"Weavers Words" Vol. 1 Iss. 40 Compiled By David Collins Owned By Weavers Everywhere Date Sent August 24, 1997 Subscribers 287 Back Issues http//www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5998/ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 39 Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 23:22:09 -0400 From: "drpain@net-gate.com" To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 Hope everyone is busy weaving and getting ready for all the fall craft fairs. Joy Moody - Staghorn sumac if I am right is used as a lemon substitute in ice tea. Native Americans make a drink out of it. I have never heard of it being used for dye. I just started a basket today called a grandmother basket. It is a very large egg type basket. Has anyone else tried this basket. I also asked sometime back if anyone knew where the term gods eye came from, and why it is called a gods eye. Happy weaving !!! Mary Carty South Jersey Piney http://www.imagegfx.com/users/pinelands/ I came home from Kentucky with 22 antlers I better get to work weaving. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 39 Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 08:20:04 -0500 From: Lora L Khoury To: davidc@iei.net Pattern Writing: I have to admit- I've been on both sides of this issue. I once put out a pattern, that I did have tested, and realized that I hadn't put the size of the handle on the pattern. This got through because I gave the materials to the person who was testing, so she didn't have to choose the handle - it was just there. I am like some of the others though, I look at the pattern for the highlights, like the base dimensions, and if there are mistakes, I probably just don't notice them. On the other side - I did once buy a pattern for a very cool Choctaw style basket. It was huge and had a very intricate design on the sides. A friend and I decided we would conquer this basket during a weeks vacation, had something like 256 spokes out of 11/64". After we got the base set up, we realized we weren't going to get this pattern on the sides at all. I called the author and was told that the pattern was for the "concept" of diagonal plaiting, and the picture was just an example. The pattern was right next to the sample of the basket when I bought it. So, you see, this wasn't an error in the author's mind. She knew the picture and the pattern didn't match. After spending several hours on the base, we were not pleased. We already knew the "concept" - what we wanted was a challenge! By the way, if anyone is interested in learning diagonal plaiting, Judith Olney has a very good book out on this technique. I think it's simply titled "Choctaw Diagonal Plaiting". It's very interesting reading. She discusses her learning process, and I actually just sat down and read the book, front to back, before I used it for the patterns. Hope everyone is having a great summer! Looks like we're going to slide into Fall real quick here in Indy. Lora Khoury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: pattern mistakes Date: Fri, 22 Aug 97 13:59:11 EDT From: Devon_Branca@mlsonline.com (Devon Branca) Organization: MLS Online To: davidc@iei.net (David Collins) CC: davidc@iei.net Hi all! Well my two guys (husband and only child age 16) are returning today from a five day Boy Scout hike (60 miles) along the Appalachian Trail in northern Vermont so "my" vacation ends. Boo hoo... Oh well, I sure got a lot of weaving and painting done and the house stayed so nice and neat while they were gone...Gee I wonder why? :o) I bet my house will soon be filled with wet, camp fire-smoky clothes, bed rolls and hiking boots...oh, gross! to Pam Woodbury...thanks for responding to my letter about the errors found on patterns. I have indeed written to a lot of pattern authors pointing out errors I have found [and I always try to read through a pattern before I start to weave]...I'm not one to sit back and let things ride, especially when things can be fixed for someone else's benefit. However I don't think that a pattern writer should charge $3 or so for a pattern if they haven't taken the time to make sure that the pattern is accurate and understandable. They have to remember that not everyone is going to spend that money just to have a photograph to look at...not all of us can do that--or want to....I certainly don't want to have to sit down and figure out all the dimensions when I have just paid for that privilege. My major contention is that each pattern should be tested before it is presented for sale to the public. I don't think that is expecting too much, do you? to Lois, Sharon, Billie, Krstin, Amanda & Molly, thanks for agreeing with me about this problem of errors, it is frustrating huh?! Maybe it would help if each "supplier" required that the patterns they sold were tested first [and not by a personal friend! but by someone more critical].... it's not foolproof, I'm sure, but it might help. And we all need pleh sometimes...(ha ha, a typo!) and to Molly again...I use odorless mineral spirits--that helps with the smell. Doesn't eliminate it, but the smell is much less. (some people actually say they like the smell--yikes!) Happy weaving! Cheri Branca in Victor New York ***MLS Online-An Internet BBS. (www.mlsonline.com) Focus: Family, Business & Education. Voice Support: 716-454-5577 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 39 Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 14:03:58 -0400 From: Will Siler To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 David, I have been able to pick up that you have not been well, but missed why. Surgery? I ask because I just had some pretty serious back surgery 2 weeks ago today and thought we could commiserate! I am up and about , but that is about all. I am working on a new book as I can, it's just that I have to limit my sitting time which means not much time on the computer. Anyway, I am accepting ideas, patterns (originals of course) if any one is interested in submitting. Hoping to have the book out by the first of the year. My life had to be put on hold for a while. I sure am ready to get back among the living and productive again though. this lying around is for the birds. Best Wishes, Lyn Siler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Coming Out Of Hiding Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 19:52:08 -0400 (EDT) From: Hickeycb@aol.com To: davidc@iei.net First, let me say that I have been in the shadows reading Weavers Words for quite some time now and love getting it. Thank you, David and everyone else out there that contributes to keep this going. To introduce myself-I have been interested in and wanted to learn how to make baskets for a very long time. However, circumstances didn't provide for that opportunity until I moved to Yakima, Washington. I took my first class thru our Parks and Recreation Department about six years ago. She taught two baskets and we could choose which one we wanted to make. I was ambitious and did both - a market basket and an egg basket. I finished the market basket in class - the egg basket sat there for a very long time before I finally made myself get it finished. I made a few more baskets out of purchased/prepared reed but kind of had a lull until a couple of years ago when I connected with a group of ladies here in the valley. We all belong to the Washington guild but since that is headquartered in the Seattle area and is too far to attend regular meetings, etc. we have our own little subgroup here that meets one Saturday out of the month. They refer to us as the "Yakima Ditch Ladies" because we all do natural material baskets that we collect ourselves. No planned program, we usually just bring what we want to work on. Or if there is something specific we want to learn, we will work on that as a group and try to figure out how to do it. Or if one person has learned a technique and others have an interest, she'll help whoever is interested. We have the perfect setting. We all gather at Mary Barrett's house out in the country and weave in her yard and garden under the shade of this beautiful grand old tree with the birds and bees singing all around us. Some of the materials that I have used in baskets are: cedar bark, cherry bark, birch bark, honeysuckle, morning glory vines, sweet grass (vanilla), Pacific sweet grass (sedge), cattails, rush, broomcorn, bamboo, stinging nettle, Indian Hemp (dogbane), milkweed, fireweed, corn husks, strawberry runners, pine needles, iris leaves (wild and domestic), daffodil leaves, crocus leaves, lavender, daylilies, yucca leaves, red osier dogwood, willow, black walnut, horsetail, various grasses, and whatever else I find that looks like it might work in a basket. I love experimenting with new things to see if they will work or not, what parts to use, when to gather, how to prepare, etc. My garage is filled with my "treasures". I never travel without my shears, gloves, plastic bags, etc. in case I find something to collect or some interesting road kill; and now my friends, relatives, and acquaintances keep an eye out for me also. One of my best Christmas gifts a couple of years ago was a box of antlers my sister collected from all of her husband's hunting buddies. I don't make a great number of baskets but those I make are definitely from "scratch". Approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of the time I put into a basket is in gathering and preparing the materials. I know I have become sort of a "purist" but I get as much or more enjoyment from experimenting and learning more about the natural materials as I do from actually weaving the basket. And the more I learn, the more I realize that I have hardly scratched the surface so far. Other than the first couple of baskets I made, I don't use patterns. I just kind of picture in my mind what kind of basket I want to make and go from there. A lot of times, I want to try something new and I figure it out as I go along and generally the "spirit of the basket" will make itself known of how it should look, particularly when working with gifts from the earth. I do have a couple of questions. Does anyone out there have experience with splitting willow? I know how to split down into thirds and then how to split out the core but after that I am having trouble on how to split it down from there into long, even, fine weavers. I heard of something called a "skeiner" that you could use to pull it thru to make it very fine and even but haven't been able to find out what that is, how it works, or where to find one. Can anyone help? Andrea, Palm Island, FL - I am going to be in Florida in the near future (flying into Tampa and out of Ft. Lauderdale). Any information you could give me on what kind of natural materials you have down there, any basketry events or things to see, etc. I certainly would appreciate it. Your basket that you made for your friend sounds very intriguing. I haven't noticed very many basket people from the West Coast, I know you are out there. I would love to get to know more of you in this area of the country. Gloria Cantor are you out there? As for calling myself a weaver or maker? I usually wind up calling myself both just depending on what comes out of my mouth but most often I am a twig twister. Coleen Hickey Yakima, Washington hickeycb@aol.com @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Buckeyes Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 20:20:33 -0400 (EDT) From: FDilts@aol.com To: davidc@iei.net Hi fellow weavers, To answer Joy Moody's question regarding buckeyes. In Illinois a buckeye is a hard seed like object about the size of a quarter. It is reddish brown in color with a dented in spot on it. The spot is usually tan with a black spot giving it an "eye" appearance. Hope this clears up the confusion. However your version of buckeyes sound pretty good to me, got a recipe?? To Amanda: I haven't had a problem with molding maybe because my daughter lined them all up on a shelf so they weren't touching each other. Also make sure that the ones you collect are not still in any of the seed pod. Haven't had a problem with the mice either but I used them right away. Good luck. Melanie ^i^ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 36 Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 21:14:06 EDT From: froggestow@juno.com (Roberta R Comstock) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 RE:"Weavers Words" Vol. 1 Iss. 36 Molly (in hot August Nevada): I saved Joy Moody's basket graphic. I'm sending you (and Joy) a copy privately. I find these things work best when you save them as an ascii/text file and print in a standard 10 cpi font (not a scalable font). Your Joanne Shenandoah album sounds wonderful. There are a couple of places around here that may have it. If I can't find it, I'll ask you for details on the company that put it out. Jane A. Wilson: Re: other natural materials to include in your deer antler potato basket: I like to add strips of bark (such as from the volunteer mulberry, elm and rough dogwood that invade my lilac hedge), leather lacing cords or scraps cut into strips (chamois would be nice to work with), and yucca leaves. I'm beginning to work with twining some dried and resoaked stems of sweet clover, lemon balm, spearmint (and other aromatic herbs) to use as a substitute for twined seagrass. I'll report later (maybe this winter) on which ones work best. Bobbie: I roared laughing at your kudzu post! Who wrote this gem? May I repost it to another list? When I traveled in the southeastern states several years ago, I was horrified at the way kudzu smothers everything in its path. Yet another reason I'm glad to live in a place that has hard-freezing winters: Kudzu can't live here for more than one summer! Being a non-woody vine (it's a bean, by the way), I wouldn't expect it to be very sturdy basket material, although the stem supposedly yields a decent fiber for handmade paper. Terri Brenner: Do you know anyone who has birch trees as an ornamental planting in your area? I have been able to collect bark from birch that was cut for firewood or trimmed after storm damage a couple of times. Unfortunately, I wasn't around either time to get it while it was freshly cut. It's still pretty neat to work with - the pieces are just not as big as I could have peeled from the freshly cut branches. For some projects, sycamore bark will also work. We're finally getting some much-needed soaking rain. I should probably get out and do some weeding in the herb beds while the ground is soft. I also need to pull some of the unruly herbs that I want to twine for basket fillers. Weave well! Bert Comstock Independence, MO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: weaving suggestions/rules Date: Sat, 23 Aug 97 16:49:19 EDT From: Devon_Branca@mlsonline.com (Devon Branca) Organization: MLS Online To: davidc@iei.net (David Collins) CC: davidc@iei.net Hi everyone, I just thought of a new "question of the week"..... What are your favorite "fundamental basic rules to follow" when checking, designing or revamping a basket pattern? Examples: I always have an UNeven number of stakes on each side/end so that the pattern is symmetrical. If you have ten vertical stakes the weave will end differently on the right edge than the left. If you are going to have fillers in the base that will fold upwards to the inside of the basket the horizontal fillers will need to be woven UNDER the outside vertical stakes, so therefore they will go OVER the handle or center stake IF there are an UNEVEN number of vertical stakes on each side of the center..... OR they will go UNDER the handle or center stake IF there are an EVEN number of vertical stakes on each side of the center. I always twine two times around a checkerboard base...to lock the stakes in position and ALSO so that there will be better spacing between the end stakes as you weave the sides...This is especially important when you are weaving a basket that is going from square to round and you want those stakes to have the same spacing as all the rest. When weaving a basket with a handle try to make it so that the rim row (last row that will be under the rim) will be woven so the stakes on each side of the handle will be the ones to be tucked inside...this supports the rim better if the handle is a "D" since you would not be tucking the handle (Obviously), or if you are inserting a notched handle the tuck would not be on that particular stake and make the handle extra bulky. Okay those are just a few [I have lots] (& you can argue with me about them....) to get you all started. I like to have some of these rules "set" in my mind when I read a pattern or develop my own...How about you all? Cheri Branca Victor, New York ***MLS Online-An Internet BBS. (www.mlsonline.com) Focus: Family, Business & Education. Voice Support: 716-454-5577 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Wooden knobs and patterns Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 18:41:08 -0400 From: Richard Calvert Organization: Calvert's Wholesale, Inc. To: davidc@iei.net Hi everyone, We are having beautiful weather here at the Jersey shore. Definitely outdoor weaving weather, finally. Our grass is green and lush again thanks to the recent rain. I'm going to sit outside this evening and weave. Ditto at the beach tomorrow. For those who were looking for wooden knobs, I got a great catalog today. The company is Tatro, Inc., phone is 800-748-5827. There are mushroom style knobs, Hartford knobs, square knobs, ball knobs(also good for ball feet), and even country white knobs.Each come in several sizes and tell you which screws to go with them. They have quantity discounts also. They also have lots of other wooden items with quantity discounts such as cutout shapes in several thicknesses, unfinished and painted beads, and brass plated hinges and screws for those who make wooden lids for their baskets. Hope this is a help. To Cheri Branca--boy can I relate to your complaint about poorly written patterns. I wondered why no one ever complained before. I'm starting a basketry supply business and in my stocking patterns for inventory, I have been VERY selective. Rather than just purchase zillions of patterns and list them, I have been trying to test each one before deciding on carrying it. As I make them I write on my master pattern any corrections or suggestions I will make to anyone purchasing it. Some things are just a matter of style, but sometimes major instructions are simply left out or the description must be read a dozen times before you can decipher what is meant. I don't want someone new at basketmaking to be turned off because they purchased a poorly written pattern from me. But the point is, for the little bit of profit I stand to make on patterns, it has been alot of work and sometimes aggravation. Pamela, you said you think a typo should be forgiven--I disagree. When writing a pattern it should be proof read several times and if there is a goof--fix it. People are paying money for it. Also things like instructing to use a closed notched handle, then rim with 3/4 flat oval can drive a beginner crazy, when most closed notches are 1/2"to 5/8". A beginner can easily be thrown by things like this, because they are trying to follow instructions carefully, and may not readily know it's ok to substitute 1/2" flat oval instead. Guess I've said enough, except to say that all in all I am very grateful to those of you who are talented pattern writers, just take a good look at how it is presented before you mass produce it. It will pay in pattern sales in the long run, I'm sure. Thank you David, I look forward to getting Weaver's Words and appreciate all your work. Happy what's left of summer to everyone! Now we are heading into my favorite season--Fall-I love it! Can't wait to shove potted mums into my big Judy Richmond baskets on my front porch. Bye for now. Kathi Calvert KMC Baskets & Folkart Tinton Falls, New Jersey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 37 Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 21:36:56 EDT From: froggestow@juno.com (Roberta R Comstock) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 Reply-To: davidc@iei.net Subject: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 37 Judy K. Wilson really hit the nail on the head with her remarks about learning one thing from each person and the importance of what you come away with in your head! Joy Moody: Re - Your Question of the Day about "odd" or "unusual" materials: I like to incorporate 'found' items, usually something natural I've picked up while canoeing or beachcombing. I like driftwood for handles. I like to ornament with rocks and shells. The ozarks have a lot of weathered limestone and most of the creek gravel includes worn stones that have holes through them. I first began collecting them for macramé' and to use as warp weights for my Viking loom. I also gathered quite a lot of fine tree roots (willow and cottonwood) from the eroding shore of a lake in Nebraska. I like the freedom and variety that these things add to my baskets. Donna Kallner: Your near encounter with the poison ivy almost made me itch to think about it! You were very fortunate to have not gotten a bad case. I have a constant battle with it trying to invade my yard. I think birds bring the seeds in. They don't seem to be affected by the toxins. In addition to vining and growing low to the ground, here in Missouri I've seen it go shrubby and get to be about ten feet tall. Poison ivy identification and variation is one of the items I usually stress in my herb walk classes. Many people seem to recognize only one type or another and don't realize how nasty it can be in any of its many disguises. That's all on baskets for now. Time for me to write my heraldic column for the SCA Canton newsletter. At least I can email it to the Chronicler! Bert Comstock, Independence, MO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Hi All, Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 22:24:40 -0700 From: "LORI HOPKINS" To: "David Collins" Hi fellow weavers. Hi Ruth nice to see you joining in. I have about ten 4 ft lengths of white birch logs I have for stripping that I haven't gotten around to....I'm sure I'll find the time this fall as soon as the madness is over here... Summer is our busy time here and I don't get to do any weaving in the summer but fall is coming and I'm hoping for a nice fall so I can weave outside .. Of coarse once I have this white birch bark I am still not sure what to do with it any ideas? Gotta go -----so thanks again David and hope you are feeling better....Happy weaving ---Lori Hopkins, Lake Wallenpaupack. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: basket weaving Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 15:05:43 -0400 (EDT) From: JSarge8230@aol.com To: davidc@iei.net Hi Thank you Bert for the info on wood stains. I will call the company tomorrow. We, my husband Jim and 2 cats, Max and Jas returned from a 3000 mile month long trip to the UP. I chatted with several basket makers. I purchased a small seagrass basket in NC and pottery in Copper Harbor from a gal who uses willow spokes for egg baskets. The spokes were black. She told me if she uses the fresh spokes they stay black but if she lets the willow dry out they are light brown, never heard of such a thing. Was she teasing me? I am goi ng to try to weave a Christmas sliegh next but will have to figure out how to attach the wooden runners. My teacher told me that i am always trying to reinvent the wheel. I found wonderful plexiglass canisters and plan to weave Nantucket canisters over these forms. Hope this doesn't offend any purists. I do ice buckets and wine carriers the same way. I haunt harware and kitchen supply stores to find new shapes. One of theeese days if our daughter has babies I want to make a Nantucket bassenette. I think I can make the mold from dense styrofoam that the marina uses for boat racks. Thought maybe some one else would like to do the same. Where do you buy cherry stakes? I most work with oak and maple stakes for the Nantuckets but would love a change. I am not happy with rush stay anymore after useing the wooden ones. Enough , glad to be home in the 92 degree heat. Thought we were going to freeze in Mich. JOYCE S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Re: filler chicken/crow's feet Date: Sun, 24 Aug 97 16:16:10 EDT From: Devon_Branca@mlsonline.com (Devon Branca) Organization: MLS Online To: davidc@iei.net (David Collins) CC: davidc@iei.net Note: my mention of fillers that will chicken / crow's feet.... "If you are going to have fillers in the base that will fold upwards to the inside of the basket"...see, it takes a "tester to see something that oneself doesn't see".... Lois Keener and Betty Swanson (two of the coolest weavers around) pointed this possible mis-interpretation out to me....I meant to say "to the inside bottom of the BASE" not the side walls. If you like to fold the fillers to the "bottom" side of the base, you will need to flip the fillers and reverse the pattern of weaving the base so that the fillers will be right side up and will be over the end stakes so you can fold them down and under... Now that I have confused everyone....:o(.... sorry. Cheri Branca ***MLS Online-An Internet BBS. (www.mlsonline.com) Focus: Family, Business & Education. Voice Support: 716-454-5577 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: Basket Bits Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 18:47:15 -0400 From: "The Rigterinks" To: Hi Everyone About 3-4 months ago, I sent in a subscription to the Basket Bits magazine and have not yet heard a word from or about it. Can someone tell me when the magazine comes out, or if, as usual, I'm just too impatient! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Keep Weaving Diane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subject: leather handles Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 19:26:39 -0400 From: "The Rigterinks" To: Hi again Everyone! I just found Kathy Tessler's pattern for a Double Bottom Tote and I want to make it for a gift. Can anyone tell me where to get the leather handles. Do I contact Kathy about them or does someone else carry them as well? Thanks again for your help. Keep Weaving Diane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If for any you would ever like to cancel your subscription, simply send me a message with "unsubscribe" as your subject.