A Correction on My Post

Good gravy friends did I make a mistake! This sweet basket from W.H. Baskets that I posted about HERE is not a Bug Catcher Basket, it is a BAG CATCHER BASKET!!! It is funny how our eyes and our minds play tricks on us. Timothy had been talking about parts of insects in his science class. It got me to thinking about how when the children were younger we would catch insects in a bug catcher. Then when I saw the wooden base with the hole in it I guess my mind just wandered. I had bugs on the brain. But let me tell you, it is a BAG basket for all those grocery sacks that you accumulate. I am so laughing at myself and hope you are laughing at with me on this. Please go back to W.H. Baskets and take another look at this sweet basket and download your free pattern. A bag catcher basket is very handy indeed. (although a bug catcher can be just as handy at times) I have a bag catcher basket hanging in my pantry that I wove years ago and it gets used daily. (I have a bug catcher too but not a bug catcher basket) Ok, just shut up Nancy. Know when to quit.

Forgive me W.H. Baskets for my slip.

One more thing as an FYI. There had been some question as to the cost of shipping as W.H. Baskets is located in Canada. They have informed me that they shipped two large bases to North Carolina for $7 so that can give you an idea of how much shipping might cost.

Baskets of Blessings everyone,

Nancy

The 90/10 rule

Dear Friends,
I was writing a paper just this morning titled "Keep Ahead of the Game." It is my personal motto and it is basically the same as the Boy Scout motto of Be Prepared. The synopsis of the article is basically, the more we plan ahead and prepare ahead then the smoother things will go and the better everyone's attitudes will be. There are things in life that we cannot control that just happen. These things can affect our life negatively but.....if we have been prepared, and if we have the right attitude a negative situation can be halted in its tracks and not allowed to fester and snowball. Then wouldn't you know that I ran across this beautiful video on Jen's blog. I thought it reflected so eloquently on what has been on my mind today. The video is just over four minutes. I hope you enjoy it.
Blessings,
Nancy

Make Your Own Groceries

Good Morning Friends,

As you know I've been speaking about menu planning and trying to live more frugally and I ran across this book at our local Goodwill store last week. It's called "Make Your Own Groceries" by Daphne Metaxas Hartwig. It was published in 1979 but is chuck full of 256 pages of make it yourself ideas. Did you know you can make your own baking powder or your own vanilla extract? Now of course you do have to weigh time vs. money so I don't know that I'll be making those things, but I am interested in making my own salad dressings and seasoning mixes among many other things. One of the real benefits of doing this for me is with Emily and her fibromyalsia, along with medication we are eliminating some very specific things from her diet as well as ingredients in soap, shampoo, etc. to help decrease the pain. With making my own, the benefit is knowing exactly what is going into what we put into and on our bodies.

I've never tried making my own pasta, but that is on my list of things to try this week. I'll let you know how it goes. Remember Mike's birthday present HERE? We've been grinding our own hamburger from very lean chuck and it has been so easy. Now, it did make for rather dry hamburgers one evening, but when cooking up the ground chuck for casseroles and other dishes like burritos, it has been perfect and we've been pleased with the purchase of our grinder. It will soon have paid for itself.

Do you make your own groceries? I'd love to hear what you make from scratch.

Blessings,

Nancy

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A Free Basket Weaving Pattern

Updated note:  I am so sorry W.H. Baskets that I mistaked the name of your Bag Catcher Basket as Bug Catcher.  My mind was on other things and it truly was a mistake.  Below I've striked out the word Bug and have replaced it with Bag as it's proper name.--Nancy

Hi Friends,
After all this talk about my robins, which by the way had my pyracanthia bush stripped of berries by 2:00 that afternoon, I saw this adorable basket with a bird house embellishment no less.
The pattern comes to us from W. H. Baskets.  The pattern is called "Bug Bag Catcher Basket" and it has two patterns for different sizes.  You can get the link for it HERE.   It uses a really interesting specialty base that is a semi circle with a hole.  The bases are on sale this month for either $4.00 or $5.00 depending on if you are making the large or small Bug Bag Cathcer Basket.  Very unique and clever basket and even though I say this, it looks to be a beginner basket.  Be sure to visit W.H. Baskets and take a look around.  They sure have some pretty baskets.  One more thing, be sure to print off the pattern because their free patterns change monthly.
Baskets of Blessings,
Nancy

The Source of those Robins

Here it is 7:00 am this morning and I'm listening to the birds chirp and thinking to myself that spring is right around the corner.  I love to listen to the birds.  Honestly, they are really getting quite loud and so I go take a peek and there are all those robins that I mentioned yesterday.  Big ol' fat robins!  The pyracantha bush was LOADED and the picture doesn't do it justice with how many were in the yard.  They were on the fence, on the garden shed, in other trees.  I have two other pyracanthas in the yard and it looks like the berries on the other two have been picked clean.  Will probably only be a day or so and this one will be stripped too.  I always thought pyracanthas were poisonous but obviously the birds don't agree. 

Here are just a couple of pics from my indoor garden that is coming along.
You all can do the happy dance with me because spring is right around the corner.  I say this as it is 30degrees outside right now.  I'm soooo looking forward to warmer weather.
Enjoy your day!
Nancy
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A Couple of Interesting Oddities

Just a couple of funny things I noticed today. 
There were just a whole flock of birds sitting on our garden shed.  The interesting thing is that they were all beautiful robins.  I told the kids they were having a discussion as to where they were soon going to build their nests in the yard.  Wish I had a picture because it really was a site.  I could have understood if it were pigeons all gathered together, but these were pretty robins.

Second, I thought my shopping cart sure containted a lot of "white" items.

No veges or fruit, no meat, just a few needed things and they were all white!  You sure have to watch the labels close these days.  I wanted AP flour but they have bread flour right next to it.  Same with the sour cream.  I want fat free and it is right next to the low fat and regular sour cream.  Dang, this adds minutes to my shopping time having to watch the labels so closely.

I've been noticing that my refrigerator and pantry are looking more and more white all the time lately.  How about yours?

Have a wonderful evening,

Nancy

Stenciled T-Shirt using Freezer Paper and the Cricut

Friends, Here is a fun way to get a customized T-Shirt.  It is super simple and can save big $$$$.

I started with a T-Shirt from Walmart for $6.  That's all I spent.  The rest of the supplies I already had at home.  You need a piece of Freezer Paper.  I think that runs around $5 at Walmart for a huge roll.  I used my Cricut machine but you could use any die cutting machine or even cut your own stencil with scissors and and exacto knife.

Cut your design out with the shiny side of the freezer paper DOWN.  FYI, I used the Cricut cartridge A Child's Year for the font and cut it at 1 1/2".

Place a form or something in your shirt so the paint does not absorb through the shirt to the back side.  I have had an old T-Shirt form now for over 20 years.  It's just a piece of cardboard that is shaped like a shirt.  Do they even still make these things?

Then center it on the shirt shiny side DOWN.  I also had to make sure I got the centers of the letters and put those in place.  Iron on the freezer paper at med to high heat for just a few seconds.

Here is where I put on the paint.  What I had on hand was some glitter fabric paint.  I put it on fairly thick yet I was careful not to lift the edges of the freezer paper as I put it on.  Even though the freezer paper is ironed on, it still will remove rather easily.

 

I let the paint dry for a couple of hours.  It wasn't completely dry, but I carefully lifted and removed the freezer paper and let it now dry completely before I removed it from the form.

I think it looks pretty cool.  It sure is shiny.  Unfortunately I didn't realize until after my daughter took the photo that the form I had in the shirt kind of stretched it out a bit but it should go right back into place if I dampen it a bit.  Also, but sure to turn your garment inside out for washing.
This was a fun project and fabric paint comes in all sorts of colors including glow in the dark.  For $6 plus a little paint I think I'm going to have to make another one.
Baskets of Happiness,
Nancy

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Is Reed Poisonous? - A Reader Question

Dear Friends,
Yesterday I received an e-mail from a reader and it is a question that I have been asked from time to time and I thought that perhaps others of you might have wondered the same thing so here it is:

Hey, Nancy!

I've got another question for you. I was told by someone in my guild that basket reed has toxins in it, and it should not be used for baskets that will at some time be in contact with food. At least half of the baskets I've been weaving over the last 2 months are kitchen baskets, i.e., 2 pie baskets, bread warmers, cookie keepers, silverware baskets, salt & pepper holders, coffee filter baskets, etc. Is this true? Is basket reed poisonous?

The short answer is yes there are pesticides sprayed on the reed during the processing of it as well as for transport across ocean. Now I'm not a chemist and I have not chemically tested the reed, but I would imagine that a fair amount of those pesticides are worn off and washed off as you soak the reed before using. This is one reason why you should not let your pet drink your soaking water. (For some reason it seems that dogs really like drinking reed water and they should not be allowed to do this) Have you ever soaked your reed and felt something, not gummy, but a substance on the reed as you take it out of the water? Some of that is from the oils in the machine as they cut the reed but some of that feeling or substance is from what has been sprayed on the reed. I think you probably wipe most of it off with your towel.

That said, lets look at what we put in our baskets that we use in the kitchen. For the remainder of this answer I'm going to refer to the results from Adam and Jamie and the interesting "Mythbusters" TV show.
Mythbusters did an episode where they talked about the 5 second rule...Drops on the floor and you pick it up and eat it within 5 seconds you are ok, no germs. Their results of the experiment were if something dry like an M&M dropped on the floor (providing the floor itself wasn't wet) so a dry M&M on dry floor then you can pick it up, eat it, and be basically germ free. Wet substances are another story. You drop a slice of bologna on the floor it picks up tons of germs instantly. Don't eat it! Of course things are in your basket much longer than 5 seconds but I feel the same dry against dry rule applies.

Speaking for myself and what I put in my baskets, food related, are dry and I put these things in a dry basket so dry on dry. I would never put something wet in my basket. Most of these items that I put in my basket have some sort of a covering such as tea bags are in a basket at my house and my Jello boxes are in another basket. My bananas, oranges and apples are in a basket. The apples I'll wash before we eat them. (I've read where you should wash your bananas and oranges too but I don't do that) Speaking for myself when I put bread and cookies in a basket I put a paper towel or napkin in the basket first to line it. (Guess I was more concerned of the oil from the cookies staining and spotting my basket) I too have coffee filters in a basket with my coffee but again that is dry on dry. Same goes with silverware. As far as your pie basket is concerned, a small edge of the pie might touch the basket, but IMHO it is such as small amount I personally would not be concerned. Plus whatever on the pie that became contaminated from the basket is probably stuck on the basket anyway as you removed the pie.

Did you know that many, many household items that are shipped over here from overseas have been sprayed with pesticides? Yes it is true. I never ever want to discount anyone's concerns regarding this topic and my answers come from books I've read so I'm only giving you my best answer. If you are still concerned, use a liner of some sort for all baskets that come in contact with food products. With your coffee filter basket, just don't use the very bottom filter and use that bottom filter as a liner. Basically I'm going to tell you to use your best judgement with all this.

A similar question I've been asked in the past is about using dyed reed and the dyed reed coming into contact with food. Same applies with dry on dry as mentioned above. My personal feelings with this, as I use Rit dye, are as follows. Rit dye is for fabric. We use cloth napkins and such that have been dyed, so I have never been concerned about my dyed reed possibly touching food products either.

Perhaps some of you readers have heard other things regarding this topic. Please leave a comment and let me and others know.

Super question and I appreciate you asking.
Baskets of Blessings Everyone,
Nancy

How to Dye Reed

Dear Friends, I know this is an old post but just this past week I've been asked about dying reed from four different weavers.  I never mind answering questions, but that is telling me that it is time to post this again.
Happy Weaving,
Nancy

Today I would like to post my directions on how I dye my reed. There are several dyes on the market, but I use good old Rit dye and this is my recipe.

I use a large enamel pot and work outside on an outdoor propane burner. I fill the pot about 1/2 full of water which in my case is about 2 1/2 gallons of water. I get the water up to a boil and add one box of powdered Rit die, 1 cup table salt and 1 cup white vinegar. I use powdered Rit only because it cost less than the liquid, but liquid is fine. I use the salt and vinegar to help get the color to really set well. Yes, it will fade if placed in direct sunlight, most dyes will but the salt and vinegar just seem to help keep it from having any natural fading. Using my recipe gives me really rich colors. Once the water is boiling, I turn off the heat and add my reed. I will add 2 1/2 pounds of reed to this mixture. Any more than that, it just doesn't get the intensity of color that I like. Usually I will dye 1 pound of 3/8" flat and 1 pound of 1/4" flat. Then I use 1/2 pound of another size of my choice. This just seems to be what works for me. I open up my pounds of reed and submerge them into the pot of dye doing one pound at a time. I have a big set of barbecue tongs to help push the reed down into the water. Sometimes it wants to float and most times I have to turn it to be sure it gets complete coverage. I have plenty of newspaper on the ground to catch drips and to also lay the reed on to dry once it has achieved it's color. Getting the color usually only takes a few minutes, but I have been known to let the reed soak for up to an hour. Dying reed is a simple process and very fun to watch the colors appear. I don't wear gloves, but I do wear old clothes. Please don't dye it in your kitchen. Accidents can happen too easy and oh what a mess! Also, be sure to visit http://www.ritdye.com/ for color charts, techniques and ideas.

Baskets of Blessings,

Nancy

Valentine Treat Bags using the Cricut

I made these sweet little treat bags for the kids and will be placing a piece of candy in them each day until Valentine's Day. They are made with the Cricut with the Tags Bags Boxes and More cartridge and the letters for their names are made with the Cuttin Up cartridge. The bags were cut using the Fit to Page on 12 x 12 paper and the letters were cut at 3/4".

Enjoy and Happy Feb. 1st!
Nancy
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30 Handmade Days