Lovely, well done, baskets! You may not have the patience to photograph but you did a fine job. Congratulations!

jude

Party, your baskets are amazing. Congratulations on your wins. And there is nothing wrong with your photos. You did a wonderful job.

Ann

I didn't know that was possible by hand!!! Well, I know basket weaving goes back thousands of years but I had no idea that such talent still existed. Just beautiful! The cat is pretty too.

What material do you use?

Oh my goodness, they are lovely. You are very talented to be ab;e to do that. Love them.

Those are lovely and I can only imagine the time it takes to make one. I really expected the cat to be sitting in the basket on that second picture, though, LOL.

Congratulations on your success at the Fair, you deserved it with those baskets.

Annie

Congratulations on your well-deserved ribbons! You are extremely talented and patient! Find a friend with a light booth, a macro lens and you'll be set! Although I must say that you're doing quite well on your own!

Congrats on your Wins

Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments! The baskets are actually at the fairgrounds to go on display when it opens on Thursday.... the photos were taken by me shortly after I finished weaving them, only because I knew I intended to enter them in the Fair. If I don't take the photo then, I usually forget until they're tagged and packaged for shipping. lol! I'm sure I didn't mean to get just 1/2 of a cat in that photo -- but all 4 cats do love to spend their time in the baskets I make for them! :O)

Mustangs, I've read that there are approximately 10,000 basket weavers in the US. I have no idea where the number comes from! it's not like weavers have to get a license and be registered to be counted or anything. lol!

I'm sorry, I should have provided more info on the materials used. The first basket is woven from reed... natural, dyed, and smoked. It is commonly referred to as wicker, and comes from the interior part of the rattan vine. The inner-bark of rattan is what's called cane and is used to weave cane chairs.

The miniature basket is handwoven from 4-ply Irish waxed linen. It is thicker than ordinary sewing thread, but much thinner than embroidery thread. Yes, it really strains my eyes and therefore I can only work about an hour at a time on these before needing a break. These miniatures typically take me more than a month to make.

I should find out tomorrow how I did on my other basket entry. I'll let you know! :)

Well.... this afternoon I received a couple phonecalls from a NYS Fair official. Long story made short: there were a couple of snafus with my entries. My other basketry entry took 2nd place. Another woven entry meant for Fiber Tech. was never put before the judges, so they tried to "fix" the situation by entering it in the Jewelry competition. I took Honorable Mention. LOL! I have been told that I can re-enter that item in next year's Fiber Tech. competition. :p

just lovely !! I forgot how much work goes into making those.

Those baskets are beautiful. In one of my crafty moments a million years ago I played at weaving a couple of baskets. Love that little one...I would never have the patience.

Having just spent a day judging preserved foods at our podunk county fair, it's a weird kind of comforting that a big fair also has snafus.

Thank you so much for posting pictures of your baskets. I remember your state fair entries from last year. They are simply beautiful. I admire your talent. May I ask, how long has it taken you to develop such skill? And about how long did it take to make these entries? Bummer about the fair's goof-up.

/tricia

Thanks, everyone. Katiec, I'm upset that their "fix" for this snafu was to change the entry competition for the piece -- which they swear they will NEVER do! They didn't have the spine to ask me if I wanted the switch once the original error was made, and then they didn't tell me about what happened once it was done by them. Once I learned about it, I requested that they NOT display my piece this year so that I could re-enter it in the proper competition again next year. They refused (saying it was too difficult to remove the piece from display!).... and that means a competition piece I worked on for more than 6 months was completely wasted. I don't think I will bother to enter anything at all next year.

Tricia, it's not about how long as much as it is how many. I think I read once where you're considered a beginner until you've woven at least 300 baskets.