10 Tips for better coil baskets from local materials on your homestead

Pine needle baskets, a type of coil basket should be designed to be both functional and beautiful.

I am new at making pine needle basket making.  There are many experts out there.  I’m not one of them.  But I’ve learned a bit in making my second basket and I think my experience will help you avoid some of the pitfalls that I’ve encountered.  I am making functional baskets that are intended to [...]

Making pine needle baskets from local materials

Oval pine needle basket from handspun linen thread and ponderoa pine needles

Yesterday I talked to you about the many beneficial uses of the pine trees that you have growing on your homestead.  One of my favourite uses of the Pine is to make sweet smelling coiled baskets.  Unfortunately most how-to books will direct you to purchase your basket making materials from a craft supply store, and [...]

10 Good Reasons to Grow basket Willows on your Homestead

Coppiced basket willows - rubykins on Joybilee Farm

Willows are one of the easiest plants to grow on your homestead.  If you have space away from septic drainage fields and building foundations then you really should consider planting a few willow sticks. 1.  Willows are carbon sequesters. Willows are fast growing trees from the poplar family.  They absorb carbon from the air into [...]

Finishing Hand spun Linen Yarn for weaving your homestead textiles

Handspun linen yarn after scouring is lighter in colour and has a softer, kinder hand.  Its ready now for weaving.

Homestead Fashion:  Grow a shirt or a towel in your garden One of the easiest fibers to grow on your homestead, for clothing and household textiles is linen.  It doesn’t require extra fertilizer.  It can grow in most climates with at least a one month growing season, and isn’t damaged by light frosts during the [...]

Drum roll please: The mother-daughter saori jacket is now in print

Sarah's jacket aka:  The Mother-Daughter project

The 2011 edition of the Ashford Wheel Magazine arrived this week.   After a full year of handspinning, weaving and sewing the Mother-Daughter Jacket, documenting it with pictures, blogging about it, and then writing the how-to article for Elizabeth Ashford for the Ashford Wheel Magazine, we opened the envelope with excitement and trepidation. The article [...]