Last week I showed you two baskets I made recently, one from a pattern by Sharon Klussman and another by Carol Tunnicliffe.
At the moment, these two pattern authors are my top two favorites!
I purchased several patterns from each of them quite some time ago, and am finally getting around to actually weaving them!
I think for a while I was stuck in a weaving rut, which led to boredom and lack of enthusiasm for basketry in general....but after weaving a few of my new baskets, I think I'm cured!
These baskets are fun and challenging and stunning, all at the same time, so it's hard not to fall in love with weaving all over again once you try these patterns and look at what you've just made!
Here is another basket I made from a Carol Tunnicliffe pattern called "Optical Illusion"
The pattern is written for all weaving levels, and uses a 5" round slotted wooden base. The tan you see is actually a 1/2" ash overlay that is done after the basket is completely woven. This was the most challenging part of the basket, but if you're careful to keep the ash damp as you go and remember to pull on it slowly and gently, it will be nice to you!
The next pattern, also by Carol Tunnicliffe, is called "Triple Reversals".
This is a pretty large basket, and is woven on a 6" slotted square base using #4 round reed spokes. This pattern is rated for intermediate weavers with round reed experience.
While I wouldn't call it "complicated", it was definitely challenging because it involved weaving in reverse, or rather, right to left, (as a left-handed weaver would) every few rows.
Talk about awkward! Needless to say, this felt cumbersome and slowed me down quite a bit!
On top of that, it involves doing a three-rod-wale with three PAIRS of round reed weavers, so you have to constantly try to keep them from twisting around each other while trying to shape the basket.....that's a lot to think about at the same time! (Ok, at least for me, it is!)
Her pattern called for a swing handle, but I opted not to add one. It's probably a good thing, too, since the diameter of the top of my basket came out too wide to accommodate the handle size called for in the pattern!
The rim treatment is beautiful, and not hard to do at all! The basket incorporates a ti-twined rim followed by a basic rolled border. I love it!
Ah, and it was SO worth the effort!
