In which Izzy ponders how many baskets is too many, while solving questions of contrast, balance, emphasis and proportion with fabric scraps and threads.
Izzy, one can never have enough filled baskets! 🙃 I’ve been forced to begin using plastic containers because I need to stack them. I continue to collect more stuff. I’ll never have the time to use everything! But, I’m having fun!! 😍
Oh I use plastic containers too, for the same reason! Stacking, plus see-through = I’m less likely to forget what I’ve got. These days I try and reuse the ones I’ve already got instead of buying more - but that also means I never let them go. Don’t look in my attic, that’s all I’m saying…
I have collected baskets for many years.. mostly from charity shops, but also one or two from IKEA and artisan stores... so good to know there are other collectors out there 😅!
As for measurement...it’s whatever makes most sense at the time, but never mixed up. An inch rather than 2.5cm makes more sense when estimating a small length... but a metre rather than 3 feet or a yard! I know that my arm length plus across body to shoulder is 1 meter approx so a good tool for estimating longer lengths. And yes this is in fabric measurement! For distance it’s whatever is appropriate for the country I’m in. So for the first 40 years it was miles, but the past 14 it’s been kilometres. I am thankful to have grown up in decimalisation though... pounds shillings and pence made no sense! 😂
As for NASA using metric.. except the one time they didn’t 😳😖
Thank you Emma! Ikea have let me down recently, they didn’t see to have much of a selection BUT I do like those lightweight ones they have with the handles…so useful 😍. And yes! I remember there was a thing about NASA getting mixed up once…oops 🚀
PS: Just read the article about "basket case". Do love some etimology! I won't judge anyone who uses the idiom, but I don't think I'll ever forget its origins and will probably refrain from using it unless we're speaking of baskets per se. I do find too good not to use when you have a thing with baskets...
Thank you Ana - I think this is about the only occasion I would use it! I’d never use it to describe a person, but this ‘situation’ with my apparent obsession seemed to warrant it!
I also love baskets. They're a great type of object, aren't they? Small or big, with or without lid, simple or complex, plain or embelished, to carry as a handbag or let stand on the floor to make all types of thingies look organized and pretty (great for yarn, btw). I'd love to learn how to weave baskets in all sorts of ways, and there are some traditional Portuguese* ones that are beautiful and spark some nostalgia, including some my mom probably thinks it's still hers, but little does she know that I'll probably try to take two or three with me when I'm no longer inbetween homes (now currently living on my parents' vacation home while the construction work on my own home isn't finished). And one of the many things I want to crochet is baskets... of course. Made an experiment once, but I'll dedicate myself to doing some proper big ones sooner or later, now that I feel more comfortable with crochet techniques. :D
PS: As for imperial measurements, here in Portugal we only learn metric; other systems, we learn en passant, probably only to know they exist and how much easier the metric system seems to be; doing crochet means I have to do some conversions sometimes, because there's more information on standard measurements for different types of pieces in English... Google is a life-saver. :D
Oooh ooh ooh!! So much good stuff here, thank you! My daughter is planning a short trip to Portugal in a few weeks, I wonder if I could persuade her to bring back a little souvenir 😉 I’d heard of the Birkin Bag, but not the basket - I definitely prefer the latter!
Oh I want to know how that trip goes, and what souvenirs you get! :D
Just went yesterday to Retrosaria Rosa Pomar, and it's so worth it. The shop is beautiful, the yarns are beautiful, the people on the shop are great. Really worth stopping by for a visit.
(I read recently a piece on how the Birkin Bag came to be. In short, Jane Birkin was on a flight with someone from Hermès. She had her basket, and it didn't behave well when she tried putting it on the overhead compartment. They spent the flight discussing and drafting the alternative Birkin Bag. It wasn't this article I read, but here's a version of the story: https://madisonavenuecouture.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-the-birkin-bag-the-holy-grail-handbag)
Good morning Izzy! I’m afraid here in the US, we’re well behind the curve, still happily using imperial measurements. I remember a push when I was in elementary school (maaaaany years ago) that we would soon convert, so all needed to learn metric. I learned the basics, all based on 10, meter is longer than a yard, etc. All I can say is than God for Alexa, she can convert imperial to metric and vice versa quickly and (hopefully) efficiently!
I’m always so intrigued that in many ways, when it comes to technology etc the US is definitely ahead, yet still uses all imperial! What do NASA use 🧐?!
The mix between metric and imperial measurements is very common for people of a certain age - ie those of us who were in school when the UK adopted metric. We became bilingual, metric at school and imperial at home. I sew in imperial, buy fabric in metric (quite useful as a metre is larger than a yard so there's more leftovers for the stash), and buy children's clothes in metric. My husband's a draughtsman so works in metric but prefers to cook in imperial (or use American cups, according to the recipe.) It's all too confusing!
As for baskets...that link was quite informative, thanks....but never too many! As long as you can see them,mind. I'd quite like a cupboard ,or two, for storage but have open shelves instead because if I can't see something, then I forget about it. I have a basket beside me right now for handwork - it was a gift at Christmas, filled with gorgeous Devon goodies -and very pretty. It's a bit big, though, and I think there's probably a project already lost in its' depths. (Under the pretty notebooks I bought following your last post!😂)
Yep, I think that’s it - school in the 70s! I mostly cook in grams/millilitres now, unless it’s pasta or a cake - ounces are so much easier to remember. Never got the hang of cups! My cupboard is both too big and LONG and simultaneously useful. I don’t need the mount cutter or dye pot on a daily or even monthly basis, but I know where they are. I can usually remember what's in there, but the drawers nearer my desk and sewing machine….there are unplumbed depths there, for sure! Put it in a drawer, close it, *poof* it’s gone.
Love this...I think I need to drag you out for a coffee soon. If it's any comfort, despite passing on some finished items , my stuff has mow encroached into three bedrooms, the dining room and sitting room 😝. Not all my projects I hasten to add, some are ongoing work for other people that I can't wait to get rid of!!
Yeah yeah…you say that 🤭 Before Scott the sparky fitted the new lights, I just had to check for height/clearance, which meant trying to get through the heaps to the thing that needed measuring, while both him and himself looked on in wonder…I tried to ameliorate their bafflement with the sheer quantity of stuff by exclaiming "I'm not as bad as C!" 🤣 You have the proud honour of being my benchmark…(yes to coffee if you’re now not too offended 😘☕️)
- you are definitely not the only one to mix measurements, I work in either Imperial or metric depending on the pattern/recipe. I am trying to discipline myself to stick to one system at a time though.
- I go for a variation on the basket theme and use lots of hessian shopping bags
- about 'basket case' - I'd probably avoid it in writing 'just in case'!
Izzy, one can never have enough filled baskets! 🙃 I’ve been forced to begin using plastic containers because I need to stack them. I continue to collect more stuff. I’ll never have the time to use everything! But, I’m having fun!! 😍
Oh I use plastic containers too, for the same reason! Stacking, plus see-through = I’m less likely to forget what I’ve got. These days I try and reuse the ones I’ve already got instead of buying more - but that also means I never let them go. Don’t look in my attic, that’s all I’m saying…
An excellent post! 👏🏼👏🏼🧡
I have collected baskets for many years.. mostly from charity shops, but also one or two from IKEA and artisan stores... so good to know there are other collectors out there 😅!
As for measurement...it’s whatever makes most sense at the time, but never mixed up. An inch rather than 2.5cm makes more sense when estimating a small length... but a metre rather than 3 feet or a yard! I know that my arm length plus across body to shoulder is 1 meter approx so a good tool for estimating longer lengths. And yes this is in fabric measurement! For distance it’s whatever is appropriate for the country I’m in. So for the first 40 years it was miles, but the past 14 it’s been kilometres. I am thankful to have grown up in decimalisation though... pounds shillings and pence made no sense! 😂
As for NASA using metric.. except the one time they didn’t 😳😖
Thank you Emma! Ikea have let me down recently, they didn’t see to have much of a selection BUT I do like those lightweight ones they have with the handles…so useful 😍. And yes! I remember there was a thing about NASA getting mixed up once…oops 🚀
PS: Just read the article about "basket case". Do love some etimology! I won't judge anyone who uses the idiom, but I don't think I'll ever forget its origins and will probably refrain from using it unless we're speaking of baskets per se. I do find too good not to use when you have a thing with baskets...
Thank you Ana - I think this is about the only occasion I would use it! I’d never use it to describe a person, but this ‘situation’ with my apparent obsession seemed to warrant it!
Absolutely agree! :D
I also love baskets. They're a great type of object, aren't they? Small or big, with or without lid, simple or complex, plain or embelished, to carry as a handbag or let stand on the floor to make all types of thingies look organized and pretty (great for yarn, btw). I'd love to learn how to weave baskets in all sorts of ways, and there are some traditional Portuguese* ones that are beautiful and spark some nostalgia, including some my mom probably thinks it's still hers, but little does she know that I'll probably try to take two or three with me when I'm no longer inbetween homes (now currently living on my parents' vacation home while the construction work on my own home isn't finished). And one of the many things I want to crochet is baskets... of course. Made an experiment once, but I'll dedicate myself to doing some proper big ones sooner or later, now that I feel more comfortable with crochet techniques. :D
*If anyone wants to check, there is the Birkin basket, that got its name after being used as a purse by Jane Birkin in the 70's (https://retrosaria.rosapomar.com/products/cesta-de-cana-birkin-birkin-basket), and there are also the traditional reed baskets (beautiful examples of these and of a brand I love: https://www.victoria-handmade.com/).
PS: As for imperial measurements, here in Portugal we only learn metric; other systems, we learn en passant, probably only to know they exist and how much easier the metric system seems to be; doing crochet means I have to do some conversions sometimes, because there's more information on standard measurements for different types of pieces in English... Google is a life-saver. :D
Oooh ooh ooh!! So much good stuff here, thank you! My daughter is planning a short trip to Portugal in a few weeks, I wonder if I could persuade her to bring back a little souvenir 😉 I’d heard of the Birkin Bag, but not the basket - I definitely prefer the latter!
Oh I want to know how that trip goes, and what souvenirs you get! :D
Just went yesterday to Retrosaria Rosa Pomar, and it's so worth it. The shop is beautiful, the yarns are beautiful, the people on the shop are great. Really worth stopping by for a visit.
(I read recently a piece on how the Birkin Bag came to be. In short, Jane Birkin was on a flight with someone from Hermès. She had her basket, and it didn't behave well when she tried putting it on the overhead compartment. They spent the flight discussing and drafting the alternative Birkin Bag. It wasn't this article I read, but here's a version of the story: https://madisonavenuecouture.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-the-birkin-bag-the-holy-grail-handbag)
Good morning Izzy! I’m afraid here in the US, we’re well behind the curve, still happily using imperial measurements. I remember a push when I was in elementary school (maaaaany years ago) that we would soon convert, so all needed to learn metric. I learned the basics, all based on 10, meter is longer than a yard, etc. All I can say is than God for Alexa, she can convert imperial to metric and vice versa quickly and (hopefully) efficiently!
I’m always so intrigued that in many ways, when it comes to technology etc the US is definitely ahead, yet still uses all imperial! What do NASA use 🧐?!
lol, per google, NASA uses metric😉
The mix between metric and imperial measurements is very common for people of a certain age - ie those of us who were in school when the UK adopted metric. We became bilingual, metric at school and imperial at home. I sew in imperial, buy fabric in metric (quite useful as a metre is larger than a yard so there's more leftovers for the stash), and buy children's clothes in metric. My husband's a draughtsman so works in metric but prefers to cook in imperial (or use American cups, according to the recipe.) It's all too confusing!
As for baskets...that link was quite informative, thanks....but never too many! As long as you can see them,mind. I'd quite like a cupboard ,or two, for storage but have open shelves instead because if I can't see something, then I forget about it. I have a basket beside me right now for handwork - it was a gift at Christmas, filled with gorgeous Devon goodies -and very pretty. It's a bit big, though, and I think there's probably a project already lost in its' depths. (Under the pretty notebooks I bought following your last post!😂)
Yep, I think that’s it - school in the 70s! I mostly cook in grams/millilitres now, unless it’s pasta or a cake - ounces are so much easier to remember. Never got the hang of cups! My cupboard is both too big and LONG and simultaneously useful. I don’t need the mount cutter or dye pot on a daily or even monthly basis, but I know where they are. I can usually remember what's in there, but the drawers nearer my desk and sewing machine….there are unplumbed depths there, for sure! Put it in a drawer, close it, *poof* it’s gone.
Love this...I think I need to drag you out for a coffee soon. If it's any comfort, despite passing on some finished items , my stuff has mow encroached into three bedrooms, the dining room and sitting room 😝. Not all my projects I hasten to add, some are ongoing work for other people that I can't wait to get rid of!!
Yeah yeah…you say that 🤭 Before Scott the sparky fitted the new lights, I just had to check for height/clearance, which meant trying to get through the heaps to the thing that needed measuring, while both him and himself looked on in wonder…I tried to ameliorate their bafflement with the sheer quantity of stuff by exclaiming "I'm not as bad as C!" 🤣 You have the proud honour of being my benchmark…(yes to coffee if you’re now not too offended 😘☕️)
😂 I claim that my storage isn't as efficient as yours!!
😆
To answer your questions:
- you are definitely not the only one to mix measurements, I work in either Imperial or metric depending on the pattern/recipe. I am trying to discipline myself to stick to one system at a time though.
- I go for a variation on the basket theme and use lots of hessian shopping bags
- about 'basket case' - I'd probably avoid it in writing 'just in case'!
Each to their own! I daren’t even begin to count the bags…did I mention I have a thing about bags too?! And yes, almost changed it to 'wicker woman'…