As I was caring for my 95-year-old mother, who had learned to make baskets from her grandmother back in the 1930s, I looked at one of hers one day, and the thought came, I can do that! Ever the teacher, Mom took great pleasure in guiding me, even with her increasing dementia. That first basket was ugly, but I was hooked. I moved from using only green needles, as Mom had taught me, to dried needles from SC’s plentiful long-needled pines. As my skill grew, I gave away baskets as quickly as I made them, and people encouraged me to start selling them. I studied books and YouTube tutorials on processing and dying the needles, adding beads, using elaborate stitches, and finishing the baskets with beeswax. Designs came to my mind as I looked at God’s creation or as I slept or sewed, and I’ve stretched myself to try new embellishments and techniques. My husband, Mark, is wonderfully encouraging and supportive. He built me outdoor racks to dry large quantities of harvested green needles and taught me to use some of his tools for mounting embellishments. Thanks to him, my son, and neighboring SC hunters for a good supply antlers; to my daughters and sister for shells, stones, and other adornments; and to so many others for your ideas and encouragement.
