"Weavers Words" Vol. 2 Iss. 1 Compiled By: David Collins Snail Mail: 408 North Devon Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46219 Owned By: Weavers Everywhere Date Sent: May 06, 1998 Subscribers: 566 Back Issues: http://www.iei.net/~davidc/ Basket Biddin' Auction: http://members.tripod.com/~Basket_Biddin/ {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} ***IMPORTANT INFORMATION*** ***PLEASE READ BEFORE PRINTING*** 1.) Highlight entire issue. 2.) Click copy. 3.) Paste issue into a word processor of your choosing. 4.) Now Print. {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} @=@=@=@=@ PICTURES SENT IN BY YOU @=@=@=@=@ In order to conserve space on printouts, I have removed the list of pictures. You can still see the list on Weaver's Words webpage. I will list any new pictures here. Keep the pictures coming. New----Mr. Brian Jenkins' Museum Basket. http://www.iei.net/~davidc/museum1.JPG New----Mr. Brian Jenkins' Museum Basket. http://www.iei.net/~davidc/museum2.JPG If anyone else has a picture, you can send it to me through email or snail mail. {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Hi Everyone, I am beginning another basketry mailing list. This is totally separate from Weaver's Words and will go out once a month. This will be a list of basketry dealer's addresses/phone numbers/web pages and personal web pages. Here's how it works: 1.) If you want to receive the list, go to Weaver's Words web page. Scroll down about 1/4 of the way. There you enter your address and click the red button that reads "Join List". You will then receive a confirmation message through e-mail. YOU MUST REPLY TO THE COMFIRMATION MESSAGE TO VERIFY THAT YOU SIGNED UP. Presto you're done! 2.) If you would like to have your business and/or webpage added to the monthly list send me a message at gordon_24_fan@yahoo.com. That way I won't get it confused with Weaver's Words messages. Please include the following (If Applicable): Business Name, Contact Name, Address, City-State-Zip Code, Phone Number('s), Web Page Address & E-Mail. Hopefully this will help weavers find different dealers and web pages. ALL INFORMATION WILL BE KEPT PRIVATE! Take Care, David davidc@iei.net P.S. May 5th commemorated our one-year anniversary! WOW! What a year?!? We now begin Volume 2. We began with 71 family members. Now we have 561 family members. Here's to another great year! {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Convention Info: Date: Sun, 04 May 1997 18:10:21 -0400 From: John Miles To: davidc@iei.net I remember reading several weeks ago about the convention in North Carolina. I would like to know what I need to do ahead of time to beable to attend that convention. Could someone please give the dates for the next convention. I have three friends who weave together and we want to put this event on our calendars. I really enjoy WW and look forward to receiving it. I do want to say how much I enjoyed my book, "Addictied to Baskets". There is a lot of info there. What a great gift for someone just beginning to weave. I sent for info from Ritz and was amazed to see the number of colors that are available in their dyes. I can only find about 12 colors at our local Wal-Mart. Has anyone found other stores that carry more variety? One more question about the torch for burning hairs. It was stated that this torch was purchased at a rock shop. We live in a very rural area - where would I find a rock shop? If I find one, what would I ask for exactly. I spend many hours trimming hairs and would really like to try a torch. Thank you to everyone who contributes to WW and for all the help this has been to me. Judy Miles Centreville, MD 21617 {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: gourds Date: Sun, 03 May 1998 20:19:46 -0500 From: monast@iquest.net To: davidc@iei.net I was browsing at my favorite store (Lowes - a giant hardware store) and got to talking with a very knowledgeable employee. I've been having a hard time cutting the tops off gourds, not having many power tools. He suggested using a tile cutter bit in my dremel. It works great. After marking an approximate cutting line with a pencil, just punch a hole and run the drill like you were slicing the top off a cake. I then smoothed it with a small grinder type attachment. I had taken the waxed linen fetish pot class at Indiana Convention with Judy Wilson and now have many little gourds to practice on. Just thought you might like to know. Kristin M. in Yorktown IN {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 111 Date: Sun, 03 May 1998 22:25:17 EDT From: froggestow@juno.com (Roberta R Comstock) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 111 Diana Macomber - I looked at your geese on the website - they're terrific! So lifelike! You've evidently spent some time watching geese. Are they approximately life sized? We've got a lot of Giant Canada Geese here in Missouri - the Dept. of Conservation has done a lot of work over the past couple of decades to revitalize their dwindling population, with considerable success. Many of the farm ponds around here now have goose nesting tubs set on posts out on the water. Diana French - Congratulations on your success at the Pinelands Basket Exhibit! What kind of baskets did you enter? Andrea - It was good to hear from you. I'm so sorry about all the difficulties with your husbands health and surgical complications. I certainly am sending good wishes and healing thoughts your way. Hang in there, and please keep in touch. We'll look forward to hearing about his recovery. Kay (Harradine) Ames - Sketch day at the Pond sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for the invitation, even though I can't be there. Guess I'll have to take my sketchpad with me to the 'War' at Smithville Lake. Joy - Looked at your first annual BIG basket on the website. I think I'm going to have to do some bigger baskets this year, too. Thanks for the inspiration. You ask such interesting questions! I agree with you about needing to not undervalue our work and ourselves. I think that's one reason I don't try to sell my baskets. I do think I may be able to sell patterns, eventually. But I can never be a production manufacturer. The Care & Feeding of the Spinning Wheel is a good book. Was the wheel you saw fairly small, like a castle wheel? I think there's a modern company that makes a similar design, but don't remember which one does it. The few wheels I've seen in antique shops around here recently have not been in working order and were vastly overpriced. I wouldn't mind getting an old wheel, but won't even seriously make an offer on one that I can't try out first. I've got to dust off my Lendrum soon - I've promised to spin some dog hair for a friend in exchange for a tagua nut carving she did for me. And, yes, I would believe sharks' teeth for basket embellishments. Don't have a good local source for them; but I did collect some good shells in Galveston over Easter weekend. Cheryl VanDeVeer - I can't be in California this June. Is this an annual event? Do you mind if I pass the information along to some friends who live in CA? Amy - To space dye reed, you need to wind it into fairly loose coils so that the dye can get to all the pieces. The size of the coil will determine the length of each colored section. Choose colors that are compatible. You need to use a separate dye bath for each color. Don't submerge the entire coil into the dyepot, just part of it. To get 3 colors from 2 dye baths, dye about 2/3 of the coil with the lighter color, then drain it well and blot it so the first dye won't contaminate the second bath. Rotate the coil and again dye about 2/3 of it in the second color. This time, be sure to dip the previously undyed part plus about half of the part that was dyed the first color. For example, if you use yellow and red dyes, you will get red and yellow with orange in between. Red and blue will give you purple in the overlap area; blue and yellow will give you green in the overlap. Some people recommend letting one color dry before dipping the second (or third), but I haven't had a problem doing it while the first color is still damp. If you want the entire rainbow, use red, yellow and blue. Have fun with other combinations too! Lois - I'm glad you were able to get the sewing machine worked out. Bait and switch is such a tacky advertising ploy! If more people would follow through as you did, fewer merchants would try to get away with such tricks. I agree with you that when a pattern requires some special part you can't buy elsewhere, the description of that pattern should clearly indicate the need for that special item. Nancy - Thanks for the kind words about my classes. I am going to be writing up some odd-shaped (animal and other) linen pouch patterns. Just don't know when I'll have them available. Maybe in the fall of this year. Linda Kotarba - I visited the Bead Link last night. The prices are excellent, and a good array of stone beads, too. Carol Zeller - I hope you continue to succeed with the classes you're teaching. And, thanks for telling us about the guest instructors you had for your guild. I'm always glad to hear about good teachers. Bert Comstock Independence, MO {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Lurking and Reading Date: Sun, 03 May 1998 23:42:20 -0500 From: Kathy Derrick Reply-To: kderrick@kcnet.com To: David Collins Since so many weavers are coming forth and making themselves known, I have decided I could be brave, too. I have been making baskets for several years, but I was a 'one basket' weaver for a long time. I had no idea how to find out where to get reed and there were no shops that carried supplies anywhere near me that I knew of. I moved to the Kansas City, MO, area in 1992. I finally looked in the Yellow Pages and found a local source for reed and lessons! At the first lesson, I found out that there was a guild in the area. As I read this evening, BFO! I now live in Parkville, MO, and wonderful little town on the Missouri River. I belong to the Woven Circle Guild and have met some of the nicest people in the world (including Bert in Independence, Hi Bert!). I have learned a great deal from reading everyone's input into this site. I'm still going through the back issues gleaning all the good info. Thank you, David, for all of your effort! {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: patterns again Date: Sun, 03 May 1998 21:51:58 -1000 From: The Keener Clan To: davidc@iei.net Aloha, Thank goodness the rain stopped for the fair...however the 35 mph trades didn*t so I was chasing a few baskets down the aisles--the fair was great for a spring fair, but I*m appreciating the time off from craft fair weaving. Today, I cleaned the storage room (it*s off the MBR and I think it*s supposed to be the sitting area, but it*s the reed/handle/wooden base storage are now) and tomorrow I clean out the weaving room and haul a lot of the excess to the clean and shiny storage area...and then it*s time to clean the house which has been sorely neglected. Another word re: space dyed reed. Sometimes if I am dyeing reed-perhaps a pound of navy blue 1/4", I*ll take a pound of #3 round and dip a third of it in the dye and then store it until I*m dyeing something complimentary--then I*ll dip the next third and so on until it*s all dyed. That might take a few weeks, as it depends on how often I*m dyeing. Also, I might take that pound of #3 and dip 1/3 in the navy, leaving it there until the reed is a nice dark blue. Then I*ll dip another 1/3 of it for a shorter time and the last 1/3 for a still shorter time so I*ll have a nice pound with a variety of shades of blue. If you have Lyn Siler*s first book, she gives directions for space dyeing. Chris-re: the pattern I ordered from the webpage that said an 8" slotted base was needed--and when the pattern arrived, I discovered I needed a special 8" slotted base that could only be ordered from the patternwriter/webmistress....no, it wasn*t "overlooked". The pattern comes in 3 sizes--the small needing a 6" base, the medium needing an 8" base and the large needing an 11" base. Each pattern is individual and under each pattern it simply states "an 8" slotted base is needed" and so on. I also saw a pattern with a wooden insert and I asked, while ordering via e-mail, if I could find out the price of the insert since that wasn*t listed. I received no response via the net, but with my order came a catalog which didn*t list the price either. Now I realize that authoring a web site requires a lot of time and sometimes things can be overlooked, but I also think my time is just as important as her time--and it isn*t like I can drive over to a shop and look at something before I buy it--so if a supplier wants my business, they have to be fair and honest and responsive. I don*t think that*s asking too much, do you? My main supplier, Gratiot Lake, is awesome--they treat me like I*m a valued customer which I appreciate and in turn give their catalogs and/or address to my students. Isn*t that what business is about? I certainly wouldn*t suggest that everyone stop ordering patterns from the net--just be careful about it. That*s all. It was neat to see the responses re: pricing baskets and to see that nearly everyone who responded said about the same thing: it depends on the local market. I took 59 baskets to the fair yesterday and sold nearly 50 of them, leaving enough to put into consignment. I saw baskets priced lower than mine and I saw them priced higher (kind of funny as the higher priced ones were non-guild members) and I really wanted to ask the vendors why they priced them the way they did--but I*m not sure it was any of my business to do so...certainly didn*t want to start a scene at the fair. Oh, yes, the frustrating part of yesterday? A woman was selling these tiny little baskets that looked like L baskets (but they weren*t--sort of like a rip off) for high prices ($14-$30) and telling people she had made them. Someone had burned initials into the base of the basket and this vendor had written her name and a date below that...strange. But as a weaver, I could tell there was no way she*d made them. Imports are a killer at fairs. At least the woman I saw at another fair who said yes, she*d made the basket I*d picked up--and she*d left the "made in China" sticker on the bottom wasn*t at this one. So I*m ready to have a mini vacation (a birthday trip to Kauai will be the start of it)--just as soon as the house is clean. Aloha nui loa, Lois Honolulu {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 111 Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 07:16:26 -0400 From: "D.Brown" To: "David Collins" Hi, I've been reading WW for awhile now and have enjoyed the tips and "conversation" immensely. Thank you for the time and effort that must go into maintaining "Weavers Words". Now I have a question for anyone who may have made the Fishing Creel in the book "The Basket Book" by Lynn Siler. Great book, but I have a problem with the creel. When I got to the part where I am supposed to start just doing wicker weave (after the three-rod wale at the bottom) I am trying to go around the basket doing a continuous weave on an EVEN number of stakes. It doesn't work. I am at a loss as to where the pattern went wrong, or what step was left out, or as the case may be, where I went wrong. I have read it over from beginning to end and nowhere does it tell me to add a stake or split a stake. I have, at this point in my struggle, added ( a little late, I might add, as it messes up the spacing in the front) another stake in the front center through the 3-rod wale and have been able to make it look okay. It is for my son for his birthday and he will forgive any defects because he loves me! (Won't notice if I don't tell him!) But if anyone knows something about this or has had the same problem I would certainly like to hear about it. What did you do or where am I messing up in reading the pattern. Thanks so much for answers and my prayers go out to the weaver I read about whose husband had such a terrible time with the colonoscopy and surgery. God bless. Diane Brown {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: new email address Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 09:19:16 -0500 From: pphawkins@juno.com (Patricia P. Hawkins) To: davidc@iei.net David, would you please change my address for Weaver's Words? My email crashed last week so I've had to start over with a new address. Also, all of my basket friends on this list, please note my new address: pphawkins@juno.com. Thanks! Patti Hawkins {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 112 Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 16:05:01 EDT From: froggestow@juno.com (Roberta R Comstock) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 112 Lois - My basketmaking hasn't become a business (yet), but may be heading in that direction. I couldn't agree more with what you said about the work and your pricing philosophy. Ann - Thanks for the BFO definition. I've had those on occasion! It's nice to know what to call them. :=) Coleen (was Hickey - now Bourgeois) - Congratulations on your successful relationship & recent wedding. And Thanks for the 'Do It Now' reminder. Good luck with your moves and job hunting! Leslie - Be sure to tell us how your home party goes. Sharle Osborne - What a great 'windfall' you got on the cedar bark and roots! Winnie - Thanks for the good suggestions about using bushel handles. Dot - I'm not a birch bark expert, but don't overlook the things you and make from birch bark Without cutting it into strips and weaving it. The best birch bark pieces in my collection are an Alaskan basket made from a large square with the edges folded up and lashed to a willow rim (white part of bark on outside, including lichens) and a pair of Russian cylindrical containers with lids and stamped patterns pressed into the smooth brown surface (apparently the inner layer of bark). Chris Baker - Yes, your approach to pricing makes good sense. Lesley - Glad to hear your husband is getting better. Good luck with the chair seats. The last chair I did was back in my macramé days. Bert Comstock - heading out to trim some deadwood out of the blooming lilac hedge in Independence, MO {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: passing it along Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 17:47:08 EDT From: Flasue To: davidc@iei.net Subject: Fwd: Put it all in perspective... #1 A Story To Live By by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times) My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion." I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God. If you've received this it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care. If you're too busy to take the few minutes that it would take right now to forward this to ten people, would it be the first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships? I can tell you it certainly won't be the last. I don't have to make up silly stories about people being hit by buses or crushed by falling disco balls for not sending this letter on. You've seen the result of this neglect in your own relationships that you have allowed to fade, dissolve, and fall into disrepair. Take this opportunity to set a new trend. Take a few minutes to send this to a few people you care about, just to let them know that you're thinking of them. It's even better if they're not the people you already correspond with every week. The more people that you send this to, the better luck you will have. And the better you'll get and reaching out to those you care about. Here's the deal: Forward this letter to at least 10 different people; within 1 hour of receiving it. Do it, and reap what you sow: luck in love, people who care for you, and that warm glowy feeling that comes from loving others. Don't do it, and suffer the consequences of being alone, wrapped up in your own affairs, and being too busy to do the things you actually care about May love litter your life with blessings! {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: hello Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 20:04:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Jenkins To: David Collins Hi David, I'm new here, and I really like your site. It's pretty obvious you devote a lot of time and energy to it, you must be unbelievably in love with baskets. Thanks for the great work, and continued success. I've been making vine inspired baskets for 10 years or so, and have been looking around since I got this computer for pictures of others' baskets. Comparison and inspiration, you know? I use aged, gnarled honeysuckle vines as the structures for my baskets, and then use reed and various wild ingredients in the weaving. I'm going to try to attach a picture to this, but I'm not sure if it'll work. Good luck to me. The other thing is: how do I get into back issues of WW? That's been confusing and confounding me. Anyway, nice site, I'll be back often. Regards, Brian {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Question about selling Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 10:47:56 EDT From: Jvoconnor1 To: davidc@iei.net Hello weavers! The strangest thing happened to me twice this weekend. I was in Long Grove (a quaint little shop-type area in IL) and two different shopkeepers asked me to bring by some of my baskets for them to look at! So, I have a question for you. If I want to make a basket that I want to sell and it was made from a pattern that I purchased, can I call it what it was originally called? For example, if it is called "Old Glory", can I also call it "Old Glory" and sell it under that name? Feel free to send me your stories either privately or on Weaver's Words about the pros and cons of selling in small shops. This town of Long Grove gets quite a few shoppers, so it is very tempting! Thanks, Sandi Howard in Mundelein, IL (P.S. to those weavers down by DeKalb, no we still have not sold our house :( {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 10:42:18, -0500 From: BDKE97B@prodigy.com (MRS BILLIE A DORRIS) To: davidc@iei.net Dot, there are not any basket shops in this area that I know of. Blue Skies Gallery in Hampton does carry the baskets of some of our guild members. There is also a shop On the Hill(?) in Wmsbg. or near vacinity but don't know any more about it but some are in there too and it is supposed to be very nice. Also don't know about crafts in Fredricksburg but they have some wonderful antique shops where I got many of my old baskets when I lived in Northern Va. and the prices were quite reasonable for most of the ones I saw. Occasionally I would see one that was way out of line. The shops line the main street of town (I think it is called Princess Caroline) and you can walk the entire distance with no problem Haven't been there about three years so don't know what has changed. Chris, the idea of raising prices instead of lowering them is a strange one but it is one that lots of salesmen, artist recommend. The idea is that if you want the public to think your work is something special to you then you price it accordingly ie if you don't value your own work why should they. I feel them same way you do. If I can't sell it at what I think is a reasonable price for what is involved then I will just keep it. I would rather give it away to someone who appreciates it than to sell it to someone who doesn't Must run as have to meet my daughter at the mall shortly. Billie in for the moment sunny Va. Beach but soon to be thunderstorms again. We had fierce ones last night and one of the granddogs is terrified of them so I didn't get much sleep as she sat next to me most of the night trembling. Oh well I will survive. {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 112 Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 12:57:04 -0400 From: olneyjw@juno.com (Judith W Olney) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 I guess I should expand on Billie's cryptic reference to me and the rinko base: back in Sept. I taught it in NJ where one of my students was a fiber artist, NOT a basketmaker. She was taking the class just to see what she could do with the technique, so wove a base, wove a little on the sides to see where the weaver went, took it apart and started over several times. She just asked occasionally how I would do the new thing she was trying. Somewhere in there she called me over and told me the way she had just ended the base. Instead of doing it the way I taught it (which was the way I learned and which required a shift in thinking) she had just put the ending stakes under the beginning stakes and added the long ends of the beginning stakes to the base spiral in exactly the same way as all the other stakes were added. Talk about a BFO! No shift in thinking! This was SO much easier to understand! I explained it to the class on the spot and have added Leah's method to the pattern. Wish I'd thought of this myself. Also wish it would warm up a little here and quit raining...oh well.... XXOO JOlney Rowley, MA {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Re: "Weavers Words" V. 1 I. 111 Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 13:35:27 -0400 From: olneyjw@juno.com (Judith W Olney) To: davidc@iei.net References: 1 I forgot to say a couple of things: First: beware when you make handle material thinner in the notch area. There is potential for weakening the handle (and the notch is generally the weakest part of a handle anyway). I will agree that some handles are pretty thick at the notch and could stand a *little* thinning, but wonder if it's worth it to sacrifice sturdiness for appearance. Now that cable ties have become a basketmaking staple, if you really soak your rims well, it is possible to crank down on them enough to make the rim actually bend in between bushel basket handle ends (and vise grip pliers can help here, too--but pad the grip part). The bending in is not very noticeable when the rim's been lashed, and the gap is smaller. On the subject of pricing/making what you want to make, etc.: There came a day when I just could not make a basket just because I knew it would sell...so I started making baskets I wanted to make. Guess what?!?!? Even though they were more expensive by far, they sold! In fact, I found myself making fewer baskets, but more $$$ in the end. Whenever I wonder about the wisdom of making baskets that I know will be expensive, I think back to Butch Bramhall's statement "We never sold expensive baskets until we made them." (I think I have said that here before, but it bears repeating.) The point is: don't stifle your creativity just to make something you know will sell. The result of your creativity may just sell better! And it's so nice when a customer says, "I've never seen a basket like this before." or "I love your work...it's so unique." I may have said this before, too, but the price on my basket is directly related to what it would take to make me do it again. XXOO JOlney Rowley, MA {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Drawknives! Date: Tue, 05 May 1998 23:11:17 +0000 From: webfoot1@together.net To: "davidc@iei.net" Hi David and all you Weavers! I just came back from the World Decoy Carving Championship in Ocean City, Md. Found a new knifemaker that makes a superb drawknife! He has a 3" and a 5" drawknife at present. I bought a 5" drawknife and it surpasses everything I have! If anyone wants his address, please email me and I will gladly send it to you. The price is $45 plus shipping. Jack Rothmann email: webfoot1@together.net {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} Subject: Barbara Morton - Mortons Baskets Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 06:51:24 -0400 From: Linda Kotarba To: Weavers Words There is a lovely article in the Kansas City Star today (6 May, 1998) about Barbara Morton - Mortons Baskets. You can read the article online http://www.kcstar.com/fyi/food/food.htm Take care, Linda Farmington Hills, MI {*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*}{*}-{*} If for any you would ever like to cancel your subscription, simply send me a message with "unsubscribe" as your subject.