Materials: raffia, waxed cotton-linen thread
Dimensions: 13 x 16cm, 5mm thick

This is my first non-basket. It could be used as a large coaster, small trivet, or a little shrine placemat. I picked out three colors of thread from my old bookbinding tool pouch and stitched in intuitive patterns until I was satisfied.

Basketweaving is meditative, I find. Most of my other work involves hours, if not days, of planning, preparation, and/or research, which can make starting anything new pretty intimidating. But with baskets, at least for now, I really enjoy just seeing where the fiber wants to take me.

Halfway through this one, I paused and thought, "these stripes in these colors look kind of Seussian, don't they?"