Pine Needle Basket making...

Lake Tahoe Historical Society offers a number of interesting lectures, demonstrations and classes. Today, I attended a pine needle basket making class from Audrey Frank.

Audrey's family tree branches out to both the Summit Lake Paiute and Washoe Tribes of northern Nevada. Her grandmother taught her to bead daisy chains, but Audrey didn't become serious about basket weaving until many years later when she learned how to make pine needle baskets from her aunt and step-mother. They taught her how to start the basket, create its "Washoe running loop stitches" and make decorative lids.

A large group of women, with very different styles and skills, enjoyed learning from Audrey. While my incomplete basket is not anywhere as beautiful as hers, I was pleased with what I accomplished in a very short amount of time.

Patience and 10" or longer pine needles are the main ingredients in crafting a basket. After soaking the needles overnight, they are coiled and stitched with sinew (thankfully artificial). As you can see by my 'work in progress', I've got a long way to go, yet with practice and patience, mine should improve greatly.

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