This is the latest basket that I have completed.  I love the color combination that is gold, green, teal, purple, blue, and brown.  I used the turquoise beads to accentuate these colors.

This weekend I managed to complete a couple more baskets.  The large denim basket has been a work in progress as shown below.  I still need to put the handles on the basket and possibly attach a few more beads around the bottom of the lid.

This small red and green basket was simple to make.  It invokes the Christmas holiday season with its colors.  It would make a great holiday centerpiece or tabletop piece.

I have been working on this large brown basket for quite a while.  I couldn't decide how I wanted the handles to look. With extra materials left over from this basket, I made the lid and attached the handles to finally complete it.  The first picture is with the lid on it, and the second shows the basket without the lid.  This is a large basket that measures approximately 16 inches in diameter across the bottom and about 14 inches across the lip.

This pink and grey basket was complete but I felt something was missing so I put the floral motif on the front with the turquoise bead in the center that gave it a pop of color.

This weekend I managed to complete two baskets, However, I will put handles on the big blue one. I really like the smooth lines of the oval-shaped as well as the round baskets.  I intend to make a couple more baskets and then switch to making covers for journals.

Los Alamos Arts Council Spring Arts & Crafts Fair Scheduled for May 2, 2015

The Los Alamos Arts Council has presented arts and crafts fairs in Los Alamos since 1967. The tradition continues every year with our Spring Fair, held outdoors in early May on the lawn of historic Fuller Lodge, and our Holiday Fair, held indoors the Saturday before Thanksgiving at Los Alamos Middle School located at 1 Hawk Drive. Each fair features over 100 New Mexican artists whose work is juried for quality and sales potential. The people of Los Alamos have come to know and love the fairs, which are festive events held at well-established venues and traditional times of year (just before Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving).

I have been juried into this year's spring fair for the first time.  If you are in the area, please come out and take a look at the new items I will have for sale at the fair. 

So, I'm stuck in a basket making mode.  I have to add the handles to this basket, but I love the teal or turquoise color.  It is a bit smaller than the brown basket that I completed this weekend. However, the challenge of making one of these is having the time to actually sit down and do the prep work.  That involves selecting the fabric, cutting the strips (two sizes, 1/2 inch for the bottom and 1 1/2 for the sides).  Once the strips are cut I then wrap the 1/2 inch strips on cotton cord, gluing the strips on with a washable glue until I have all the strips wrapped. Afterwards, I sew the 1 1/2 inch strips end-to-end to create a long, continuous strip of fabric.  The final prep step it to sew the fabric onto more cord as if I'm making piping.  This is rather monotonous work, but very necessary to create the cording needed to build a basket and lid.

Before sewing the basket, starting with the wrapped cord, I measure a length of wrapped cord and sit aside for the handles.  I start with the basket's bottom and begin the process by taking the tip of the wrapped cord and winding about an inch clockwise.  I use a triple zigzag stitch on a 6.0 stitch setting and a size 16 needle to begin stitching the bottom.

This morning I was able to complete the basket I had started earlier in the week.  I'm really pleased with the results.  I decided not to put cowrie shells on the top because I like the clean, elegant lines the basket creates without the embellishment (with the exception of the lid that has a button and some beads as it's top handle.

I took a break from basket making and decided to work on an idea that popped into my head the other day.  I have been trimming the hemmed edges from strips of silk and realized that I could turn them into recycled silk yarn.  I took the longest pieces and hand sewed them end-to-end until I was able to create a ball of yarn.  Once I had a length of yarn, I began to crochet a piece that will eventually be a small purse.  I'm presently working on the sides and will make a circular bottom that I will attach the sides to it, put a lining in it ( I found two pieces of satin at a thrift store that I can use as lining) and make corded straps to go around it to make it easy to carry.