I love African baskets. I discovered them years ago at a craft show in which I was one of the vendors. Two booths down from mine was a man from Ghana selling hand woven baskets and I went home with two or three. Since then, I see them more often. I don't know if they have become more popular or if they are just on my personal radar, but they are beautiful and perfect for us yarn lovers.
In my home I have a studio which is a pet free zone, but when I dare to venture out into the rest of the house, I have two cats with whom to contend. They would like nothing better than to find an unattended basket and it would take them seconds to shred the yarn therein. As a result, every time I need to put a project down for a few minutes, I have to find a high perch or some place that is cat safe. One day last week I was thinking how nice it would be if one of my African baskets had a lid. That way I could easily take my projects anywhere and tuck them safely inside the basket when I needed to take a break.
Last night I set to work crocheting my new basket cover. The crocheting took no time at all and then I devised a way to attach my cover. I was pretty happy when I came up with my button and elastic joins. There are six spaced evenly around the basket and it's easy to open a couple and fold back the cover to gain access inside. When the cover is on, it can be used as a mini basket to hold other items you may need at hand. The cover can also billow up to stuff the basket full if so desired.
I know I haven't given all the details, but I'm thinking of writing it up as a pattern. It would be easy to adjust for any round basket and it's a fun little project. Before I sign off for today, I just wanted to share a great online store for purchasing African baskets. Their shipping is fast and the baskets come in great condition. It's called Baskets of Africa and they have a gorgeous selection of styles available. Wouldn't a basket stuffed with yarn and topped with a crocheted cover be a great gift idea? Hmm... maybe next Christmas.
Happy Festivus! A friend just wished me that in an email. My son had to remind me it was from Seinfeld. Poor George! I hope your holiday is going better than his did that year!
This is a busy time, but somehow I have a sense of calm this year. Have I finally grown up? Have I achieved a true state of mellow? I can only hope that it's not a one time anomaly. In the midst of the usual holiday milieu, I have been working on my latest creation and I'm about one free afternoon away from having the pattern complete.
I call this scarf Talkin' Revolution as a mixed homage to the time period that inspired me and the general annular nature of this 30" circular scarf. I was really playing off those swirly 70's textile designs and the whole modular thing. I began with the outer layer using hexagons as my building block and then yoked them together with curvy lines. I went with a classic chevron for the back layer, but it has an updated feel made from this gorgeous hand painted yarn by Manos Del Uruguay. The two layers are joined with a short latch hook style fringe which also takes me back to my youth.
In this photo, the sunshine and natural rock really bring out the earth tones and you can see the pink has a touch of flamingo. This is actually a challenging piece to photograph. I'm hoping I can find a model so you can see it on a human. After all, that's who I made it for!
So that's what I've been up to and I admit I'm a little nervous about this one. Just because you get an idea in your head, doesn't mean it will appeal. Sometimes I sit back and look at my designs and think how quirky they are, but they also just make me happy.
In just a couple short hours, it will be Cyber Monday! This has become my favorite day to shop, but I can't forget that I also am a shop. Please enjoy 15% off your purchase at Wind Rose Fiber Studio using coupon code CYBERFIBER3. There's no minimum purchase required and you'll also receive an email with a coupon for 10% off your next purchase. Thank you so much for shopping at Wind Rose and have the happiest of holidays!
