The Mystery Basket

First Post of the Day

At the end of August, Lisa and I did some antiquing together. While I found a lot of HSOs, I didn't come home with any of them. But, I did come home with this:

Lisa and I both headed straight to it when we spied it - it sure looked like the hand woven baskets we see at 18th century events.

"Are you going to get it?" she asked me.

"Let me think about how much I am willing to pay for it first," I replied. I always do that when I see something that tempts me. Since I had never seen that style/shape of basket, I wasn't positive that it would be historically accurate. But, it clearly was handmade, and the squares were a familiar pattern from other 18th century baskets that I have. 

So, I fixed a price in my mind that would be my limit and flipped the price tag over. 

$20? Oh yeah. Mine!

It needed a lot of cleaning. The inside was full of dust bunnies that were embedded within the slats.

It took several cleaning sessions out in the garage

and two cans of compressed air before it was clean.

The pattern and shape is quite intricate and unusual - I have never seen this kind of basket before. What was it used for? 

Using a photo of it, I did a Google photo search - it's a buttock gathering basket. Yep, BUTTOCK. Because, well, LOOK at it! They were fairly common and used for gathering - eggs, produce, berries, and more.

(I looked again at my own baskets and several of them are also buttock baskets. Not sure I am glad I know that now - I'll never not see the cheeks when I look at them! LOL)

There is some writing inside the bottom of the basket but I'm still trying to decipher that. And I checked with a friend who makes baskets and she did not make this one.

It's not as well made as the baskets I already have in my collection, but then, those are all gifts from my mother who bought them from the top basket makers in the living history world, so comparing this basket to those really is not fair. Still, I like it and am glad that I found it.

Leslie has put out inquiries to her living history friends, so I am hopeful that I will get some answers as to who made it.

Stay 'tooned!

The More to Come, Came

Here's the more to come that was promised in today's earlier post. (Scroll down if you missed it.)

My new business sign is coming along really well and I am loving it!

The woodworker sent me an updated picture yesterday. He's still painting it (there will be a red border around the perimeter) and he needs to seal it, and then he will attach some hardware so I can hang it from a tent pole. 

I still haven't gotten the photos that the publicist took of our presentations at Lisa's school, but I did get a few that were posted on the school's web site.

Me helping a student try on a wool cloak.

Leslie discussing what kids would do if they had lived at Fort Ouiatenon during the time when the voyageurs came down from Canada via the Wabash and were ready to trade, trade, trade!

Lisa had a girl in her seminar who actually plays the fife in one of the fife and drum corps that will be performing at Feast. She gave an impromptu concert!

Not only do I need to finish Lisa's robe a l'Anglaise, I am redoing my price tagging. In the past it started with a small piece of brown paper with the size and price written on it that was then pinned to the garment.

But you don't know from that minimal tag that the pattern on this shortgown is not paisley, it's an 18th century pattern called "botha" that is a rarely found in 21st century fabrics. 

(I've always wondered if George Lucas used that word for the Bothan people in his films. The name "Anakin" also has an interesting and apropos history, too. But I digress.)

Then I progressed to labels like this where I wrote in the size with a fabric marker. But still, I needed a spot for the fabric content so out came the brown paper and pin again. Time to look for another way to tag my clothing.

I found these inexpensive tags on Amazon. They weren't pre-strung in the photo, but the text about the item said they were.

Nope! Those holes were not pre-punched (all 100 of them), the jute twine was not attached (it wasn't even pre-cut), and they are definitely NOT "convenient to use."

I've been working on them ten at a time - punching out the hole, cutting the jute, stringing them through the hole, and tying them off. Forty are done and I can already see that I will not have enough jute to finish the 100 tags. 

Fortunately I have a huge spool of jute that I use when I prepare fabric remnants for sale.

It's more substantial than the jute for the tags, but I think it will work. If not, I have some heavy linen 18th century thread that I can use.

And fortunately I have this awl. It's hand forged steel with a deer antler handle. It was made to punch through leather and heavier items, but it also popped those holes in the tags quickly and easily. Grateful to have it.

(Next time I'll spend the extra $5 for the tags that were pictured as completely finished and save myself two plus hours of punching cutting, stringing, and tying.)

I do a lot of antiquing and thrifting, always looking for horses for my collection. But sometimes I find other things. This was a surprise.

Longaberger baskets are absolutely everywhere when I thrift and I have no interest in them, but this basket is not a Longaberger. It's something else. I recognized the craftsmanship right away.

That little basket was handmade by one of the basket makers who comes to Feast. And at $3, I snapped it up. It went for far more than that when it was sold at Feast.

Finally, I had the last two MRIs yesterday morning and already the findings have been posted in my online chart.  Of course, that doesn't mean I can read and understand them - they're in medicalese. (I spent some time on Google trying to figure out what they said.)

About those kinds of reports...

After I had my bloodwork tested by my hematologist in June, the pathologist's report that was posted said I had smudge cells which are cancer markers. The report recommended a bunch of tests to determine which kind of cancer I had.

My hematologist (who was furious at the pathologist) contacted me right away. "If that pathologist would have read the report I'd sent him, he would have known you have no spleen. And smudge cells are VERY COMMON in people who do not have spleens. Lynn, you do not have cancer!" (I am still thankful she called and let me know that so quickly!)

Anyway, after that experience, I learned to wait and hear what the doctor says about the radiology and other reports before coming to any conclusions about my health. And that happens Monday.

I'm ready to hear what it all means. Stay 'tooned.