Multi-Tasking... Washing and Basket Coiling...

I am washing clothes and basket making at the same time, today...

No.  I'm not washing clothes with one hand and coiling with the other...

The problem with workroom cleaning is, I find things to do other than clean...

My coiled basket box has a lot of starts...  Once in a while a finished or two... Not often on the finished ones. It takes a while to finish one.  Actually, it takes as long to finish one of these as it does a big one.  They both take an equal number of wraps of the thread and sometimes the little ones take more! 

I just started this one so that you could see what is going on.  I start by gluing the end of the thread(two strands of embroidery thread) and wire inside the rim of the basket...Then I wrap four times between each hole and then take the thread through the hole on the gourd on the first row.  The on all of the other rows, the thread is taken around the row below, just like a big coiled basket.

I dug through the rest of the basket.  I have just a few to finish... OK.  I have a lot to finish.

In that first photo, the first two baskets are normal coiled baskets and they take longer just because you start at the center of the bottom and coil and cover the wire as you go... You have to build the bottom of the basket before you can go on and do the rest.

By my count, I have four of that kind, but the bottoms have already been done.  then I have a couple of the gourd baskets started.  The nice thing about those is you can usually get three baskets out of each one.  In the first photo, in the middle, There is one with the bottom cut off As you can see, I will cut the neck of the gourd.  Then I will cover the hole with leather and trim it.  That's one... You can see that on the next gourd to the right.  The bottom and the top(neck) do not need the leather.

Anyway.  You have to drill a lot of holes to get the coiling attached to the gourd.  I hope that if you try this, you have a Dremel tool.  If not, it takes a lot longer with a pin drill.

I am going to finish a couple of these today... Maybe more.  Who knows?  Maybe I will stick with it for a while.  I'll show you what I have done tomorrow.

See you then.