A Happy Mail Day

Look what came in the mail clear from Canada! It is a handcrafted lashing tool made from a spoon handle! Frances and her husband Ralph from Weaving Willow made it for me. I made a little tag for it that says where it came from and when I received it as I never want to forget, but I'm going to have to re-think my tag because I think it will get in the way of my lashing. I wove a basket with friends Anne, Faith and Darlene the other night but we talked and laughed so much I didn't finish the rim. I'm going to give my new tool some use and finish that rim this weekend. This is really clever. I can't wait to try it!
Frances, Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it.
Love,
Nancy

Yet Another Lashing Tool--Make Your Own!

I received a very nice e-mail from Frances at http://weavingwillow.blogspot.com/
She states that some people use spoon handles to create their own lashing tools and that this lashing tool is an idea that has been circulating for some time. I must confess, I've never heard of making a lashing tool from a spoon handle and I think it is just brilliant! I'm all for doing and making it yourself when you can. For other posts on lashing tools, please look HERE
and HERE. Frances sent me this picture of one she made and states, "Last year I dropped by the Goodwill and bought 6 stainless steel spoons at 5 cents each. Cut off the bowls and used a grinder on the cut end of the handle until it looked like a lash saver. Drill a hole in the end and attach a pretty tassel. There you go. I gave them away as gifts to guild members."
So, if any of you are new friends of Frances, you'd better just close your eyes and pretend to be surprised if you receive one of these for Christmas this year!
For those of you who are my personal friends, perhaps you too should close your eyes to this picture because you might just get one in your stocking!
Thanks for sending me such a great idea. I love sharing tips and info like this. As they say over at http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ This idea really works for me!
Happy Weaving Everyone,
Nancy

More about Lashing Tools and Replies to Comments

Hi Friends,

First, I want to thank Debbie about telling me about the EZ Lasher. I've never used this tool but I did check into it. Here is a place it can be purchased. I've not purchased from this company, but I did a quick google search for the EZ Lasher and this is what first popped up. It looks very interesting as look at the picture. It fits right on the end of your lasher. I'm not sure if it would pop off easily when lashing, but it is an interesting concept. If it would stay attached to the lasher then I think it would be just as good as a Lash Buddy.

Second, Tea, I'm laughing because I wouldn't say I'm showing you the 'proper' way to lash a rim, I'm just showing you 'my' way. In fact, I started out with using a small flat blade screwdriver and I ask my students to bring a screwdriver just for the fact of lashing on a rim to 'create the space'. Screwdrivers work mighty fine. What happens though, is I let my students try out my lashing tool and they are hooked and in some instances have one of their own in hand for the next class! hehehe I have a new weaving friend, Darlene and she uses a bone tool and although I've watched others use it, I, myself, have never tried one.

Bone Lashing Tool


Also, while doing further research on lashing tools, I came across one being sold by Royalwood that looks like it would work well. Here is a photo. It is called a Stainless Steel Lashing Fid with hardwood handle and it sells for $9.95. This is something new that I've never seen before.
Finally, I wanted to add, that if you do decide to purchase the Lash Buddy or Lash Saver, in some instances it comes in a small or large size. My personal preference in the small size. When lashing a rim, I lash with 11/64" or 1/4" and both work well with the small size lash buddy. I have found that when using the large size lashing tool, sometimes my spokes are too close together to use it so I continually reach for the small tool. If you are weaving a twill weave basket, you may find that even a lash buddy is too big of a tool to use between your close spokes.

I hope this is giving you all some insight into lashing tools.

Baskets of Blessings and have a wonderful weekend,

Nancy

Lash Buddy--A Favorite Tool of Mine

I use a lot of household common tools and supplies to weave my baskets. Quite honestly, other than buying the reed to start weaving, you would probably have most basket weaving tools on hand in your own home. I do have a couple of specialty basket weaving tools. The first is a Spoke Weight that I mentioned in this post HERE. The second specialty tool I use is a "lashing tool" It is honestly a real favorite tool of mine and I wouldn't weave a basket without it any more. Above are a couple of photos of different ones. When searching your favorite basket weaving store for a lashing tool, it can go by other names such as "Lash Buddy" or "Lash Saver". The cost I've seen runs between $6.50 and $8.00. I find it to be well worth the money.

My friend Anne calls it a shoe horn for basket weaving and that is exactly what it is. When you have your rim fastened in place and you are ready to lash the rim on, slip the lashing tool under your rim and your woven rim row. This creates a channel because the lashing tool is a "U" or "V" shape. This channel allows you to slip your lasher through the channel and lash your rim on with much greater speed. These two pictures show me using it to lash the rim and to hide the end of the lasher.

I rate this tool 2 thumbs up, 5 stars, a 10. Can you see how much I love this tool? What is your favorite tool? I'd like to hear.

Happy Weaving and Baskets of Blessings,

Nancy

Technique/Tip Tuesday--Spoke Weight

I have a couple of favorite basket weaving tools, but today I'm going to talk about my #1 tool, the Spoke Weight.

When I first learned how to weave we would put our dishpans full of water on the table to hold our reed in place. While this worked, it was very space consuming. The spoke weight is a heavy metal weight that also is a ruler. It is perfect for holding reed in place and measuring to get the exact length of reed or space between reeds. This is a must have tool for basket weavers.

Here is my tip. What if you don't have a spoke weight and don't want to put the dishpan on the table? What if you do have a spoke weight yet your basket is large and you need more than one. Here's what you do. Go to your pantry and get out a bag of dried beans and use that as a weight. Dried beans are inexpensive, the plastic bag keeps the beans dry, and they don't take up hardly any additional table space. Use 2, 3, or 4 bags if needed. It is a handy homemade kitchen tool to make your basket weaving just that much easier!

Love,

Nancy