Many Starts

Gosh, I just pulled out all of the baskets I've started on... can't believe that there are actually 7 of them... six in this picture and of course the red and yellow bowl below.
As soon as I finish the disk, I will work on the red and yellow bowl. It's a gift for one of my youngest daughter. She's been patiently waiting for it. :-)
The red and white basket is also a request, I need to get that one done as soon as possible, too.
I guess I better get off my tush and get busy. LOL

Coiled Disk

Yes, here is another new one. But I'm actually almost finished with it. I have some decorative tiles on my wall and felt something was missing. So here is what I've thought of. I will be making a couple more of these disks, just different sizes and add them to the tiles on the wall. The colors in the disk are the colors of the tiles, thought that would pull it together real nicely. We'll see.

Finally Finished

It took me forever to finish this vase. I got so sick and tired of it and bored with the colors. If I had stuck with it I would definitely have finished a long, long time ago... but instead I started several others. I tend to do that when an idea pops into my head, I go to the store and buy the yarn to try my new idea...
I have several baskets that are still at the beginning stage.
But here is the one I finally finished. My middle daughter requested this color combination, fits very well with her pale green walls. The actual colors are a chocolate brown with a pale green. The pics don't really show the true color, which is pretty.

Not A Good Outcome

I tried using a different yarn to make, what I thought might be, an elegant, slender vase. But I was really disappointed with the results. Never dawned on me that it wouldn't look anything like the skein of yarn, plus I didn't look close enough to realize that this isn't variegated yarn, this is two strings combined as one, which made it actually harder to pull through the rows and really distorted the look. I learned if I want variegated yarn it must be just one string not two or more.

Well, I've made a little progress. Here is an, as yet, unfinished basket; I'm trying my luck with a bit more of a design than my previous works. Started out with red and white but then changed my mind and instead of the white decided to use bright yellow. But I was just too lazy to undo everything, so I just left the white.


While I was working on the brown and green vase the thought hit me on how to make an oval or rectangle basket. And of course I stopped everything and immediately tried to create what was in my mind. The first attempt was ok, but after a few rounds I realized this wasn't going to be rectangular enough for me.


So of course I took it apart and started all over again. This looks much more like what I had in my mind.
Yes, it's the same yarn, just different light and different camera.


Note how the inner core is just folded in half instead of being curled into a circle. The folding in half depends on how big a basket you wish to make.
One of the problems I have noticed with this yarn... it is a lot thicker than the other colored yarn I've been using. This actually makes it a bit harder to work with; first of all you will need a slightly bigger tapestry needle with a bigger eye. The bigger needle makes it more difficult to insert between the rows, but it's not impossible. But the one thing I don't care for is the fact that it makes for a less smooth work. But I'm going to finish this basket using the thicker yarn.

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Here is another picture of the brown/green vase. I'm progressing inch by inch...LOL. Of course if I would only stop trying out new things on a different basket. But I've learned to pay attention to my ideas and act on them before I forget them.

BASKETS, BASKETS?

I'm starting this blog because I have not been able to find what I need on the Internet regarding coiled baskets made with yarn. Yes, there are quite a few sites online that show yarn coiled baskets, but only a couple of them have decent looking baskets. And ONLY ONE of them has fancy designs on their baskets. At least that was all I could find, and I have been looking for months now.
I did take the starting instructions of one crafter on this site: http://www.thecraftytipster.com/woven-basket.html#comment-66, and she also gave me some insights and suggestions for the color changes. And I am grateful to her, I have taken her suggestions and modified them to my needs, and gone on from there. I am still in the learning stages, and since I'm pretty much on my own the progress will probably be slow. My postings will, at this time, be slow, too because I am busy making a living. I wish I could make my living with my crafting and my sculpting.

I'll be posting as I'm learning.
But here are some of the things I've started... a few are finished and some are a work in progress.

I do welcome any positive feedback and suggestions. Note: I said "positive"... I know what I've done wrong so far I don't need anybody else to tell me that. I'd like to find out how to improve my art. And it is art, so it is very subjective.








My very first attempt.

Note how the colors bleed into the previous row when changing colors. This is something I have worked on really hard to try to avoid. I personally do not like that at all.



Second Basket unfinished. Here I'm adding finishing edge. But note that as soon as I wanted to add more contrasting color it showed up in the previous row. In this case I felt it was just fine.



Third Basket/Vase is also finished, but still not quite what I like. The neck should have been a bit thinner... but, what can I say... live and learn. :-) My youngest daughter has it sitting on her entertainment center. It looks a bit lost there, so I think I'll make her a larger one.




I tried my luck with a different design for my fourth vase. The colors were requested by another daughter of mine and it will be pretty large/tall.