Getting ready for the Holidays!

Spent the last week getting ready for the Holidays!  Making a few gifts, cleaning, and making cookie dough.  Will bake next week!  This sure worked good for me this year.  Just made the dough, labeled it and put it in the fridge.  Will bake later! 

Dick, Joey and his girlfriend Deanna trudged out to cut our tree.  Snow was a couple feet deep but they found a great one!  It's about 9 1/2" tall!  Not sure how they even got it home.

        Deanna's behind Joe trying to
            walk in his footsteps!





 My Mother-In-Law has to many Grandchildren to fit on a necklace so I came up with this bracelet.  It's a 2/2 chain with small silver discs.  I stamped the initials of all the grandchildren on each disc.  Then added a small birthstone charm next to the disc.  And of course had to add the angel disc!

Basket teaching schedule for 2011
North Carolina Basketweaving Convention  3/17-20, 2011
http://www.ncbasketmakers.com/
Bluegrass Area BasketMakers Seminar  6/7-11, 2011
Tennessee Basketrty Association  7/20-23, 2011
http://www.tennesseebasketryassociation.com/

2012
BasketWeaving Cruise!!  Feb 11-19, 2012
http://www.basketweavingcruise.com/

Holiday Madness!

I had a holiday craft show at my house last weekend and am trying to recuperate form it!  Had to haul my livingroom furniture out and move tables in!  I think it went well.  Had a lot of shoppers.  Thanks to all who came by.  It was great seeing folks I have not seen in awhile! 

A new item I made for the show was a challenge.  It's the Snowman Necklace and Earrings!  The sterling silver discs are stamped and the little copper nose is soldered onto the silver.  It was a challenge for me because I didn't do much soldering before this.  I think they turned out great!  Was very pleased.  What do you all think??  Now I'm ready to take on more soldering!  Want to bezel some stones.  January is my play time so I hpope to get the stones I have made into necklaces. 

On the basket weaving front, things have been equally busy!  Sending out proposals for next year's conferences.  So far, I will be at NCBA,and Jabez Kentucky. 

 At NCBA, March 17th-20th 2011 classes will be:

The Holiday Gift Basket

Several different tie-ons are available for this basket.  2 hour class on Thursday.

The Autumn Bowl

You'll learn chase weaving as

well as 3 rod arrow using 3 colors of
 round reed. Will be a fun class!

Berry Flower Techniques include twill weave following a graph and using different colors of round reed.  Several different tie-ons will be available for the front of the basket.

 

Hope to see many of you weavers there!



AMB Convention

 

Marcia with her basket!



The Association of Michigan Basketmakers put on a very successful conference a couple weeks ago!  What great people!  The Vendor's Extravaganza went over well with both students and vendors.  Many vendors offered specials throughout the evening.  I had a give away!  For everyone who purchased something, their name went into a Basket (of course) to be drawn at the end of the evening.  The give away was my American Dream basket, filled with many homemade items.  The winner was Marcia Rooks!

Congratulations!

I taught 2 classes, the Lots of Arrows and the Fall Potbelly Baskets.  The Fall Potbelly was interesting in that everyone shaped their baskets differently! 

Same basket, different shapes!

By the end of the Lots of Arrows class, everyone knew how to do the 3 rod arrow themselves!  As promised! Here's Judy concentrating on her arrow row. 

One of the best things about attending and teaching at conferences is seeing old friends.   Michigan proved to be wonderful for this.  I got to visit with many teachers that I had not seen in many years.  Joan Moore, Mary Hetts, and Marilyn Moore--was great to see you all again!
Kathy Halter, Mary Hetts and I







Newest Creation

                                        Newest basket!                                              Needed a wine basket for a gift and came up with this one.  The finished product will have a nice sign on the front with a cute saying.  Will post these when my sister, Rhonda makes them!   Will make a great Christmas gift!    Not on my website for sale as a kit yet but soon!    The basket has a wood base with the  handle attached.   

A couple photos of students weaving their Spiral Rope Bracelets at the Northwest Hoosier Basket Retreat. 

                                     The actual bracelet!

Spent all day yesterday dyeing reed and making kits for my next teaching adventure.  I will be teaching at The Association of Michigan Basketmakers in Grand Rapids Michigan on Oct. 19-23rd.  Will be teaching the Fall Pot Belly and the Lots of Arrows.

Lots of Arrows



Fall Pot Belly



The Lots of Arrows basket came about when teaching a couple years ago.  The basket had one row of the 3 rod arrow in the beginning of the basket and again at the top.  By the time everyone got to the top area, they forgot what they did.  I decided to come up with a basket that would really reinforce the 3 rod arrow pattern.  This basket has 7 rows of the 3 rod arrow, using 3 different colors of round reed.  This makes it easier to catch a mistake right away.  By the time you finish the basket, the 3 rod arrow will come natural!  

The Fall Pot Belly is a great basket.  This basket can be easily changed for the different seasons.  Use green spokes and red weavers.  Shape the basket more rounded and you have an Holiday ornament!   



Brand New Blogger!

This is my first blog entry so please be patient!  I have created this blog to help stay in touch with everyone!  The last few years, I have been teaching basket weaving at many conferences and have met some great people.  I am hoping this Blog will take the place of my monthly newsletter. (almost monthly!) 

I am very new at this, so all your veteran bloggers, please send any advice you think I may need. 


I spent last weekend at the Northwest Hoosier Basket Giuld Retreat, in Valparaiso Indiana. 

What a great guild!  These women put on a great retreat.  I actually taught 2 chainmaille bracelets instead of the baskets this time.   Classes went well and everyone finished or came very close to finishing their bracelets.  Some even made earrings to match! 

As we left the conference and headed east towards home we saw the most beautiful rainbow.  As you know pictures do not do it justice.  It was actually a double rainbow.  Just can't see it well here.