Organizing the Basket House
My newly re-roofed Basket House is now also clean and organized.
Basketry is made from pliable materials that bend and form shape. Some examples include pine, straw, willow, various grasses, threads, and fine wooden splints. I have hundreds of baskets in my collection - some are rare and antique, some are vintage, and some are more contemporary. Last week, I had the timeworn cedar roof of the Basket House replaced with a longer-lasting standing seam snap lock roof system. Afterward, the structure was cleaned and all the baskets were re-organized and returned. If you follow my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen my posts showing some of the process.
Here are a few more, enjoy.
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- This is the little house where I store my basket collection. It is located across from my long clematis pergola. It now has a brand new metal standing seam snap-lock roof in “Bedford Gray” that should last many, many years.
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- After the roof was replaced, the inside was swept clean. Now it is ready for all the baskets to be stored and re-organized. I like to do this task once every couple of years to ensure all the baskets are in good condition.
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- Many of these baskets I hadn’t seen in awhile. They always bring back fond memories.
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- A good number of these baskets were used during my catering days. Fortunately, the days during the roof work were dry and warm, but on this afternoon, we rushed to get all the baskets back inside before the forecasted showers.
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- Basket weaving is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into two or three dimensional objects – anything that will bend and form a shape can be made into basket. Baskets are made using different techniques, such as “plaiting”, which uses materials that are wide and braid like,”twining”, which uses materials from roots and tree bark. Twining refers to a weaving technique where two or more flexible elements cross each other as they weave through the stiffer spokes.”Wicker” basketry uses reed, cane, willow, oak. “Coiled” basketry uses grasses and rushes.
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- This basket also has straps for wearing on one’s back and handles for carrying – it was likely used to gather twigs and wood. Baskets were needed as containers for everything imaginable – food, clothing, storage and transport. Fruit, nuts, seeds and dried meats were often collected and stored in these hand-made containers.
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- Early basketmakers selected materials from nature, such as stems, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, wood, and pinstraw. Baskets vary not only across geographies and cultures, but also within the regions in which they are made.
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- Some of these are traditional English garden baskets called trugs. They were handmade using bent wood. They are sturdy, functional, and beautiful.
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- I also have a nice collection of flower arrangement baskets with long handles.
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- This basket in the front is called a buttocks basket, so named for its shape. Similar baskets are also called melon baskets, egg baskets, and gathering baskets.
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- Human civilizations all around the world embraced the craft of basket weaving. But, because the natural materials used in weaving baskets naturally decompose, it’s hard to know exactly how old the craft really is.
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- Slowly, the baskets are returned to the house. Many of these baskets can actually be hung from the rafters – to save shelf space for baskets without handles. I had “S” hooks made out of a heavy gauge copper wire to suspend them inside.
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- Each basket was lightly dusted before returning to the shelves.
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- These are berry baskets. Some baskets are also organized by type and neatly placed together without stacking.
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- This structure also has a window on three sides for good cross ventilation.
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- Here I am organizing and re-assessing each basket as it is returned to the house.
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- I love baskets of all kinds, and am always looking for rare pieces to add to my collection.
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- Here is the Basket House completely re-organized. It’s amazing how many can fit in this structure.
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- All my baskets are now tucked away neatly in the shelter – protected from all the elements.
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- And here’s a good “throwback” photo. Perhaps you recall this photo from the pages of my very first book, Entertaining, published in 1982? The beamed kitchen ceiling of my 1810 Turkey Hill farmhouse in Connecticut was lined with many of the same baskets.
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