Recently a member here Ganchik posted some baskets, and other crafts his wife had done. I mentioned my wife also did baskets, and crafts, mostly jewelry, but an assortment of many things. I have often said I live with baskets, and in our home one cannot look around, and not see 5 to 30 baskets in cabinets, on top of cabinets, on walls, shelves, they are everywhere. It's a comfort thing for me.
My wife has been making baskets for 45 or 46 years now, sewing for far longer than that, and dabbling in making things for a long time. I think the baskets are her biggest thrill, and she has become a fine basket maker. I also think of her as a woodworker, as her prep for many of the baskets are made of wood, shaved with hand planes, and drawknives. Cut with all manner of knives, and chisels. She has almost as many hand tools, as a cabinet maker might posses to do their work. Just before I got sick, she and I planned to start working together back in the woodworking shop, she wanted to learn all of the stationary tools. This is on course to happen soon, as I am much more able to get back in the shop full time.
Ok, pic time. I shot a few of the many baskets in the house, this only represents maybe 1/2 of 1% of what she has. Basket supplies are in the basement, and almost in as much dissaray as the woodworking shop. LOTTA weavable material, and bottoms, handles, whatever.
First is "HER purse" made several for friends, this is the equivalent of a shopping bag, like those at Ikea, HUGE.
Inside is her biggest purse, for reference, she can slip in 6 bottles of wine, easily around the purse, and some groceries to snack on.
lotta color, doesn't matter of it's reed. ash, oak, vine, rope, or whatever, colors are always a dye.
Plus it's a lot shallower than it looks
Nice depth on this one, great for large fruit.
Some in our entertainment cabinet
Just below, the 2 on the top. The one on the right is my contribution to our baskets. Wife and I spent a weekend at Shaker Village in Lexington Ky. They brought in the foremost teacher of ash baskets, and the person who Shaker Villages called their basket person, she was really nice, and extremely knowledgeable, but her Hubby was a master woodworker with hand tools, and prepped all of her Ash stock. We spent half a day riving off ash strips, and working them down to the reed we used to make these. Note they are sitting on runners, and are mini models of a "firewood truck" at all of the Shaker villages in New England, Ohio, and KY they used these (FULL SIZED, and without a handle, but a huge metal turnbuckle) in the Winter, when snow was on the ground, or just if the ground was frozen, and drug them behind mules to each dwelling to deliver the firewood for the day. It was, and still is one of the coolest classes I have ever taken, and from a strict woodworking POV I have taken classes from a lot of real, modern day, Masters, of the craft.
Grapevine
Another she has gifted to friends, and others a lot of times. I love this basket. The colors and the weave are a Nantucket basket, but it says Homey Ky. :-)
Reminding me I need to go around and clean up my baskets, hers are cleaner.
Another she gifts to people all the time. Our Wednesday night group of friends is called the Wednesday Night Winos. I'm usually the dedicated driver, as my wine intake would embarrass Duckie, anyhow they do drink some wine. The basket is made to carry 2 bottles, and uses 2 wine corks inside to separate the bottles from clanking, and God forbid breaking in transit.
Next one has what is called a "Cats Head bottom" it's kinda hard to see it, but it has four corners that peak outward, turned to the correct angle it looks like a 4 ear cat. In color it also makes a striking pattern.
Nice weave, also very colorful
This one has lived near our front door of the last 2 houses. It has a nice weave, new to my wife when she made this one, she was happy because she nailed it first try. I guess it's a basket box.
Top on
Top off
It has changed many times through the years, but at present i believe this to be my wifes favorite basket she has woven. The weave is called a diagonal weave, and it changes with the angle of the weave as it goes up bottom to top. I forget the name of the material it's made of, but it has no roughness like with most wood, reed, or vine would have. To touch it, it feels like silk.
She has been at a 3 day basket crafting "thing" mostly taking classes from some well known weavers, hanging out with the chicks, and overall having a good time. These are a couple she is mid make on from that experience.
The first one is woven pretty complete, but she estimates an hour trimming weavers, and touching it up, than a spray finish to protect the weavers.
Bottom inside is same wood as bottom outside, with a overspray of colors, and then a glaze that gives the crackle effect. Wife says is too fussy and prefers the curly maple, or BE maple ones, Mo natural....
Bottom outside, plain looking Maple
This one she is excited about. It's also got a wooden bottom to start the weavers, but inside it has a cheeeep plastic tub, for garden use, or anything where otherwise the weavers get dirty, it's great protection, plus with the strength from the weave, any solid matter inside of that gives you super strength. Looks like a bad birds nest right now. Whenever she gets around to finishing it, I'll get a done pic, and add it.
I did a flash and no flash because no matter how I shot it it NEEDS natural light to get the colors correct. You can see the inner tub inside the bottom looking between the weavers.
They are beautiful and so functional plus last for years. In my last year of primary school in the mid/1960’s we did basket weaving as a class program/project; but nothing as elaborate as your wife’s craft.
George, your wife is a very talented lady, these baskets are all works of art. Looking at the last two photos of the unfinished basket provides me a sense of the amount of talent and knowledge required to make baskets. Wow. I'm interested in baskets with the solid wood disk. How are the weavers attached to the wood? It looks like the weavers run straight through the maple, but drilling the holes would be extremely difficult, so I am thinking that there's two disks glued together once all the weavers are laid across one of the two. In any event, all these baskets are beautiful, fantastic work.
WOW squared, George !!! That is some of the finest basket work I have ever seen. My wife did some pine needle baskets when her hands were a lot more nimble. here is one she kept:
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
I made baskets in JHS art class, but of course none so elaborate. Just the basics, getting the base woven into the sides then figuring out the top rim. Getting the patterns and colors woven in so flawlessly is where a craft turns into art. Awesome!
Thanks all for the nice words. She works, if you can call smiling, and just weaving, work. But she endeavors to always improve, and add to the list of both materials, and also types of baskets she has woven, sizes are just a matter of your position, but the different types all go together differently. I try to keep up, but she has done so many types it's hard to think of all the details each has, not to mention the weave patterns. She is at the point where some truly gifted weavers are recognizing her work. This is very good, and when she weaves one to sell, it really helps the price.
OT. think of the bottom as a piece of wood 3/8 to 1/2" thick, with the edges sanded down to a taper. Then they are run on a router table using a slitter bit, and a channel is put straight into the tapered edge. Most use 1/8" as the width, and that size can accommodate most weavers, the depth varies, but usually about an 1/8" to 1/4" with the larger being for bigger baskets, or really heavy weavers. Changing the size of bearing gives you depth control, and the slot cutters themselves come in different widths for thickness. Get it set, and just go around the base making your channel. Pretty easy work, so making the correct shape and size for the intended bottom, you can run a batch of them off in no time.
Handles, when wooden can be laminated up, or a few woods can bend if you heat them enough at a pretty good thickness. Probably why Oak was used so often back when. A few she has made have had wooden lids, so theoretically a lot of woodworking can be involved.
Jim, appears you wife also had quite a bit of talent, that is a beautiful basket, and I know from playing with a handful of pine needles that isn't the easiest weaver to master. My wife has made several of needles, but I am not aware of any of hers being as large as your wifes appears to me. I'm thinking that basket is 6 to 8" wide minimum. My Wifes are all just little palm of your hand baskets when she has used needles. She often refers to them as Hummingbird baskets.
She finished her class this AM, well went a little into the afternoon, we are talking about a gabfest among a bunch of girls who all know each other for years in most cases. Hard to reign in that kind of energy. She almost finished todays basket, just lacks putting on the rim, and maybe an hour of cleaning it up, and then spraying it.
It's really rainy here today, so natural light kept coming and going, so I used a flash on a few shots. If the pics get really washed out looking, that is flash effect.
Tried to get a good pic of the bottom, once the weavers are placed the slot pretty much disappears. Plus some baskets the weavers go straight up, and they seem to "fill" less. These are more of a wrap, so they will appear to fill a lot more.
They are getting better and better accessories for the weavers, of course $$$$$$$ is spent, and somewhere peeps are making it pretty quickly. NEW APRON, this thing is a heavyweight canvas like material, so no sharp tools are gonna lap stab her. Plus it has a deal for her guild, she has moved from the Dayton area down to the Cinci area, better weavers, better everything.
I'm with you Steven. Beside spending a lot of my life in carpentry, where most destroy their hands, grip, and dexterity Arthur has moved in full time. As if that weren't enough something occurred during my illness, and hospitalization, and being right hand dominant it is more the curse, but I have lost 90% of the ability to control my right hand, and easily have lost 85% of it's strength. I wonder if I had a Stroke? I've had several MRI's of my brain looking for the cancer since then, and nobody has said Dood you had a stroke. I'm not really sure if it would show like a heart infarct does? I know anything that requires control, like moving stuff around in the bandsaw. I'm being a lot more left handed than I ever was before. Everything else is getting better, and stronger. Not the right hand though.
So at one time I could weave, I'm not too sure I could still. I do know i have never been able to weave as well as my wife can. She's like an old lady knitting, just sitting there constant motion of her hands. I'd need a nap once in a while.
Thanks guys. I'm certainly proud of her. That said weaving is only a hobby thing for her. Her real talent was/is in her chosen profession. She is acknowledged by many across the country, and in quite a few foreign places as well. I don't know anyone with more friends than she has. Happy to be the guy who has been able to grow old with her.
