A Little Bit of Background

“I have loved baskets ever since I received my first wooden-lidded picnic basket as a wedding shower gift 45 years ago.”


My Granddaughter in a Basket
My Granddaughter - Lauren

Our home has since been decorated with baskets; we carried our babies' necessities in “diaper baskets”; I have hidden the Scotch, masking, and duct tapes in market baskets, (so it's there when needed); our kitchen is filled with bread baskets, muffin baskets, napkin and paper plate baskets, utensil baskets, and casserole baskets; the laundry is hauled in wash-day baskets; our books are held in magazine or carry-all baskets; library books are transported to and fro in leather handled tote baskets; etc., etc., etc., grin In other words, I am never found without a basket in hand!

Although my love for baskets has covered the last three decades, I was not actually "hands on" involved until the summer of 1991 when I was introduced to basket weaving. At the time, our family lived and worked at a Christian camp in northern Wisconsin, and a lady from Milwaukee was attending a week-long family camp. She was an avid basket maker, and so she offered a class out on the deck of the dining hall. Being on a tight budget with a family of seven, I did not even have the $10 material fee needed to take the class. But a good friend paid my fee, and we spent a beautiful afternoon weaving our first baskets. I was immediately hooked! Up to that point in life, I had enjoyed many other types of crafts, but now, basket weaving quickly moved into first place.

“Since that memorable summer afternoon 30+ years ago, we have woven over 15,000 baskets, taught hundreds of classes, and designed a countless number of patterns.”

My Grandson in a Basket
My Grandson - Jack

My daughter, Danielle, is currently teaching basketry for adult community education in four different public school districts. It is always such a joy to share in a new student's delight with the completion of their first basket weaving project.

Dani & I create and weave all of our baskets in our own home shop. We have been blessed with a restored 1916 country farmhouse on a 20-acre hobby farm located in eastern Minnesota, and have had nine children, three of which are still at home. (The others keep coming back home with more!) We have a large vegetable garden, a dozen apple trees, a long row of raspberries, and lots of flowers in the summer. We raise chickens and turkeys, keep honeybees, and had three horses, an old dog and a varying number of farm cats. There are bikes in the dirt driveway, a swing set in the back yard, and two small ponds out in the pasture. All in all, it is a great place to raise a family and — WEAVE BASKETS!

 

The Basket Blog

Basket Finishes

Posted by Joanna on 1 Comment

I have experimented extensively. Here are some of my conclusions.

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October ‘24 Free Pattern

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The Little Waste Basket was fashioned with standard plastic shopping bags in mind. They are the perfect size to slip onto the leather handles of this basket to serve as a...

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September ‘24 Free Pattern

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Nothing ushers in fall more vibrantly than the change of colors in the Northwoods. Using those warm hues, our Fall Harvest Basket adds the flavor of fall to any home decor....

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Details & Such

Teaching Schedule

Danielle teaches many classes throughout the school year in various places in eastern Minnesota. For more information and a schedule, see Danielle's Teaching Schedule, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Contact Information

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1422 Martha St N
Stillwater, MN 55082