Sooner or later, Zar and Tessie are going to have to give back the sofa so that I can finish it. Tessie zapped it onto the balcony of the townhouse. She and Zar have settled in to watch TV, watch me work and drink bug beer. Luckily, I have lots of other stuff to work on. All of yesterday evening, I knitted and watched "24" on Netflix. The first Flat Foot sock is coming along nicely. Very Christmas-y
It's just a good thing that the two of them like "24" too. It keeps them out of my hair and my knitting.
I am liking this yarn a lot. Since I can't get to the sofa, I decided to try out some Tennessee Spinner Gourds that my friend Jo sent me to try for basket making.
We tend to get each other into trouble. She is a basket maker in real size and a talented miniaturist besides. Years ago, I talked her into trying to make mini coiled baskets. We have both progressed a lot since then.
Earlier this year, she found these mini gourds at a basket making show and grabbed a bunch. She was nice enough to send me some. I am just now getting started. Trying them out is a nice break from the Christmas rush.
There is a lot of work that goes into making a basket out of them.
They have to be cleaned, drilled with lots of holes, sawed apart and the edges sanded.
I got three baskets out of one gourd. The tiny one that is hanging off of Tessie's hand is the neck of the gourd. The one that she is working on is the bottom.The shell, sitting on the floor next to her feet, is the top portion with the neck cut off. I will have to put a bottom in that one. It is hard to see, but it tapers nicely on the bottom.
Next they have to be stained or waxed or both. Then the fun begins. The top, like the one in Tessie's lap is coiled just like a regular basket. I used ColorWorx hand dyed embroidery floss.
Just like my regular coiled baskets, it is two strands of floss over #32 cloth covered wire.
Here in the southwest, there are lots of people that make large versions of these. Some of the Native Americans even paint the gourds like fine pieces of pottery before completing the basket part.
Anyway, a belated thanks to Jo for getting me into more trouble. That's 1 and 1/2 baskets down and more to go.
The sock score is two pair finished, and I think four pair that are at least one sock finished...We won't talk about the ones that are started and the first sock is not yet finished....
Back to knitting, basket weaving, trying to get two obstinate people off of the sofa and watching "24". Not necessarily all at the same time...
See you tomorrow.
14 comments:
Have a nice afternoon, Tessie. Those gourd baskets are so fascinating. I never knew that baskets could be made out of gourds. Happy knitting also! I love that yarn, very colourful! I will soon start experimenting some more with my knitting. All my supplies are in from England. I have some cute kits to do.
Wow, gourds just might be the most versatile veggie ever grown! Awesome idea to turn them into baskets! Hm..I'd remind those two lazybones on your sofa that it's getting awful close to Christmas. Perhaps they'd better be off to writing their Christmas lists so they can email them to Santa? Or would that backfire on you, and just give you more to do?
Lucille, good luck with the knitting!
Merri, I am being very quiet. They can sit there as long as they like. More time for me to do other things.
Love that sock yarn. Very festive and it looks really soft too...
Those little gourds are so cute! I've never seen any so small. My neighbor in Florida made birdhouses out of gourds. Wish I had kept one.
Enjoy your evening. Some day I will learn to knit. It sounds so relaxing...
Casey, how did you cut your gourd?
I have one spinner that I want to make a backyard fire pot out of so I don't want to use the wrong tool and ruin it.
Your baskets are beautiful!
Kathi, you should learn to knit if you want to relax....I sometimes fall asleep with the needles in my hands. Walter makes fun of me knitting in my sleep...
Kimberly, since I was just doing straight cuts across the gourd, I used a razor saw from my miter box. If I were trying to cut fancy shapes, I would try what Jo does. She uses a Dremel Moto tool to cut hers.
Now those are just awesomeness!!!!! What a neat thing to make! The socks are also coming along so nicely. The yarn is really cool, the way it comes. =)
just so you know casey i love your blog. you are the best writer ever!
Do you know where 'gourds' grow?
Hi Casey, your work is so delicate and fine, it's incredible. I love the tiny hole detail. Hope you get the socks finished before the snow comes...
JJ, the gourds grow pretty well most places. I am hoping to try the seeds from these and see if they will grow here. I have grown regular sized gourds before and gotten some pretty good ones. There is even a desert gourd that sometimes grows in this area, so I should be ok...Wish me luck.
You can also buy them on Ebay, I think. I imagine that you would have to take your chances on getting the smallest ones though. Just look for Tennessee Spinner Gourds.
Whoa, so much in one day!! We faithfully watched EVERY episode of 24 as they happened, so sad when it finally ended, what will we do without Jack to save the day?? Cool gourds! I will have to try growing some, everything grows for my hubby. Huggs to Zar and Tessie, maybe they'll get drunk on bug beer and fall of the couch so you can finish it!
I love those baskets!
THANKS!
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