With a rainbow under my arm: Op-Shop Show-Off; November 19th, 2013

This vivacious older sister of trug was brought home for me by my clever op-shop roving husband. As I tote her around the garden she radiates good cheer, and makes me wonder, who made her and when? I find baskets easy to love but very difficult to date-and-locate. I like to think she was made by a hippy back-to-the-land girl of the 60's, but perhaps it was the therapeutic handiwork of a lifelong asylum resident, or even the product of third world child labour..?

I have an intense love for basket work and consequently have many, many baskets both new-made and op-shopped around my home, all pretty and purposeful. A few years ago (pre-children, ha!) I had the urge to learn how to basket-weave but searched fruitlessly for someone to teach me. All anyone knew was that 'there used to be a basket weaver at Salt-water Creek'. Recently I looked again, to find someone willing to volunteer teach at our local community garden, more successfully as I saw the most beautiful baskets in our local organic farm shop and contacted the maker, who agreed with enthusiasm. Her baskets are colourful like this one, but the colours are from natural colour variants of willow! I am beyond excited that in a couple of week I shall be learning how to make a proper woven tee-pee! Dream-come-true!

I read an op-shop show-off entry a few months ago, where a person had found a beautiful piece of pottery they had made in art school decades before in an op-shop! Did you see that? How incredible! Though I'll pass on being reunited with any of my ditched pottery projects personally (all heavy bums and sharp edges) I've yet to part with any of my other 'craft' projects (too hard won, I'm not naturally crafty) but if I could pick anything I once owned or made to find in an op-shop it would be one of my loved childhood dresses. I seem to be able to remember them all so vividly; but especially the purple marle long sleeved dress with built in black with brown flowers corduroy waistcoat and matching tie. A hand-me-down from my older cousin it made me feel quite grown-up and rather sophisticated when I wore it aged all of 5 in the late 1970's! Or the pale blue gingham zip up dress with deep front pockets and a peter pan collar. The zip made the most deeply satisfying zipping noise ever which I played like a musical instrument for hours on end!



If you could find anything from your past in an op-shop, what would it be, and why?







PS *I'm co-coordinating the Rangiora Community Garden craft classes over summer, where I'm teaching braided rug making (very informally, ahem!) on alternate Thursdays at 9-10.45am. I'll be there this week if you would like to join in (gold coin donation, or time bank hours, or some donated time in the garden or teaching craft yourself). If you are of the crafty persuasion we would LOVE you to volunteer to share your crafty skills in a beautiful outdoor setting, very informally, to small groups of local people.
Max 03 3132340.

Have a great week everyone!

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