12. Three Considerations for Faster, Easier Coiling Post 12

Thanks very much to everyone who commented on the last post in this series. We are having more people comment on posts further back, i am sorry i cannot mention you all! Thanks for persisting. I DO need to say hey, Earl, thanks for taking time out from your trek to comment! Also, Tony, i will try to remember to address adding binder again, and detail my method- i am sure more people will want to talk about that again.

As for pine needle length, which J.R. brought up: pine needles do not need to be very long to coil with. It can be done with needles as short as 2 inches...proven by pine needler extra-ordinaire Kaye Burlason, (left, with one of MANY ribbons she has won over her lifetime) of Altoona, FL. Kaye makes little itty bitty minis and wearables with 2 inch pine needles (table of minis shown at right, with LOOOONG pine needles for scale.) But she is VERY experienced (as well as being possibly the most crafty person i have ever had the pleasure to "meet" in my life!)

I would not recommend, for beginners, that you use anything under about 6-8 inches long. I started with needles that short, and was able to handle it. The reason you want to use longer needles is because adding becomes one less thing to do...the more frequently you have to add, the more there is to think about. Most beginners need to focus on the learning the process, stitching, how to hold their hands, etc. But far be it for me to discourage you. Use what you have, and see how it goes. Try to go small-scale. Be PATIENT WITH YOURSELF. Let us know what happens!

On to the next post in our series...

Do you remove the fascicles? If you have never tried coiling with the fascicles (sheath ends) on, you will be amazed at how much faster it is.

Removing fascicles is one of the biggest complaints I hear from new coilers. How do you get that thing off? There are so many ways! Some people just cut them off, I know one lady told me that was her job when she was a kid. They had a big machete and she chopped them off huge bundles of pine needles, all at once, for efficiency, so other members of the family could coil with the pine needles. In one class i attended, the teacher gave each student his own special pair of scissors with teeth to pull off pine needles caps. Judy Mallow sells a wooden tool she developed herself to do the job. If you have read Ginger Jolley’s book, How To Weave a Pine Needle Basket, you will possibly remember that Ginger used her teeth to pull fascicles from pine needles. If you are going to do it Ginger’s way, you probably want to wash them. Ginger’s book is a wonderful example of not following everyone else. She wrote with refreshing individualism. Unfortunately, her book is out of print, and since Ginger herself is gone, it probably will not be reprinted.

I don’t take off the fascicles unless I have to. Of course, starting a basket from a button, you will want to take some off, and probably for the bottom of the basket, but once you get to the sidewalls, fascicles add texture and interest to a pine needle basket. They are laid in right under the stitch on the outside of the basket (usually)….but only when coiling without a gauge is this possible!

I would love to hear about your opinion on fascicles, please leave a positive comment here for everyone to read! Thanks

Next post will be on using different stitches, please hold those thoughts for the next post…

November Gallery Events
BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER
Sixth Street Gallery Shows Small Works of Art

On November 4, Sixth Street Gallery will open it's newest show, Small Spaces Big Creations. The show runs through November 29, 2009. Opening reception will take place during the First Friday artwalk on November 6 from 5 - 9:00PM. Pianist Therese Mitchelle will perform at the reception.

Small Spaces Big Creations is a show of small works - all pieces are no bigger than 12 inches. Artists from across the country and working in a variety of media are part of this month's show.
Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 12PM to 5PM. Closed Monday, Tuesday and most holidays.

Yes, that is my very own horsehair basket composition, "3 Grains" on the show's postcard ad! I am excited to be included in this show. Please consider this your invitation.

pamela

11. Three Considerations for Faster, Easier Coiling Post 11.

Thanks to everyone who has been following along, and especially those who are leaving comments! It is much easier to have a series like this when there is participation from the readers.

The last post was about binder length. Thanks to Donna, Judy and Tony who told us about their methods. when this series is over, i would like to post my method for adding binder, more specifically, and perhaps it will help you Tony. To Donna, i must ask: how do you assure the knot is completely covered by the coil above? Is this calculated into the placement of the knot? Does this dictate the shaping of your basket? I am very interested in this method, as i have had many people tell me they use it...but i still cannot figure out how it is beneficial. I would love to watch you work sometime!

Now, about collecting and preparing pine needles....I have had many people tell me they spend a lot of time cleaning their pine needles before making a basket with them. Some wash in boiling water, soap or bleach, or all three. Some actually boil them. (One person told me they used PESTICIDE on their needles...which made me gasp...of course pesticide will stay there, and pesticide is poison...is that what you want on your basket, and on your hands as you make it???)I have never really understood this. If needles are removed from a prepared lawn, one without animal droppings, I believe they are as clean as they need to be. The same with a pristine wooded area. What, exactly, are you removing?

I would like to preserve as much of the natural oil in the pine needle as possible. Isn’t pine oil a comment ingredient in cleansers (aka PineSol?) As an organic material, pine fibers are subject to decomposition, but the naturally occurring oils combat premature breakdown, as well as attack by bugs. It is the pine tree's own genetically programmed protection. Don't we want to take advantage of that? Isn't this also where the wonderful smell of pine comes from? Boiling needles and subjecting them to harsh chemicals does nothing to stabilize the delicate fiber of the pine needle, and much to damage it.

I have never found little bugs in pine needles I pick up. I think pine needles are naturally very clean. It is very important, however, to first check for animal droppings, and even to ask the owner of the property: “do you have dogs?” If animals frequent the area, I would simply not collect there.

Freshly dropped needles have a wonderful honey brown color, and generally appear very clean. If needles you have found are spotty or have mildew growing on them, they are probably not fresh, have been laying on the ground for months, and would benefit from cleaning. Some spots on pine needles are the result of illness or disease in the tree, and there is not much you can do about that. If you have no choice but to use these needles, of course this will add to the preparation time of your basket.

I recommend looking for clean needles, as opposed to cleaning them every time. If you use bleach to clean your needles, use diluted bleach. Only a tablespoon for a gallon or two of water is fine. it is important that you then neutralize the bleach by rinsing in vinegar, and then very well in water. Ever heard of "acid free" environments that museum curators try to cultivate? Acid contributes to breakdown of materials...but base (the opposite of acid: alkali) does too. Bleach is a VERY strong base, and eats away at things too. If you don't neutralize the bleach, it continues to work...vinegar neutralizes bleach. If you use only as much vinegar as you did bleach, HOPEFULLY you neutralize it, not make it acid. But i would just as soon avoid messing with the pH of the needles all together.

If you suspect your needles harbor very tiny things you cannot see, like chiggers, alternatives to cleaning with water and bleach may be:
• Laying in the strong sunlight on screens for an extended period (turning regularly, assuring there is air circulating on all side, if possible)
• Freezing for a period of a month or more

Another way to get clean needles is to remove them green. I do not advocate removing them from a growing tree, as this could compromise the tree, making it sick or killing it. It takes more than one year for a pine needle to mature.

Sometimes storm-downed trees will render green needles. Lots of people cut trees down. When you see someone cutting down a longleaf pine tree, it pays to ask for a branch or two. Most of the time, they do not care that you want it. They usually don't want any part of the tree, not even the wood, as it is not very good for heating with. At right is the ditch bank in front of my house several years ago...the neighbors cutting two longleaf pines were very happy to have it all dumped in front of my house. After Lynn and I harvested all the needles, we had to haul it to the dump! Alot of work, but we had needles for a LONG time!

Needles that have been harvested directly from the tree rarely need cleaning, but will need to dry before use. If you do get green needles, make sure you spread or hang to dry. You notice the bundles above are only secured at the top, so they flare out, to allow for drying. If there is a place you can hang the whole branch, well, you have saved yourself a step...that works, too, but requires much more room.

The next post is about removing fascicles from pine needles…can you hold those thoughts until then? Thanks! Please comment on this post about collecting and preparing pine needles (except for removal of sheath ends. )

Video Highlights from Etsy Treasury Team, Early November 2009

I love this Animoto video thing...you can make one, free, at http://www.animoto.com



Here are some highlights of my Etsy Treasury Team...aren't they amazing? Highlighted are
Glorious Hats
Kims Crafty Apple
Lama Works
Midnight Coiler
Originals by Lauren
Pat's Pottery
Teresa's Prim Treasures
Tyarkoni
just a few of the FABULOUS teammates with AMAZING gifts just waiting for you to explore!

The full team list can be found on our blog...check them out!

Pamela

10. Three Considerations for Faster, Easier Coiling Post 10.

The last post was about direction of coiling. Thanks to everyone who commented. I particularly was interested in Tony's comments about turning his basket upside down, and Sue's about coiling on the side of the basket away from her body...these are exactly the sort of thing I am talking about, each person doing what they need to do to make the basket work...I applaud you for being so creative, and for sharing your creativity! Kim, i am impressed you stuck through the explanation of spirals...i have a feeling you were not alone in your seize up when it comes to geometry of spirals...i am not sure i really understand it either. Perhaps it was my explanation. But don't worry, you don't need to understand geometry or spirals to coil...just do it! One day, after you have ALOT of baskets under your belt, it might dawn on you...or maybe not. Either way, i am sure your baskets will be beautiful!

Again mulling over our inclination to be creatures of habit…

What is your standard binder length? If you have been using raffia, you are obviously limited by the binder length, and this is not an issue for you. If you are cutting binder, optimal length is 2 arm lengths. That is YOUR arm length. People with longer arms can easily use more binder. If you are bridging a floating coil or going around a large gourd on the first row, obviously you will need more than 2 arm lengths. But 2 arms length is short enough to keep the binder from tangling, and long enough to get quite a few stitches in on each add. So if you are using MORE, why are you doing so? If you are using less, you might try extending it to make your coiling more time efficient.

How do you add binder? Elaborate knots add complexity and time to your basket. I have seen all sorts of fancy knots, and estimation techniques for figuring out where the knot will end up, and ways to pull it into the basket. None of that is necessary. The fastest, most efficient way to end/begin new binder is to bury the end in the coil. This takes only seconds. If you zig and zag INSIDE your weaving, it is anchored securely. Care must be taken so the needle is buried, or the binder will be visible. If you are not used to doing this, and you are reversing your stitch direction as well (for example, beginning to coil from the front, and you are not used to it,) the easiest thing is to add the new binder BEFORE burying the old binder in the coil. This way it is plain to see where the new binder should come out. Some very slippery materials, such as horsehair, absolutely will not hold a knot. Meaning, no matter what you do to hide the knot, it will work it's way to the surface eventually. The only way to begin/end binder is to bury it in the coil when using that medium.

I have had many students who rankled at my suggestion they bury the binder. It is always a pleasure to have a student come back for a second class, and see they have stuck with it, learned how to bury the binder, and never looked back. I have tried and tried to learn the knotting techniques, and still don't understand why people do it...anyone want to talk about that?

I would love to hear about your techniques for determining proper binder length and method for adding on, please leave a positive comment here for everyone to read! Thanks

Next post will be on preparation of pine needles for coiling, please hold those thoughts for the next post…

9. Three Considerations for Faster, Easier Coiling Post 9.

Well, I was going to skip the whole “do you coil clockwise or counterclockwise” question, but am shamed into it. Carol, I should have known better. I have now been working on this post for a week, and still have not worked out my samples to completely explain this, and figured out everything I want to say. So I am going to have to deal this a glancing blow, and then hope that I can come back to it another time.

This is something that most people don’t even think about. Right handed people tend to coil in a counterclockwise fashion, that is, to the left…with the bundle of pine needles going to the left, so the left hand can feed the bundle. (As Tony mentioned in his comment the other day.) This is generally faster and easier because one does not have to put down the binder to feed the coil.


Of course, this means left handed people, using the opposite hand, tend to coil clockwise, to the right. If you have tried both ways, you will find that, for most people, it is easier when the hand doing the most moving around is not near that open bundle of fibers. I said MOST people, Carol. Carol, being a self-taught coiler, is a left handed person, but coils counterclockwise (to the left.) Go figure. It works for her. Again, do what works for you.

It really behooves you to be able to coil in either direction, because when it comes to sculptural coiling, sometimes to execute a particular form, it is necessary to go in the opposite direction from what you are used to. Case in point, this really amazing sculptural pine needle piece by TV McArthur…maybe we can bring him out of the woodwork, as well. TV used to be very active in the Pine Needle Group, but has drifted away. And I am sorry…he is simply the most imaginative sculptural coiler I have ever seen in my life, and a wonderful correspondent to boot. It would be really great to hear from you again, TV!


Does it make sense that:

Coiling clockwise and putting your needle in from the front

is the same as

coiling counterclockwise and putting your needles in from the back.

You with me so far? It is just a matter of which side you are looking at the basket from.

Then you need to realize that there are actually two different spirals in every basket.

There is spiral #1, of the core, going round and round,


and


spiral #2 of the binder, going around the core, that which we think of as separate “stitches” (marked by different colors,) but is actually just one long spiral.



(I really needed some diagrams here, and that is what has taken me so long….i hope they make sense!)

So, even though we have named stitches and are describing what we think is the same action, the stitch will look different (sometimes very different,) depending on which direction your core is spiraling and which side of the basket you are entering your needle on.

Each stitch has, 2 “faces” (the front and the back, ) and there are 2 different core directions on which they can applied (from the clockwise side or from the counterclockwise side.) This makes 4 different “looks” for each separate stitch.

If you study geometry, you might talk about Archimedes and the tangent of the spiral. But I am not a mathematician. All I know is that the two spirals in the basket (the core spiral and the stitch spiral) intersect at different places, depending on all the different interactions. When you add in the tension applied by the sewing needle, holding the spiral to a certain point, it gets even more complicated.

So, for now, suffice it to say that it is NOT the same stitch when you choose to put your needle in from the opposite direction that you usually use…though it might be CALLED the same stitch. It is NOT a mirror image, either.

This is PART of the “answer” to the oft-asked question “why can’t I make a stitch that looks the same, front and back?” Because it is a spiral, NOT a circle.

Enough about stitching direction…now that I have completely confused you (or intrigued you?) I will return to my original blog series….

Next post we are going to talk about using binder, back to what I had intended…that is, if I did not chase you all away with this extremely confusing discussion! Once again, I would LOVE to hear what you have to say about coiling direction! Thanks

Another Aside

Before continuing with my series on Three Considerations for Faster Easier Coiling, another aside must be created....

i was wrong, in my last post, when i said, "one does not purchase round sinew..." Evidently, one does. Just not THIS one (LOL.) I have been informed that Judy Mallow carries round sinew on her website, Prim Pines. So there. Sorry, people. I told you this series was about opinion...not fact. Thanks, Annejala, for figuring that out, and answering your own question about where to buy round sinew! Do not assume that you can just flatten out the round sinew, it might be twisted, like thread. Braided sinew is also available.

And, since Carol has brought up the issue of coiling direction (clockwise/counterclockwise,) in addition to needle direction, i will be considering that next...which has necessitated my pausing in this series for a few days, to get all my little ducks in a row....diagrams and such...hold onto your hats!

Also, wanting to answer Tony, who commented in the post about front/back coiling, "When you say "front" does that equate to "outside" vs. "back"/"inside"? Using the terms I am used to then I stitch inserting my needle from the outside of the basket to the inside." Yes, i can see i really was not clear. The thing is, to me, the "front" is always the side facing me. Meaning I am pushing my needle away from me, as opposed to pulling it.

Sometimes i make the side facing me the outside of the basket, and sometimes i make it the inside. But that, to me, is a shaping decision, and individual to the basket. When making something tall, i make the front, or side facing me, the outside of the basket, because i do not want to be trying to place my needle on the inside, particularly if i am going to narrow the neck a great deal. If i am making a more open, shallow basket, i usually make the inside the "front," because that is the side that is most often viewed, and the side i want to work from.

So when i say "front to back" i mean putting your needle in on the side facing you, and exiting it on the side away from you. Putting your needle in on the back, means it is entering on the side facing away from the coiler, whether that be the inside or the outside of the basket....geesh, i hope i have not just muddied the waters even more!

In the mean time, i have new sinew colors in my MakeABasket etsy shop...for a limited time only (until i remove this annoucement,) when you purchase both a basket base and ANY SIZE sinew, get $1 refund on your purchase. Please mention this blog offer to redeem your refund. I also have made little thread swatch cards to help you figure out what color thread to buy to coordinate with your project.

I still would like to post photos of baskets made with these bases, but sadly, have not received any more photos...i guess i will just have to wait until Ruth Danger coils some more, she is pretty prolific, and wonderful about sharing her pics!

Thanks again!

pamela

An Aside from My Series, and Beautiful Basket by Ruth Danger

These two beautiful baskets are just a taste of the long line of extraordinary coiling produced by Ruth Danger, of Zephyrhills, FL.

Ruth purchased both the bases for these baskets from one of my etsy shops. Basket bases were previously offered in my Bazketmakr etsy shop, but now are available in the MakeABasket etsy shop. Bazketmakr now carries only finished work, such as horsehair baskets, pine needle baskets, and other fiber creations. MakeABasket is where you can find bases, in addition to binders, tools, and kits.

If you have made baskets using my pottery bases, please send me pictures! I would love to publish them...if you bought one at NCBA convention, at the teacher's market, or took a class from me there, i would love to publish your basket here as well.

Having received an email from Annejala, i will address this as an insert to my series, "Three Considerations to Faster, Easier Coiling":

Annejala writes: (Pamela wrote in her blog) "Sinew is also adaptable in that it can be flat (like raffia) or round (like upholstery thread and linen.)" Where do you purchase the round sinew?

well, here is another case of me thinking i have said something, when i really didn't.

one does not purchase round sinew. It is the same -one kind- of sinew that can be either flat or round.

if you wish it to be flat, run your thumbnail across it, and this flattens it. this is useful when threading a needle, for instance

for round sinew, roll it between your fingers. this is useful when putting on a bead

sinew should never be wetted - as when people put it in their mouths

because it ruins the waxy coating

it should be either:

1. flattened
   
2. rounded
   
3. trimmed (with very sharp scissors)
   

in order to achieve tameness.

pamela