Last Sunday I went to a social media "tweetup" with David Mathison aka @BeTheMedia. After lots of talk and a latte, Emma and I retreated to the woods to regroup. I needed time to think about the information and to consider the possibilities. We sat in the sun and I wove a wreath using Aspen leaves. (Maple leaves with all their beautiful colors work well in wreaths, but they dry out and become fragile much faster than the Aspen leaves.) A few days later I went back and collected a more leaves and created a spiral turning back on it's self. Here is a photo of the finished spiral.
If Kate's not interested, I certainly am. What a lovely thing to do on a fine fall day!
ReplyDeleteSusan, for years I'd been thinking about writing directions for these. A Swedish friend initially showed me how to thread the leaves together. It wasn't until @hen, who lives in the UK asked that I show her the steps, that I finally got around to it. Maybe I'll propose this to F.G. next year.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely beautiful, I love what you do in every way! So creative and innovative yet connected to an ancient art as well as the earth.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for your kind words on my blog, lovely to watch and grow from each other's creativity.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice blog you have with interesting issues!
Your name sounds Scandinavian!
Some relatives here?
Love from Bjorg Nina
Hm, I must be missing something. Are you supposed to poke the single leaf through 1 or 2 of the previous ones (after the first)? Are you twisting the stems over each other, or do they just do that themselves as part of the pattern? I have a lovely, but not interwoven, leaf pile after my attempts!
ReplyDeleteNani, did you click on the photo and look at the enlarged image? By the time you are working with the third leaf, the end goes through all of the other folded over layers. This locks in the folds and cements each leaf from slipping. And yes, I did a two step braiding technique to lock in the ends at the back.
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ReplyDelete"Vilt og vakkert" how do you translate this? Yes, the family is mostly Norwegian. We have a house over there and try to go back every August. I went to your website and tried to read your posts. Ha! I only understood about 2/3s of it, but the fall garden was fun to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kari, I'll want to try it again with a fresh pile of leaves. I did look at the finished picture up close, just wasn't getting something that looked like it!
ReplyDeleteOkay - going to try again Kari...third time lucky!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, really beautiful Kari and I can't do better than to echo Holly who has voiced my sentiments perfectly - talented,creative, innovative yet connected to the earth.
Yay! Result...bug in box I expect...
ReplyDelete@Holly, Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you came to visit!
ReplyDelete@Paula, I was afraid that I had to change something so that you could post. I hope @MorningMadame got you all decked out for work! LOL
I must be missing something. Are you supposed to poke the single leaf through 1 or 2 of the previous ones Work from home India
ReplyDeleteHi Kari, this is just amazing. I used to make lots of baskets too, before blogging took up so much of my time. You are inspired me by showing this and weaving from nature has always been my favorite basket making. Our aspen trees are gone, but I will be searching out some others, thanks for the tip about maples, that might work. I have made many baskets using braided spent iris leaves, they are very strong and the colors are beautiful. Love the idea of circlet for you sweet doggie's head. I need to study the technique a little more. Did you use a needle or tool to poke the hole in the leaves?
ReplyDeleteFrances
Hello Kari!
ReplyDeleteThe picture I called Aphrodite´s pool is taken at Nordbåane, a small island southwest of Vesteroy, Hvaler near Fredrikstad. Simular to the coast of Arendal.
I love that place, we go there by boat in the summer. This summer the water had a temperature of 25 c for some days. Wonderful!
I live at Krakeroy near by.
Have a nice day or night????
Frances, What a beautiful blog you have! Are you anywhere Bybee?
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question about tools for poking. If you cut the stems off with a point, you wouldn't need a pointy tool, but you would need scissors. When I made these I used an awl and cut the ends off when I was finished.
Gosh, so many typos on my previous comment. Must reread these things. Thanks for the kind words about my blog. You can maybe see why I have little time for basketmaking since I started blogging. And then there is the gardening thing too. I don't know where Bybee is. I am located in the far point of southeast TN, halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. I looked around at your basket site. Very lovely work. Love all the hairy baskets and the colors you use. I did sell baskets at one time, but believe they were priced way too low. :-) You have inspired me to think about making a few more baskets while my hands are still strong enough. I have been looking for good leathery leaves to make the circlet. Of what is growing around here, the Chinese chestnut looks most promising. Thanks for the info about cutting the stem with a point.
ReplyDeleteFrances
Ah, Bybee is up by Newport, I see. I am in the general area, maybe two hours or more from there. You can't get there from here, as they say. :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances