Alaskan Basket Weaver Now Blogs

Jill Choate, our basket weaver instructor and fantastic artist now is blogging about her life here in Alaska. Stop by her blog for her interesting life writes. She continues to bring basket classes to all those interested in learning to weave.

My last basket weaving attempt continues to sit unfinished in the bay window of my dining area. I just have been too busy this summer to get back to it. (Basket of messy stuff are all of Chewy's toys, and now been seriously chewed on by Moto too.)

Visit Jill's blog now.

Show and Tell Fridays - My Basket

I was reminded that it's show and tell time again while I was visiting a friends blog this evening! Click on this image to visit Kelli - she hosts it.

I want to share the first ever basket that I just completed last week-end. I took a class with my daughters and we all made these baskets. It is a design by Jill Choate of Jill Choate Basketry here in Alaska. I really enjoyed the time with my daughters, the time with the other ladies weaving and now I am enjoying it in my home!

The antler is deer. It stands about 18 inches tall. Even though my fingers were so sore after the first day of working on it, I am still eager to try making another one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Just Like A Dream

What a weekend. In a nutshell:
Encountered a man suffering from a major case of Road Rage - he stalks us - we drive to the State Troopers to get rid of him.
Mammography - (I was told that everything looks good).
Hauled wood for woodstove with Doug.
Trying to photograph ducks - I unexpectedly fell through the ice - I owe my life to my hero - Doug!
Great sermon at church today - what to expect before the return of Christ.
My nephew came to visit - my kids come over to make him feel welcome (due to circumstances out-of-control, we didn't get to be with him or his brother as they grew up.
Kris and Kim cooked chicken and ribs on the BBQ.
Marie finished her basket.
Calli finished her basket.
I finished my basket!
I guess it was a very good weekend, even with the mad man and my frightening and freezing cold brush with death!

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Here are the results from the quiz I took from e-Mom.

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Sharing My Basket

Well here are some pictures from our basket weaving day. I have been so busy with another website and blog that my own posting has been put off. I was prodded to post these pictures by Nancy and eMom, I was too busy to participate in Marriage Monday this time, oops!

I asked my daughter Karla of Karla Delong Weddings (wedding coordinator and party planner), where this class was held at Northland Inn, a very hospitable environment! It is open year around and the coffee and cookies were so delicious. Karla has been doing weddings and desires to do more business party planning too, she is very good at her work and she KNOWS a lot about her work, including places and people to contact for planning events that please both people and budgets.

Jill Choate's guidance was easy and she was constantly watchful for anyone having any trouble. I thoroughly enjoyed her class. Her home-schooled daughter also shared a talent of her own - Fire Poi!

Tomorrow evening we plan to get together to finish these baskets. I will take more pictures and maybe will try to be better at sharing the actual basket work!

Tired Fingers

Today I worked on my first basket ever! I worked on it, I didn't finish it. It was actually quite a large project for a first time effort. Hard work, but so much fun! I now appreciate the hard work of basket weavers!

My fingers are extremely sore. Since I could not sit and work on the basket, I stood all day, now my legs hurt! We had a beautiful ride to Trappers Creek, in spring snow. I need to get the name of the Bed and Breakfast that the class was held at because I want to give credit to the lady that brought coffee and her cookies were incredibly good!

Jill Choate is a very good instructor and she made certain that we all were past a certain point before she ended her class and went home for the day. The remaining work we (Marie, Karla, Calli and myself) plan to do soon. I want to finish it.

My basket is not turning out exactly like Jill's, but it has me in it. I could see that in the rest of the basket weavers work too. Marie was the speediest weaver of the day, and this was her first basket too. One of the ladies said, "Well - she just must not have any friends to talk to!" (She did, but we don't talk much either, ha!)

I have pictures and will share those soon, I don't have the strength to get back downstairs and climb back up again. I am up here for the night, and will soon be cutting some zzzz's too!

Basket Weaving

I signed up for a basket weaving class. My daughter Karla already took one class with Jill Choate and she loved it. I received the basket she made as a gift for Christmas. It is Jill's beautiful "hen basket" pattern.

We will be making this basket, the African Tower.

I am looking forward to going to this one day class in April, in Trappers Creek. It should be fun since Karla, Marie, Calli and I will be taking it together. I see that this basket weaving class is even held in the Lower 48. Check out their schedule for a class, it may be near you!

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." Ralph Waldo Emerson.