Ladies of the Baskets

Yesterday, in the warm May weather, the Pine Nuts gathered to work on baskets. I thought I'd show some of the work that took place, in various stages of completion. Yesterday's blog had one basket, but here are a few more. Mine is noticeably missing, as is a couple others that I missed with my camera. We work primarily with pine needles, gathered where ever we can find them with long shafts (12" to 18" are the best). Joan, Donna and Linda are pictured here.

The basket on the right is one started by Joan, using some dyed needles for accent. I believe she will be doing a large basket, with embellishments.

Below is a basked being done by Peggy, who does very neat, clean work. (Much better than my own somewhat disorganized attempts.)

The basket on the right is Linda's basket, but this one is different, as it is made with seagrass. The coloring on the center piece and the aqua thread lend a lovely feel to it, and I can't wait to see how she adds to the top edge to finish it.

This basket by Donna has a traditional feel, and illustrates the warm look of the materials. The sides have begun curving inward as it coils up.

Melinda's basket is finished, and as her first, is a lovely piece. The center is made from a slice of walnut shell, and the thread is 4 ply waxed Irish Linen.

These are samples of the fruits of our labors. While we were there, we had a chance to see Joan's beautiful jewelry work, and trade ideas for embellishments on future work.