Friday 25 March 2016

The sound of branches twisting - easter bush baskets

Bush baskets for Easter for the children to make

Gather your materials, from your garden including long strappy plants, thin bendy branches. Good ones are:
Couch and kikuyu grass
grasses
Vines (grape, pumpkin)
Casuarina branches
Peppermint branches


          You will also need a blunt needle to stitch (plastic ones are good).

         Thread to stitch the basket. This thread could be wool, cotton, fabric strips, raffia, strips of strappy grasses (if plyable enough).


Tread a needle with a length of thread (no longer than you elbow).



Select plant material and coil into a tight ring at one end. Stitch randomly with your needle down and up to hold the coil together.

Bend the branch/grass around the edge of the coil and stitch using an overhand stitch so that the stitch enters the already stitched coil below and holds the new coil above it.




Continue stitching , turning and adding material until your basket is the size you want. If you run our of thread. Pull the needle out. Add the thread attached to you basket to the coil you are stitching. 



Thread you needed with new thread and continue stitching from where you left off. This technique will sew the tread ends into your basket making it secure.

You are done when your basket is the size you want. A handle can also be added.





The sound of even more unicorns galloping

Well even more unicorns at Shipwrights cottage
this one is made from an Indonesian sarong
 with hand spun and naturally dyed wool mane and tail
another birthday present for a unicorn mad little girl




The next one is a special order - an alicorn no less 
in the planing stages for this one 

Wednesday 10 February 2016

The sound of boro


India Flint recent posted a comment about the meaning of boro and selling items made to look like boro. 

This is my favourite pair of jeans
Before India I would have cut them up to make kids toys
After India I now happily stitch and look forward to more holes
I recently had to restitch the bottom part as the stitching wore out
Obviously wearing them too much 


Saturday 9 January 2016

The sound of sea shells

Collected some lovely Nerita lineata shells 
Strung them up using hemp string
Next time I'll make my own string too 
Oiled them to get the shine going
They are another present 


Thursday 31 December 2015

The sound of gardening - African keyhole garden bed


In winter 2015 a Permablitz was held at my place 
friends came and helped build
me an African keyhole garden
Here is how we built it ...

This is the space it was built






In full winter production