Grows Like A Weed

Day 276: Crocosmia grows like a weed here in the Pacific Northwest, so vigorously that in fact I am still digging it out of my east flower bed after ten years of diligently removing each new plant from its original position. It needs space to spread, so put it in a spot you wish to fill in, and it will reward you with a lavish display of vivid blooms. This particular cultivar is called "Lucifer," and the photos do not do the intense red flowers justice. They are spectacular against the dark green of our Doug-fir forests, or even among the lighter greens of the curated garden. The foliage is reminiscent of cat-tail leaves, long and strappy. Although I have not yet tried it, it occurred to me that it might make good material for basket-weaving, twisted and twined in the manner of iris or daylily leaves. Nature gives us many raw materials for crafts, although we generally overlook them. Give some thought to what's in your own garden. What might you put to good use?

Silly Basket

Day 219: This little project has been languishing in the back of a cupboard for at least a decade. I found the materials while looking for something else in the depths and thought, "Well, why not? It'll give my hands a break from spinning." An earlier version went somewhere, so many years ago that I've forgotten who received it. The method used is called twining and is my favourite basketry technique. It employs a doubled strand of weaver which is twisted once between each pair of uprights; in this case, weavers and uprights are both hemp twine. I've added random beads in an alternating pattern, eight rows completed between each vertical occurrence to give the 4" basket more texture and visual appeal. What will it hold? Like Winnie the Pooh's Useful Pot, it can hold anything which will fit inside, even a a blue and somewhat deflated balloon.