Inspired...

Last week on Craft in America artist Mary Jackson shared a bit of the history of sweetgrass basketry. I am in awe of her work. I actually own a 'Charleston Sweetgrass' basket (very much like the one pictured above) that was given to us as a wedding gift from a dear friend in NC (my home state). So anyway--I'm kind of rambling here-- the point is I have a sudden interest in basket making. :)

I mean, think about it, people have been making baskets FOREVER (practically). Seriously. Some of the oldest baskets are thought to be between 10,000 and 12,000 years old. !!! Wow.

So I decided to take a stab at basket making.

Here is a shot of my first attempt!:

Nooo, it's not a gorgeous sweetgrass basket (hey, I'm not that good)... it's a coiled rag basket. The point is, it's still a basket, and that counts :). (You can find instructions for making a coiled rag basket here)

The great thing about this project is that you really don't need any special supplies (I used an old pair of jeans and a bit of soft cotton ticking for the fabric and thick cotton piping for the core)... and once you understand how the basket goes together, you can shape it however you want.

I was thinking about making this one much taller, but when it got to a certain point it just felt right. A great place to stash ribbons and trim!

Maybe you've all made rag baskets before, but this was a first for me. It really was a fun, sit-on-the-couch-and-veg-out kind of project. Anyway, it was nice to take a little break from the sewing machine :).