Thursday 24 August 2017

Holiday Project Completed

I wasn't too sure what final shape I wanted this to take... shall I go higher and make a handle for it?  In the end I decided to keep it as a shallower basket as I hoped we'd get more use out of it like that.


I enjoyed making it.  And I wouldn't mind making another - perhaps taller and with a handle next time.  I don't think it will be for this holiday though, sadly...

We weren't able to find any more of the same sisal twine we had been using but I found some linen string which worked well although it was quite rough!  Next time I wouldn't mind something a bit smoother.  You can see in the last photo where the bottom of the basket is a lighter colour than the sides where I changed from sisal to linen.



My son is still working on his.  He understandably got side-tracked by other holiday occupations.




Did you notice the edge?  I just couldn't help myself!  A little bit of tatting had to be involved.  I made a video of working the edging which I will upload when I'm back home.  Happy Holidays!

Best wishes,
Frivole

Monday 21 August 2017

Holiday Project

My son and I had been wanting to try basket weaving for ages.  Summer holidays is the perfect time to give this a try, isn't it?  We looked things up and then searched around to see what materials we could use.

We found some sedge and I used this in the first attempt.  It was not very easy to work with, many of the blades breaking as I wove but I managed a tiny basket.  It's starting to dry now and turning straw colour.  I will show you another photo when it's all dry.  I don't know how well it'll hold... perhaps it will all fall apart when dry but we'll see.



Some of our first tries in progress...


For the second attempt, we decided to try using sisal which wouldn't break like the sedge blades and dried grass for the coil.  That was much better.  My son carved us some fantastic needles from a piece of oak to push the sisal between the coils - sooooo much easier!  



I also decided to incorporate a few sprigs of lavender into my basket so that it would smell nice too.  I don't know if you can see the pale purple flowers in the photo below.



By afternoon, we were making good progress on our respective projects.  I'm planning a bigger basket so was still working on the flat part of my base, whereas my son is making a smaller, taller one so had started going up the sides already.



And this is where we were at by the end of the evening.  We have now run out of sisal so need to go on the search for some more today before we can carry on.



I love "gifts of nature" like that...  Just as we enjoyed picking blackberries and elderberries from the hedgerows a couple of days ago which we made into a crumble.  Delicious!  

I hope you are all enjoying a lovely August.  

Best wishes,
Frivole

Saturday 12 August 2017

Here Be Dragons!

Still working on the green doily but got side-tracked by another pair of socks.  I should have had a change of colour but I had a skein of Cascade Heritage sock yarn that was waiting in my basket... so green it is again!  These are "Here Be Dragons" by Rachel Gent.


I'm just a few rows away from the ribbing on these and then I'll be done.  The interesting stitch appealed to me... as well as the name!  They look great in purple on the original.  

Not worth showing any progress on the green doily as it's just a bit more of the same from the previous post.  Still have a long way to go before I complete that last row!

Best wishes,
Frivole

Thursday 3 August 2017

Last Round!

How exciting!  Yes, I'm on the last round!  I must admit I didn't think I'd get to the end of this big project so quickly.  I've not shown the whole thing for the last few posts as I'm saving it for the big reveal when it's all completed.



Best wishes,
Frivole