tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post5340749641819298556..comments2023-10-09T12:49:21.316-04:00Comments on Catching The Moon: Weaving My Life: 6. Three Considerations for Faster, Easier Coiling Post 6.Pamela Zimmermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11904926075031478539noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-18252191180776588832009-10-21T12:51:44.311-04:002009-10-21T12:51:44.311-04:00Thank you, Pamela, for this lovely "refresher...Thank you, Pamela, for this lovely "refresher" course and new slant on techniques. I found your comments helpful from the point of view of an experienced coiler as well as for beginners!Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401214410107442812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-66785074051069224652009-10-21T09:20:21.424-04:002009-10-21T09:20:21.424-04:00I always work with wet needles unless I am working...I always work with wet needles unless I am working on a large, round shape. I soak my needles overnight in a plastic wallpaper tray and only try to soak enough to use the following day. I use longleaf pine needles that are either natural or that I have dyed and painted. I feel the secret to tight baskets is the tightness of the stitches, not whether the needles are dry or wet. I stitch with waxed linen, telephone wire, copper or brass wire and produce very tight baskets that I then preserve with a light coating of beeswax. This process has worked for me for almost 33 years.--Clay in Columbia, SCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-67196700366882513592009-10-21T04:11:19.657-04:002009-10-21T04:11:19.657-04:00Pamela,
I was taught to soak my pine needles when ...Pamela,<br />I was taught to soak my pine needles when I learned to coil baskets. All the books I have read also suggested soaking the pine needles. Thanks to the pine needle group I found out that you should only soak the first few inches to get the basket started then you should switch to dry needles. I do know that my first basket was definitely loose because it was done with wet pine needles. That was many years ago. I like working with the dry needles the best. Thanks...AnnejalaAnnejalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16339015830659877528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-22536820674792139072009-10-20T17:44:15.852-04:002009-10-20T17:44:15.852-04:00Oh, I also have never used shellac or other "...Oh, I also have never used shellac or other "finished". I have wanted to try waxing a basket though. Maybe I will have to try that with this latest basket I am working on and stitching with waxed linen. I have used a hair dryer on a finished basket stitched with waxed linen so "brighten" up the stitching. That is a trick I use on my waxed linen knotted baskets too.<br /><br />TonyJ. Anthony Stubblefieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194463145900580639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-16220516428522726012009-10-20T17:41:22.256-04:002009-10-20T17:41:22.256-04:00The only time I wet my needles (Pam, you can proba...The only time I wet my needles (Pam, you can probably tell me what kind they are since they come from your neck of the woods) is when I very first start. I just use up the small amount I soaked (in hot tap water) then proceed with all completely dry needles. I really don't have an issue with breakage, but I am making "average" sized baskets with no tight turns. Even the top opening starts getting really small and tight I don't worry about breakage because by that point my stitches have gotten really close together so each stitch represents only a tiny bend.<br /><br />Thanks so much for the link to my blog post too!<br /><br />TonyJ. Anthony Stubblefieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194463145900580639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-83234038357669396392009-10-20T15:09:00.028-04:002009-10-20T15:09:00.028-04:00Ethel and her sister Lucy were my favorite chicken...Ethel and her sister Lucy were my favorite chickens. They were Cochin breed which are a very docile and calm and a very large breed. They didn't mind being held or petted and were also good egg layers. Unfortunately one day I went out to feed them and they were missing along with 8 other hens and two terrestrial Crested Ducks. As you can see in the picture Ethel liked to watch me coil, though she had a very short attention span. Never did figure what happened to the whole flock.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04575845307402086051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470706983797617914.post-33489188710351350562009-10-20T14:58:15.720-04:002009-10-20T14:58:15.720-04:00I live in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Southern Cal...I live in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Southern California and we haven't seen "real" rain for nearly a year so the pine needles are bone dry. I collect mostly Jeffrey and Coulter Pine needles which are so brittle that sometimes just sorting them cracks them in half. I have to soak them for 15 to 30 minutes in boiling water. I do pull the binder very tight and the coiling doesn't loosen upon drying. I don't use any final finish. Our summertime humidity is usually between 4 and 12 percent. <br /><br />VincentUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04575845307402086051noreply@blogger.com