quilt Shop of DeLand and they're made using yo-yo's for the "cushion" and the lime green topper.   The leaves are large circles folded in quarters and hand sewn at the raw edge and gathered up to form a leaf.  Everything gets glued to the base and it's done!

Of course, I always have to add a few doo-dads to make it PFT style...like the stacked buttons and the orange yarn tied at the top.    The more of these I make the crazier the add-ons become.....fake flowers and all kinds of decorative pins add flair. 

Good to be back,

Debbie