Nantucket Basket Making Lesson with Martha Lawrence

I found out that Nantucket Basket Maker, Author, and Authority Martha Lawrence is living an hour and half south of me in Florida where I reside in the winter months. She is the author of "Lightship Baskets of Nantucket" http://www.amazon.com/Lightship-Baskets-Nantucket-Schiffer-Collectors/dp/0764308912 one of my all time favorite books on these very special baskets.

I contacted her and she agreed to give me a lesson and we started off with a basic 6 inch Basket. 

Martha is delightful, knowledgable and very charming. I was thrilled to get to work with her and learn some techniques, tips, and tricks.

Putting the rim on the basket was a cinch with Martha's expertise and techniques!

I wove as tightly as I could!

After my 2nd day of weaving!

The very beginnings... Getting those staves lined up and straight!

A collection of Monnie's Baskets. She is an advanced student if Martha's and definitely inspiring! What work!!

Some other molds and projects at Martha's in process!!

These are Martha Lawrence's  set of nesting baskets from her private collection displayed at her studio. 

My finished basket! What a special basket. I loved making it and I promise to keep it always! Thank you Martha!!

Pine Needle Basketry is an Opportunity to Live in the Moment

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Doing Pine Needle Basketry is a really great opportunity to slow down and stay in the moment with your own breath. It is a meditation in itself. When you have yourself settled down this way, you don't project your mental state into the future and instead take great care and interest in each stitch. The old saying that a stitch in time saves nine is so true.

 I started work on a Pine Needle Basket today and I think you can see from the very beginnings of this basket that there is a certain relaxed contentment in it.

This is the thing about making Pine Needle Baskets, we learn by our mistakes and what works for us and what doesn't. Being adaptable and creative can be so much more than just doing a stitch and liking how it looks. Everything about the art form from picking the needles up off the ground, washing and drying them, baking them in glycerin or dyeing them has an energy of love which we infuse with every step into the process of each basket. Art is a process and cultivating the resiliency to be in constant awe and creative adaptability goes a long way towards the overall look of any given basket. It is best to just chalk up any set backs as " experience" and move lovingly forward to the next step in the process. Next time you process some needles try something new or wait for a warmer day. Sometimes this is why baskets can take a long time, because we wait for the perfect moment to do things. This doesn't always come easy. I always want to push things through with my mojo but as I grow older I start to see a wonderful rhythm and energy to the ups and downs or trials of making a basket.

I have tasted the hidden honey of the lotus that expands on the ocean of light, and thus, I am blessed. Let this be my parting word. - Rabindranath Tagore

Pine Needle Basket "Amber Rose" finished July 2014

Pine Needle Basket created by Melissa Abbott during the Spring and Summer of 2014. Basket was begun in Merritt Island, FL, sourced with local Pine Needles 

gathered there after a wind storm. 

The Very Beginning - Jasper Caboshon

Adding some Beads
 Amber, Red Glass Mariposa, and Carnelian

Tools of the Trade

Work continued on the basket after Melissa 

returned to Gloucester, MA

The Basket starts to create a bowl

The Basket was finished during July 2014 in Gloucester, MA. The basket's needles were treated with a baked Glycerin bath for preservation which darkened them slightly. Crawford's Irish Linen Beeswaxed Thread was used with a Jasper Center, Amber colored beads, Red Glass Mariposa beads, and 

Semi Prescious Carnelian Stone Beads.

Nearing the End

Working on it at Niles Beach in Gloucester, MA

Basket was finished July 17, 2014 in Gloucester, MA

The Making of Haley's Round Nantucket Six Inch Basket Purse with Scrimshaw

Haley with her Basket

I made this basket for Haley last fall. It is a 6 inch round Nantucket Basket with a lid which I fashioned into a small purse. I used cherry bases, cherry long handle, bone findings, an old ivory piano key for the nameplate, and an ivory scrimshaw piece I did myself. This scrimshaw was my very first attempt at doing some scrimshaw and while primitive and a student piece, I was happy with the outcome. In fact, the whole basket was an experiment. I had recently purchased a 6" Lid Mold from DELS Nantuckets and wanted to try it out.  

The very start of the weaving

The first few rows of weaving.
They are always the hardest part of the basket for me.

After I got going on the Base.
Starting to look good but still needs a lot of packing

The Basket comes off the Mold

View of Interior before any varnishing

Varnishing

Doesn't look too Bad

Varnishing after I got the lid made
and the hinges on

Haley with her son Austin and husband Brian at our home at Christmas. 2013
I gave her the basket as a Christmas Present 

Towards the End of Making Basket - I have glued on the scrimshaw but haven't gotten on the bone hasp yet

Finished Basket

View of Interior with Lining

Still on the Workbench

Interior Name Plate done on an old Piano Key

Close up of Lighthouse Island Scrimshaw
My very first Attempt at Scrimshaw

I think the Scrimshaw lights up the basket!

The very first of my new Nantucket 6 inch round basket purses and what a satisfying project it was and a wonderful gift for Haley! I hope to make many more!!This was made during the Fall of 2013 in Gloucester, MA. This basket should last her for years to come and be the perfect summer purse! I hope she enjoys and loves it!

Happy Basket Making,
Melissa Abbott

Photos of the Making of a 8" Cherry Nantucket Purse 2013 with Carved Bone Whale by Melissa Abbott

Finished Cherry Wood Basket with Bone Findings and Whale Carving
by Melissa Abbott 2013 - Gloucester, MA

Putting the Staves on the Basket

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I use elastic bands and a Spray bottle of warm water to mold Rattan Staves to
Nantucket Basket Mold

Starting the Weaving

Staves on the Mold next to a finished
Maple Nantucket Basket

Close Up of Weaving

Getting the Weaving as tight as possible

Taking Shape

Molding the Cherry Wood Rims 

View of Back Hinges

Side View

I lined the basket with some oriental quilting fabric using velcro so it is removable

I finished this in September 2013 after working on it during the Summer.
I gave it to my stepdaughter Emily for a Christmas Present this year.

This is a photo of Emily Opening the Nantucket Basket surrounded by her children at
Christmas 2013.

Peeking inside!!
This purse, made from Cherry and Rattan will last for years to come and can serve as a wonderful summer basket purse!

Happy Basket Making, 

Melissa Abbott

Gloucester, MA