Blue and Brown!

05/27/14

And then a beautiful day to sand wood.

Tomorrow the farmers market at St. Aug. Beach, FL at the pier.  See ya there!!!

Green, green and more green!

05/23/14

05/22/14

Mint green thread with Navy blue accent thread.  Even had beads that are a perfect match .

I was thinking of the Summer heat...

05/20/14

That is headed our way.  This is what happened.  Red and yellow for the Sun.

Tiny little red beads to catch the light.

With a Live Oak center.

And then I skipped right back into the Earth tones.

Oak center.  Glowing beads and brown tones galore!!!

I guess I am enamored with the diamond stitch!

TADA!!!

05/17/14

Houstom we have a Key Katcher!!!  Or you could use it as I did and hang your necklaces and jewelry on it.

Thinking of new ideas.

05/16/14

How about a place to hang your keys? Or maybe even jewelry!

Picture hooks, maybe even pretty ones, on the wood face (gotta love Juniper).  Maybe even a lil embellishment.

Life gets hectic!!!

05/15/14

Hi there boys and girls!!!  Just a little reminder...

I will be at the St. Augustine Beach Pier on Wednesday's for the weekly Farmers market.  I will also be (per usual) at the Amphitheater Farmer's market on Saturdays! 

Don't forget that I will be in my own booth at the Amphitheater starting on June the 7th.  I will no longer be in the booth for my sister's restaurant, Anastasia Kitchen.  I will be right next door to hers though and easily found! 

I will look forward to seeing you there!

Another coconut shell basket!!!

05/08/14

I just wish you could see how these beads catch the light!!!

I think KraftyMax needs to eat another coconut.  I love this for a planter!

05/07/14

One more tiny!!!

Cedar center, straight stitch base and diamond stitch sidewalls.  Oh yeah, and tiny little wood beads.

Now for a shower and off to the Wed. Farmers market at the St. Aug., FL Beach pier!!!  

Hope to see you there.

All done with this one.

05/03/14

For some reason this one really speaks to me.  

I think it is how it goes from a square start to a round finish.  I really liked the last one I did with a square Hickory slice!

On to the next one.

A gift from a neighbor!

05/01/14

Look what my neighbor 'Crafty Curt' made for me!!!

If you look closely you can see the tiny Pine Cone.

The words are one continuous piece of wire and the drift wood is local Cedar / Juniper.  

It will sit proudly on my table at the markets and if you would like one all you have to do is ask me for his info!!!

A little repeat post.

October 1, 2013     


I finished the largest basket ever this week.  It is a birthday gift so I can't share it until I actually ship it out...but I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE IT.  It is indeed lovely.

So in lieu of pictures I saw this article and thought I would share it with you guys.  I found it on a blog here, so I cannot take credit for it at all.  I just thought you might like the information.
  

You have probably looked at pine-needle baskets and wondered why they are priced so high. The main reason is because pine-needle baskets are very time-consuming. It is very tedious work, and it takes many hours of practice just to master coiling and stitching. 

The materials are also expensive. Unless you are lucky enough to live where long pine needles are grown, you will need to purchase your needles. You will also need to purchase, drill, and stain the center of your basket which can vary in price depending on what type of center you use. You can make a solid pine-needle center, but this adds several hours to your basket. In addition to the needles and center, you will need to purchase your stitching material (usually sinew, raffia, or waxed linen), your stitching needle, a gauge, and a few other miscellaneous items. 

Preparing enough pine needles for a small basket requires about an hour. The needles need to be covered with boiling water and soaked for about 30 minutes. The caps (bark covered ends) need to be removed from each pine-needle bundle. This takes about ½ hour. You are now ready to start your basket. 

When creating a continuously coiled basket, you will need to add new needles every other stitch or so. There are several types of stitches, and the time required for each stitch varies greatly. The most common stitches include the plain stitch, split stitch, V stitch, wheat stitch, and fern stitch. For a 4"-diameter basket, it can take from 20 minutes to 1 hour to complete only one coil around your basket. 

Most basket makers seal their baskets with a combination of beeswax and paraffin or shellac spray. This is optional but will add to the life of your basket. 

As you can see, creating a pine-needle basket is very time-consuming.   And don't forget the extras like handles and embellishments that add time and expense to your basket. Most people who make pine-needle baskets create them for their own use and simply enjoy doing it. I personally find it very relaxing. It is one of the few times I just forget about life and concentrate on something I enjoy doing.

NOW BACK TO MY FEELINGS ON THIS...

I have to disagree with the sentiment of Pine needle work being expensive.  The one thing I like about it is that most of my supplies are FREE.  See, I believe that any Art form can be either as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be.  I live in FL and so my coil materials are basically free.  I harvest Pine needles, grasses and palm fronds myself, so mostly it is just hot hot hot work.  I also sand and wax my own wood so again it is time consuming, even though the wood is harvested FREE.   What this also means is that I have control over what I want things to be shaped like and to look like, as much as one can when using organic products, not store bought/milled wood.

Do keep in mind though that I do not have a full time job, so the one thing I do have a lot of is TIME.  And I need it as these processes are very labor intensive.

Also I do indeed agree with the part that says it takes time to build the skills to make beautiful coils and stitches.  I have been making baskets intensively for the last 2 years, and sporatically for the 3 years before, and I am just now getting to the point where I think my work is as good as the ones I see on other sites.  I have also developed my own style.  I hope these things are evident to you, my fans, as well.

I would love to hear some of your thoughts on these things.

I finished the 'lil blue basket!

04/29/14

And I am very happy with it!

And then started another...this one has Hickory for the center (the other one has a Live Oak center) and I am using silver and dark brown threads!  

Personally I don't love the silver thread, not enough contrast to see my pretty and neat stitches! I worked hard to learn them.  (I couldn't hem a pair of pants if I had to.  Lol )

But often I am not in love with a piece until it is completed.  We'll see.

Tore up too bracelets I started too.  Just couldn't get it to look right. ;-(.

But I refuse to give up on it!  So stay tuned.

04/28/14

Lovin' the diamond stitch!!!

Cobalt blue, denim blue and a Live Oak center.

How about a pine needle bracelet!!!

04/22/14

Tried several times before and failed miserably.  This time I had been mulling over the idea again and had an epiphany kind of thought.

I actually went to my dresser to measure a bangle, then upon finding some cheap, thin, metal bangles I wondered if I could use it for a starting point and support...

Here is what happened.

Kind of an infinity look about it.

I learned alot and have already started another.  

Stay tuned.

I never like the black thread until the basket is complete.

04/21/14

But!  If I persevere...this is what happens.

And then It turns out that I DO like black.