Beautiful Basket by Susan Avery

Remember awhile ago, there was a giveaway in this blog, and Susan Avery won the pottery base and coodinatating bead? Well, I just got this lovely email from Susan:

Pamela,
I just completed a basket made with the pottery base and button that I won from your blog contest sometime ago. As you requested, I'm enclosing pictures of what I made. By mistake, I made the knob a little out of proportion to the base, but oh well, that is how it sometimes works out. I've yet to conquer balance of design and probably never will, but that does not stop me from continuing the full enjoyment of coiling. I think that is what it is all about.


One other note, I finally learned how to use the needle grabber and not sure how I ever got along without it. Thanks for your efforts with that as well.

Regards,
Susan Avery

I don't think the knob is out of proportion at all! What do you all think? I think the basket is graceful and very beautifully proportioned...as a matter of fact, Susan Avery's work reminds me of the work of Susan Cowell,which i have long admired. I was intrigued by Susan's treatment on the first row of the base. So I asked her about it, and she wrote again:

first tried attaching the needles without wrapping and found it was hard to cinch them against the base while keeping the binder tight at he same time.. So, I measured the distance around the base, then wrapped a length of needles with artificial sinew to match the measurement before I started attaching them to the base. I used waxed linen as the binder for the rest of the basket. It attaches itself to the artificial sinew nicely to hold the coil in place as I stitched around the base. I find it so much easier than trying to keep the bundle and binder tight as I add needles. When the bundle is wrapped, it seems to bend easier to match whatever form I'm using for the base. There are a few little gaps in this one, but not too noticeable. I tried several techniques to cover the holes, but each one seemed to take away from the clay leaf pattern and so decided to leave the holes to show.

Posting pictures/notes whenever or even if you choose or not, is fine with me. Would be curious to know if others wrap or not-wrap their first row or get tips on how they cinch the bundle against the base without wrapping. Maybe I'm the only one who has problems with that.

Once again, many thanks

susan

Thanks to you, Susan. I love the basket! Did you notice the little feet? They are a wonderful touch!

For pottery bases, some with coordinating beads, please see my etsy shop MakeABasket.


to find more baskets made with these pottery bases, click on the label pottery base below
Pamela