My Awesome Orange Beaded Basket!

During my stay here in Montgomery, I've gotten involved in the local Society for Arts & Crafts.  At the December holiday show, I met Jenny Antoline, who has become a great teacher and friend.  She is a weaver.  Well, not just a weaver, an amazingly talented weaver of gorgeous baskets and other wonderful pieces of art!  If you want to see some amazing stuff or shop for custom-made baskets, Jenny's website is Gypsy Baskets.  She can do just about any sort of basket you need--one order she was talking about the other day had baskets that were four feet high!  Plus, she's actually made custom baskets for a Vegas restaurant--SEABLUE at the MGM Grand!

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Stella and G.G. and I spent a day at Jenny's house learning the basics of basket weaving and we each created great handled baskets that are great for grocery-getting or craft-material-hauling or whatever!  And, they're sooooo pretty!  But, I was struck by the thought that I really needed to have a basket with beads on it.  Oh, and it should probably be orange, because that's just the way my jewelry biz materials roll!

So, we headed back to Jenny's house for another round of weaving...this time I took beads along and started playing with the pattern.  I'm totally thrilled with how it came out!  Plus, I've had these recycled glass beads in my stash for ages so it was nice to be able to use them. You can't see them in the picture, but there are cotton canvas handles so the basket is perfect for hauling stuff. 

We had such a great time chatting and laughing and weaving and breaking canes and starting new canes and breaking canes again... haaaaaaaaaa  I just love trying something new, even if there is a point when I just want to stop and hand it to the teacher and ask her to finish it!  haaaaaaaaaaa

I don't know if I'll be making any more baskets since Jenny's moving away from Montgomery, too, along with lots of Air Force families...but, I have my pattern and her phone number for cane breakage emergencies!  haaaaaaaa

Yours in exploring new craftiness!
Jen V.
p.s. for my friends and family I haven't seen in a long time...isn't my hair long????  haaaaaaa  It's crazy!