Basket Making Progress

I thought I'd give you a quick update on my

basket making progress.

It's taken me a few weeks to get to this point.

Of course, I've been working on other (many other) projects

at the same time.

Last night I decided to time myself and see how long it takes me to do one row.

Now, this basket is quite large, so each row seems to take longer

and longer to complete.

And if you look closely you will see the design I decided to

incorporate by using a different stitch.

Well, one row took over an hour of uninterrupted work!

I want to make this basket at least another inch or two larger, so estimate

about another 20 hours of work.

The application to enter it in the State Fair is printed and

will be filled out and mailed this weekend.

I'll keep you posted:-)

                        Hugs,

                        Terri



When Old Becomes New Again

My precious grand-babies were both baptized this past Sunday.

This is Sarah. 

   

Isn't she adorable!

I especially love this little Christening gown she is wearing 

because 35 years ago it was part of my wedding gown.

The gown sat in my closet for 30 years.  

My daughter thought she would wear it at her wedding, but it really wasn't her style.  

A 1970's wedding gown is very different from those worn today.  

So what to do with this keepsake now?

Well...

let's recycle it.

 Let's take it all apart and put it back together, right down to the Chantilly lace trim, 

satin buttons down the back

and even the ribbon bow.

I can't take the credit for making this lovely creation, but I can take credit for the idea.

I love that something old can become something new again.

That nothing is wasted.

That life continues, even for an old wedding gown.

           Blessings,
              Terri

Basket Making Season

In the fall when pine needles begin to fall I get the itch to stitch....baskets. 

I want to make a large basket to enter in the Florida State Fair and thought I'd share the process.  

This is how it begins.

I am lucky enough to have access to a private site full of mature, long leaf pine needles. 

The smell is delightful!  I pick the needles one at a time, making sure they aren't twisted, and put them in bunches. Then I take them home and sit out on the screen porch and begin.

 The needles have to be trimmed before they can be used.

 I carefully cut the ends off at an angle

and again check to be sure each needle is straight.

These are my piles of trimmed and untrimmed needles.

You can see below that the top needle looks straight and the bottom one looks twisted.

Twisted needles don't look good in a finished basket.

 

When I have enough needles sorted and trimmed I can begin stitching.

This large agate slice was set in acrylic and then holes were drilled

at 1/4 inch spacing.  This is called the basket center. Sometimes I'll use 

a sliced walnut, or often a cabochon which is glued to faux leather.

I use waxed thread to then sew coils of pine needles through the holes

and around the center.

It takes a little practice.

The size and design is only limited by time an imagination.

 This is going to be a pretty large basket, so hang with me and I'll show you my progress.

             Hugs,
             Terri

Life Changes

And how quickly it does!

Seems like just yesterday I was merrily going along with life, traveling, making pine needle baskets, knitting, and learning how to blog.  And then WHAM!  A job offer landed in my lap which was too good to pass up.

So now, my creativity has, and is, being used up as I create at work instead of at home.

But the one thing certain in life is change. 

As my life has changed, a new baby boy entered the world, forever changing life for his parents.

And since all babies deserve something handmade, I whipped up this pair of booties (which I know he loved :-)  They are almost as cute as he is!

So if you don't hear from me often, now you'll know why.  But I promise to keep creating and sharing as much as possible ....until the next change comes along.

Blessings,
Terri

More Travels

Whew! I can't believe so much time has gone by so quickly!  I am still enjoying visiting all of the wonderful creative places from our party, and making new friends along the way.  The amount of creativity and imagination out there is truly inspiring.

While I was away from blogging, I was away.  We took a little trip to Nashville to visit our travel friends and while there, of course, had to travel :-)  Kentucky is just a short drive away and so we went to a Bed and Breakfast near Bardstown. 

I had never been to a B & B before and was pleasantly surprised.

This is the Springhill Bed and Breakfast near Bardstown.  It's a lovely place, set in a vineyard.  

There are six guestrooms and we took up four of them.

 As you can see, the house is lovely.

That's Eddie, our host, on the right.  

  I can't believe I didn't take any photos of the breakfast, but it was awesome! 

The hosts, Caroline and Eddie were great.  We will go back.

The next morning we all went to church at the Bardstown UMC.  

A beautiful church and a welcoming reception.

And this is some of Bardstown.  

We need to go back when it's not Sunday and the little shops are open.

No trip to Kentucky would be complete without visiting some distilleries.  

We went to Makers Mark where I discovered I really don't like bourbon.

 But it was fun watching our friends dip the bottles in red wax.

We headed back to Nashville but couldn't leave without going downtown for some Honky Tonk!
On Monday nights John England and the Western Swingers play at Roberts and they are great!  They play all the old western hits and we love stopping in and listening for a while.

As usual, all too soon it was time to go home.  

So we are again back in the heat of Tallahassee, patiently waiting for fall....

Hugs,

Terri

Where Bloggers Create

Thank you, My Desert Cottage, for hosting this event! I am looking forward to
visiting many wonderful places in the coming days.


Wow! In anticipation of doing this I actually cleaned up my space!

A lot!

I really should include a "before" shot, but this looks so much better.

This is my office where the office work, blogging and other computer stuff happens.

Since it's the first place you see when you come in the house, I do try to keep it neat.

It's a nice, bright space. Especially when cleaned up!

I keep some of my basket making supplies here, tucked away in hollow books.
Kind of like my treasure chests.

This is my official studio.  It's a rather small attic area, and can get dangerous
if you stand up too fast in the wrong spot and bump your head.
But I like it. It's cozy and I can make as much of a mess as I want
and no one will care.

I did clear off the desk top for these photos, but chaos still reigns in other areas
as you can see in my book corner (oh, my!)

I also share some of the space with my granddaughter.

Yes, this is a 1950's miniature Formica table and chair set.

It was mine many years ago. It's a great place to have a cup of pretend tea.

I'm hoping she will absorb the craft habit by being nearby:-)

So there are bits and pieces everywhere

and lots of unfinished projects

 including pine needles to sort 

and baskets to create.

These are my newest creation...herbal baskets! You wouldn't believe
how wonderful these smell. Lavender, chocolate mint, mmmm...
I'm still fine tuning the process and will be test marketing a few this fall.

I always finish my baskets but find I seem to

have knitting projects that just need a little something

to be finished...like a lining for a bag,

 or handles for another bag,

 or a sweater that needs work,

 or pieces that need to be joined to make a blanket.

And the list goes on...

This knitted and crocheted bag won a ribbon at the State Fair.

I'm really glad I finished it!

But since both basket making and knitting are portable,
a lot of my time is spent here

in my favorite recliner!

But my favorite spot to sit and work is

 on the screen porch

enjoying the view.

Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you enjoyed your visit and that you'll come back again!!