Out and About with Basket Weavers Archives ⋆ PrairieWood Basketry

September Adventures

September was a month of travel … I left home on August 31; my itinerary included places, friends, family and the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild – Tidal Twining Retreat. September 26 and 6000+ miles later, I made it home to find Billy Owens and my husband grilling steaks. Billy taught for my guild the next day. That in a nutshell was the whirlwind of my September. I wasn’t sure how much of my adventure I’d share with all of you. After sorting through pictures, I wanted to share everything, but when I started writing the blog it quickly got wordy and long. So I put it on the backburner. Today I decided to post lots of pictures and a few words about my adventure.

The Mystery Basket

February 6, 2018/3 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

An Exercise in Creativity

Last year, ten members of my local basket weaving guild participated in the Mystery Basket Project. It’s a great way to encourage creativity. We had several months to weave our project, and I am not exaggerating when I say I stared at the contents of my bag for months before I had my first idea!

In a nutshell here’s how it works:

Participants will be given a number when they sign up. Then they will go through their basket, craft and art supplies and put 10 items in a paper grocery bag. This bag is sealed, labeled with the participant’s number and given to the organizer.

Swept Away – the Broom Making book by Karen Hobbs!

October 9, 2017/5 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers, Resources for Basket Weaving /by Annetta K

The Vanishing Art of Broom Making …

Broomcorn, broomsticks, turkey wing whisk brooms, hearth brooms, kitchen brooms, angel whisk brooms, broomstick cake and more all in a new book by basket maker, gourd artist and broom maker Karen Hobbs. “Swept Away, the Vanishing Art of Broom Making” is scheduled to be released this December (2017). Read more

Camp Tuck

September 13, 2017/0 Comments/in New Baskets, Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Now cutting and tucking may not be your favorite part of weaving a basket, but you really should put ‘Camp Tuck’ on your weaving event bucket list. Land of Lincoln Basketweavers Association (LLBWA) hosts ‘Camp Tuck’ each September in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois.

Weavin’ in Winona 2017

June 29, 2017/3 Comments/in New Baskets, Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Winona, Minnesota is located in eastern Minnesota, sandwiched between the Mississippi River and the river bluffs. It is a beautiful city. Weavin’ in Winona happens in a window lined conference room on the Winona State University Campus. A picturesque location and a great facility – and those are just the first impressions of a wonderful basket weaving event!

Three days of beautiful baskets, weaving, laughing and hanging out together!

Weaving Baskets in Jabez, Kentucky

June 21, 2017/0 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

The Bluegrass Area Basketmakers Seminar, or ‘basket camp’ as many of the attendees call it, took place last week at the Cumberland Leadership Center in Jabez, Kentucky. For six days the place bustled with people weaving baskets, visiting and sometimes just sitting out on the porch in the rockers. It really is a place where we ‘eat, sleep and weave’ for a whole week. It was good.

Conference of Northern California Handweavers

May 11, 2017/6 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

I am just home from the west and another great event. Flying out I had a window seat and mostly clear skies… so beautiful.

Penny picked me up at the airport in Oakland and we drove down the coast to Pacific Grove and

Weavin’ Up North

April 28, 2017/2 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Last week I went north to teach at Weavin’ Up North in Bemidji, Minnesota. When I left home, my woods looked like this:

a little green here and there.

six hours later I reached Lake Superior – cold, gray and SNOWING!

A few hours later I was in Bemidji. The clouds were clearing off when I stopped to get a picture of Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox. Read more

Stateline Friends Weaving Retreat 2017!

April 13, 2017/1 Comment/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Stateline Friends Weaving Retreat 2017 – I’m home sorting through my carload of stuff and a camera full of pictures. For those of you who missed this event – I am sorry. Hopefully you can join us next year. For those of you who were able to attend – it was great fun wasn’t it!?

This event is always bustling with energy. People talking. People laughing. People weaving baskets. People teaching basketry. People shopping for basket supplies. I hope that the photo journal I am sharing with you today gives you a sense of the enthusiasm in the air. I was teaching so I couldn’t catch everything or everyone but I think you will enjoy the walk through.

Weaving Mania

March 23, 2017/0 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

-the 2017 North Carolina Basketmakers Association Convention. Thanks to Katie Lake and all of her volunteers, we all had four wonderful days full of baskets, weaving and visiting.

I was sad that the weather was NOT spring like, but it was wonderful to see old friends, meet a few new ones and see all the beautiful baskets being used, made and raffled as well as the amazing things in the exhibit room.

Mid Winter Get Away

February 23, 2017/8 Comments/in New Baskets, Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Home from another retreat -the Crossroads Weavers Guild’s 24th Annual Mid Winter Get Away in Okemos, Michigan. I was a little apprehensive about going through Chicago, under Lake Michigan and across Michigan in February – but the weather was amazing. With temperatures in the 60s, it was more like spring!

And the event wonderful. Basket classes and mini classes of all kinds kept the weaving room buzzing from early til late. Meals were catered in and delicious. And the weekend provided lots of opportunities to visit with new friends and old. With everything under one roof, there was no reason to leave the hotel and conference center until the event was over. If you have never attended the Mid Winter Get Away, put it on your bucket list! Read more

Baskets forever and ever…

February 8, 2017/1 Comment/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Baskets forever and ever…

… the 2017 Georgia Basketry Association 2017 Convention

took place in Marietta, Georgia. It was a great event – every where I looked people were having fun weaving and visiting with old and new friends.

I taught three classes:

Flight Read more

Holiday Happenings

December 14, 2016/9 Comments/in In the Studio, Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

It’s the Christmas Season – so our guild just had it’s annual Christmas party. In addition to delicious food and planning our 2017 calendar, we also returned our traveling baskets to their owners. We always have so much fun with this project. Curious? Check out my post from last year about how the Traveling Basket Project works here. Here’s a peak at some of this year’s baskets: Read more

Weaving in Pennsylvania and Maryland

October 12, 2016/1 Comment/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

I got home last night from teaching at two great guilds, the Central Pennsylvania Basketry Guild and Deer Creek Basket Guild in Maryland. We all had a great time!

First stop was Central Pennsylvania – where I taught four different baskets.

Places to Go, Baskets to Weave

September 14, 2016/3 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

I haven’t been home much … it’s September

so far I’ve driven over 4000 miles. Read more

Basket Class with Dianne Gleixner

April 6, 2016/0 Comments/in Basket Weaving Events, Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Dianne Gleixner works out of her studio in Brookfield, Wisconsin. She has regularly scheduled basket classes at her studio and she also teaches at basket guilds and basket weaving events around the country. A few weeks ago Dianne Gleixner came to teach our basket guild.

The Country Seat

January 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers, Resources for Basket Weaving /by Annetta K

I am so excited that Angie Longenecker Wagner from The Country Seat, Inc. agreed to let me interview her. This family business in Kempton, Pennsylvania was established in 1975 by Angie’s mother, Donna Longenecker, as a seat weaving company. It quickly became a supply store for seat weavers and basket weavers. Read more

Gifts from the Heart

December 23, 2015/2 Comments/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

Recently I interviewed Angie Wagner from The Country Seat, Inc. and I asked her to share a favorite basket story. I had intended to include it in the interview, but it is so sweet and so fitting for this season of gift giving I have decided to post it today – on its own and exactly as Angie shared it with me. Enjoy and Merry Christmas. Read more

The Traveling Basket Project

December 8, 2015/1 Comment/in Out and About with Basket Weavers /by Annetta K

I love hearing about what basket guilds are doing around the country. I often ask my students what their guild is weaving and how they are encouraging creativity. It’s always interesting, basket weavers are so creative! Years ago I heard about the traveling basket project, it sounded like so much fun I asked my local […]