Something New
I’m going to make a basket…
Whoever would have thought I would get a pine needle up my fanny that gave me an interest in making a basket.
It all started when I went with my mom to Charleston, SC and saw all these people sitting on the side of the road making sweet grass baskets. We stopped and looked. I was shocked at the price of a basket! Little did I understand what it took to make the basket? I purchased each of us a very small trivet, as a souvenir from our trip.
Fast forward a couple of years…
I saw a “kit” for sale at a local art museum. Purchased it. Set out to make a basket and ended up with something that wasn’t even a coaster.
Now this coaster still sits in the back of the shelf with other items I can’t bring myself to throw away. Next, I signed up for a class on how to make a basket. This time, I would have more than an 8/5 by 11 directions sheet.
I was so excited. The class would meet once every two weeks for a total of 4 classes. This would give me time to practice. To my delight, the class was offered at our clubhouse by a resident of our subdivision who had been making pine straw baskets for several years.
At the tables, each seat was set like a “pine straw ” table setting. We had pine needles, needles, thread, cutters, a bag, and even a thimble. Boy was I impressed.
I went to my class. After two hours, I had taken it apart and put it back together three times. I left with one row around my wooden center.
The two hours flew by and I left with my bag of basket-making supplies, ready to go home and practice.
I had two weeks to work on it. Did I? Just like most of my students, two weeks went by and I didn’t touch it until the night before the next class and had forgotten everything I was told at our first class.
I sat on the floor in my living room and tried pushing pine needles into the guide and tried to keep the string tight and keep the needle from sticking my hand. God help me…I’m not going to quit.
I always told my students, “I WOULD RATHER HEAR IT WRONG THAN NOT HEAR IT AT ALL. I CAN’T FIX WHAT I CAN’T HEAR”.
With that in mind, I kept going. I stopped tearing it apart when the stitches weren’t right, I quit worrying if the pine needles were perfectly threaded in the device I was given to keep things neat and even. By the end of my second class, it wasn’t perfect, but it was my best at this time.
It was 3 days before Easter and my basket didn’t even have sides, but I was still proud that I had not quit. I did notice at my second class, that a few of my new classmates had disappeared from the first class. I hope they were just busy and didn’t quit.
Since I wasn’t going to be finished with my basket for Easter, I did the next best thing….
I contacted my new friend and bought one! If you decide you would rather just buy a pine needle basket. I have a new friend I’ve met here in North Carolina who makes baskets. She is also a singer and is still in a choir. I bought one for myself for my birthday with a North Carolina Blue Bird on it. She and her friend have a Facebook page called K & B Basketreee. They make great gifts and they will ship them to you.
I like the pine straw that still has the bottoms on it. I cut them off before I make the basket. I’m also lucky to live in a neighborhood that has a ton of this on the ground, so it is free.
These tools help me to cut the waxy string, pull out stitches when I screw up. I also like having the circles to keep my rows the same thickness.
Pick any color you like!
These are also helpful. The ones in my sewing kit were too small. Go Figure!
If you decide you would rather just buy a pine needle basket. I have a new friend I’ve met here in North Carolina who makes baskets. She is also a singer and is still in a choir. I bought one for myself for my birthday with a North Carolina Blue Bird on it. She and her friend have a Facebook page called K & B Basketree. They make great gifts and they will ship them to you.