A tisket, a tasket

A green and natural basket!

Today was the basket workshop I taught. Six students turned up for a lot of laughs and some basketmaking. None of them had made a basket before, so I kept the pace slow and easy, and at the end of four hours, everyone had a basket. It was interesting watching the baskets take shape, because, though we all were using the same materials, each basket came out different. I let them experiment with different widths of reed, and I'd brought natural and green-dyed reed for colors.
The most interesting thing to watch was the basket-makers themselves. The ups and downs of this-isn't-going-well and hey-that-part-was-easy were fun to see, and watching their faces as they realized that this thing really was going to turn out to be a real basket was priceless.
About midway through the process, most of them were saying, "Well, this was fun, but I don't think I'll ever make another one", but by the end of the workshop, most were making noises about what we could make next time. One even took down the name of the place I buy supplies - I think she's hooked.
I know they were happy with their creations when I pointed out that this size basket makes a lovely holiday gift, and got a universal "Unh-uh! I am totally keeping this! This basket is all mine!"

And one more bit of good - since I wove a basket right along with them as a demo, I'm that one little step closer to Christmas...

Yes, words do bite.

But first, a basket. The class I'll be teaching is a beginner's class, so I wanted a simple basket that would cover the basics: an open-weave bottom, plain plaited sides, and a simple wrapped rim. I made this one for the class sample:(Clothespins included for scale. And because they're what I use for clamps (best cheap craft clamps ever!) so they happened to be nearby.)
And the semi-side view:

The only thing I didn't do while it was still wet, that I really should have done, was to burn off the "hairs" - little fibery bits from the reed that stick out here and there.

But given how late it was, and how tired I was, and how crappy I felt, it seemed like a remarkably poor idea to start playing with open flames. I'll resoak the basket at a later date, and burn them off then. (Getting the basket wet reduces the risk of setting fire to it. Go figure.)

Oh, the post title?
I had a feeling that the last words of this post would come back and bite me on the ass...
Yes. I'm sick. Madman had a head cold a week or so ago that he passed on to me, but my version is a combination head and chest cold. One or the other would have been sufficient. Both at once is beating the crap out of me. I've been taking the elderberry syrup, and I think it's helping. (Which is actually scary; if this bad is 'better', imagine how truly bad I'd feel without it...)
Tomorrow is my day off. I had all kinds of plans, but I think my new plan is to wrap up in a quilt and lay on the couch. A friend at work loaned me season 4 of Lost, I have plenty of knitting, and lots and lots of elderberry cough syrup.
Now all I need is a truckload of tissues.

*Yawn*

Up way later than I had planned. I was finishing up a sample for a beginning basket-weaving class I'll be teaching next month. I just needed to finish putting the rim on it. After diligently soaking the reed, getting other things accomplished while I waited, I discovered that the piece I had chosen was about 3 inches too short.
*sigh*
So I had to cut a new piece, and set it to soaking. I ended up starting the rim at about the time I had planned to be finished. I could have just set the whole thing aside, and finished another day, but my innate stubbornness kicked in. Everything was ready. I wanted to get it done. By gum, I was going to finish it.
Virtue may be its own reward, but stubbornness is its own punishment...