Simple Round Basket

I weaved my first basket ever, following the instructions in Susie Vaughan's book Handmade Baskets From Nature's Colourful Materials.  The actual weaving took me 2 days but it took several weeks of preparation. Reading the book raised my enthusiasm as she advocates using the raw natural range of textures and colors from hedgerows and wild growths. Harversting increased my awareness of the nature of all that grows in my surroundings. I am grateful to each cutting of willow the river bank offered me. The shrubs around the house were happy to contribute their prunings to my artistic creation, and I was happy not dumping them in the garbage. I  let my assortment of branches and suckers partially dry out for 2 or 3 weeks. Assembled my courage and a few essential tools. Selected an appropriate space in the house that would not mind getting wet and dirty. Reread the instructions till I was confident I understood every step. Sorted out my rods, picked the ones that would be appropriate for each function and bundled them in sets ready to soak in the bathtub once I cried GO. For once the material has soaked in warm water until flexible enough, the weaving has to come to completion before it all dries out again, or before it goes slimy from being kept moist in a towel for too long. I am proud of the lovely rustic basket that took shape between my dancing fingers!

Yule Logs

Yesterday, I attended a workshop led by Jerri Davis at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden and created 2 Yule logs.

The Yule log tradition has roots within the festivities of the winter solstice. This old European tradition of decorating a log to be lit in the hearth to bring good fortune in the year ahead dates back centuries.

The decorative and fragrant Yule log is a combination of pieces of dried fire wood or drift wood, sprigs of green from spruce, pine and/or juniper, pine cones, dried flowers, spices and fruits, moss or lichen covered alder or aspen and anything else you can find in your garden, pantry, the neighborhood or on a nature walk, that will add color, texture, scents and interest to the log. The pieces are held together with non toxic craft glue, love and gratitude.

The two unique Yule logs I made will soon be honored by our friends and relatives for a traditional ceremony as they sparkle in the fireplace. (Yes we will burn them even if they look too nice to be burnt!)

Thanks to Jerri Davis for her inspiration. Now a landscape designer, Jerri has been using her Yule log ceremony for the last 20 years, reading her poem to family and friends at the holiday gathering just before the Yule log is set on fire: 

The Yule Log Ceremony was practiced in the Colonies as it had been for the previous centuries in the world. Each member of the family and guests would touch the giant log with a sprig of green which symbolized the past year's woes and then toss it on the fire with the Yule Log. All past troubles would thus be banished, and the house would be protected for the coming year from ghosties and gasties and things that go boomp in the night.