Guild Leaders:

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Forms:

You may download the following forms here:

Instructor Registration Form
Class Registration
Membership Form

Spring classes!

Click here for the updated spring class schedule.

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Handcrafted Designs by Gary Jerome

• Nantucket molds
• Bases
• Shave ponies
• Weave Arounds

All locally made!

Contact Gary at 218 525-6165 or email gjerome6165@charter.net to place an order or request a price list.

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Basket Weaving Tips

• Mineral Oil

  Using a sealer on your basket increases its longevity, maintains flexibility, protects from stains, and helps from drying effects of low humidity and sun/heat damage. Long before spray on oil, folks used what was readily available and cheap to seal their baskets. One of those is mineral oil. Cheap, clear, 'non-toxic' and food safe.

  Before you work on your wooden bases, take a cloth and put a small amount of mineral oil on it, then simply wipe the base. After setting spokes, you can spray with water without 'roughing' the wooden surface of your base. And yes, you can still spray/stain later if you want.

  To seal a basket, I take a spritzer (go to Target and invest in the Rubbermaid one) put about 2 cups of very warm water, then add a couple of tablespoons of mineral oil, shake well. Then GO OUTSIDE, and spray the whole basket, let sit for a bit, wipe off any excess (seagrass doesn’t absorb oil as well as reed). Or, take a large pan fill with warm water, float a small amount of mineral oil on top, and simply dip your basket. Once again, let sit for a bit and wipe off any excess.

  Any color change using mineral oil as a sealer is minimal, but as we all know, baskets mellow to a lovely honey color in time. Or maybe that is what they refer to when they talk about patina...
  --from Della Pleski

• Waxed Linen

  To keep your spokes in the slit of a wooden base while you weave: With a flat tool, tuck waxed linen in the slotted base up against the spokes to hold them in place while weaving. It takes a little more time, but it is well worth the effort. You can rotate or lift and turn your base without the spokes falling out (WHILE YOUR SPOKES ARE WET), but they are still flexible enough that you can move them around to space them properly. This is a tip I learned from a pattern by Rosemary Vuono.
  --from Barb Stahel

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About the North Shore Basket Guild

The North Shore Basket Guild was established in May of 1999. The Guild meets the second Saturday of each month (except June, July and August) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 410 North Arlington Avenue, Duluth, MN, from 10:00 - 2:00.

Dues are $15 a year and are payable in October of each year. A non-member may attend one class without paying dues, however paid members are given preference if there is a class limit.

President's Message

Isn't it great that we have our Basket Guild meetings to look forward to when the weather is so cold and snowy! We have some great classes coming up and a couple special events. Friday night and Saturday, April 11 and 12, will be our mini-retreat and May will be our final meeting of the season with a flea market and potluck lunch. Our May meeting will be the first Saturday, May 3rd, so we don't conflict with Mothers' Day.

Happy weaving!

Kathy Falk, President