A serious change of heart!

I was asked to make one of my moses baskets large enough to accommodate a 2" baby - equivalent to a 3-6 month old babe in 1:12th scale.  I had grave reservations about how this basket would turn out - it needed to be 7cm long and 4.5cm wide to fit a baby comfortably and allow room for bedding and bears etc.  That is a large basket!  So I set to it with little enthusiasm.

I have changed my mind!  I think it turned out quite nicely and now find the need to make one for myself especially for this baby!

(3 guesses on who made the teddy bear!!)

I don't know when THAT's going to happen - perhaps I'll start one straight away........hmmmm.

My weekend at Play

I spent time having some fun with these baskets!  Sometimes it's just nice to try different techniques after concentrating on making the more "traditional" style baskets.  Hope you enjoy!

Cane overlay 

Inside view

Diamond weave

A three-some!

Large platter with cane overlay

Ezio’z Place – an introduction:

This is my current project – the Venice Canal House – a Rik Pierce workshop held in Wellington, New Zealand, in February this year.  It came home in a wooden crate and there it sat until about the middle of June when I was once again able to work on it.  I recently finished the last of the external claying and painting and internal floors and walls.

Ezio lives here!  He is a moderately impoverished painter who lives in Venice.

So far I've made an easel for him - most important - if he can't work, he can't eat!  Here it is in it's pristine state:

This is Ezio's studio!

Ezio's Living Quarter

His Rooftop patio

I still have lots of plants to make for both the window boxes (yet to be installed) and for his rooftop patio.

Water still has to be poured – lights to be made and fitted – and all the furnishings to be made as well - so a long way to go to completion.  But I'm having fun!

A big thank you to you all!

I just wanted to say "Hello" to all of you who have recently joined my blog!  A warm welcome to you and I hope you enjoy my ramblings - I am really a true basketcase!!

Cliche ?

Jessica e-mailed me this little something this morning and I thought it was so clever!
What goes around comes around.I made up that phrase this morning.Do you like it? Would you like to use it?Be my guest. Help yourself.You can have your cake and eat it too.You get the best of both worlds,six of one and half a dozen of the other.But don't bite off more than you can chew.I've been smoke-free now for three yearsand there's no such thing as a free lunch.But say you get your ducks in a row(your sitting ducks, your lame ducks,your lucky ducks, your dead ducks),then, at the last moment of consciousness,when your whole life flashes before you,these words will go from your mouth to God's earand he (whatever you conceive him to be)will nod once, with mild eyes,and say, “Been there. Done that.”

Back to miniatures!!

T

Tuesday and Wednesday morning of this week was spent at my dear friend's house - Helen Beale - a real life basketry artisan.  She asked if I would be interested in observing the rebirth of an old chair that had been rescued from the tip and of course, curiosity got the better of me.

"Observing" meant helping pull the  l-o-n-g lengths of cane through the weave so they didn't twist.  We had a fun time.   Every time I visit Helen I learn something new - and this time was no different.  How to get a neat finish top and bottom on a piece of flat weave - for joy- for joy!! 

This is one chair I would definitely like to try in miniature.  Isn't it beautiful?  Who would throw something like this out?!  Admittedly the old cane looked like....well, terrible, anyway....but in no time at all it is going to look fabulous!

This courtyard was inspired by a basilica my daughter and I visited in Rome last year.  It is made using gatorboard and paperclay.  As you may guess, I'm a paperclay addict!

My current project is the Venice Canal House by Rik Pierce - I did his workshop in Wellington, New Zealand in February this year - but have only just got back to working on it.  I was interrupted by the need to make baskets for my sales table at the Kensington Dollhouse Festival.  No matter, all in a good cause!!
It is nearly finished now though - and I will post about that some more soon.

The Basket Weaver's Shed (above) was started 2 years ago - not my original plans - but I had a great time getting this together.

My passion is making miniature baskets!  Usually 1:12th scale - but have been known to tackle 1:24th during the full moon stage!