Tucson, Spring 2020 ~ Create
In all honesty, I have had this kit sitting half-finished for a few years, since our big multi-canyon RVing trip to the Southwest. It was purchased as a souvenir craft for my oldest, but judging from how beat up my fingers were when stitching it together, I don’t blame her for quickly abandoning it…
These baskets are made using two types of natural materials, one – a thicker reed to create the structure, and second – a more pliable material that is used to stitch the cording together with overlapping stitches. These are often decorated with contrasting fibers to create traditional patterns that symbolize natural spirits and elements. The grassy fiber is usually kept moist for easier pliability. Tight stitches create quite a strong weave, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these baskets were even made waterproof, or at least watertight.
I now use mine to hold my rings and hair ties on my night stand. It is a daily reminder of my trips, and how beat up my fingers got when making it, since I was too stubborn/lazy to deal with any wet fibers…
It’s incredible how perfectly my finished cross stitch resembles some of the photos we took in and around Saguaro National Park – West. I picked it up at the Stitches Lovers Shop on Etsy, originally hoping to transform it into one of those popular animal silhouettes with the landscape contained within. The only familiar outline that would be appropriate for Arizona desert would have been a snake, which would have lost quite a bit of detail of this really rich pattern. So, a circle it remained. I also altered some of the colors in the sky to pick up some of the pinks we captured during a sunset at the Gates Pass Trailhead, and changed the cacti color from black to dark green, to soften the overall effect.
I simply love it.
