Baskets, Basket making, Basketry, Basketwork 

From the back cover:

"When they announce the end of the world," writes Mara Cary, "look for me out in the honeysuckle patch or stirring fragrant brambles in their broth. I'll be finishing a basket for St. Peter."

Meanwhile, as readers of Basic Baskets know, Mara's love affair with basketry has its down-to-earth practical side. Here she has created "recipes" for more than three dozen different baskets that really work. Baskets that hold things - silverware, mail, onions, bread, fruit, berries, sewing, plants, socks, muffins, the family cat. Baskets that carry things - picnics, garden tools, a casserole, a baby. Baskets that range in size from a tea strainer to a hamper. Baskets that range in variety from soft carry-alls, bicycle baskets, and backpacks to covered bottles, doll chairs and tables, a lampshade, and a hat. In other words, baskets for everyone.

And baskets that can be made by anyone. There are easy baskets for people who have never tried the craft before and baskets of every level of difficulty to appeal to people of every level of experience. Even if you have never made a basket, Mara's exceptionally clear directions, pictures, and diagrams will make you a basketmaker on your first try.

There are chapters on materials - the kind you buy and the kind you can find; on natural and store-bought dyes, with full directions for use; on finishes, weaves, handles, and borders. In addition to the how-to directions for specific baskets, there is a gallery of pictures to inspire you to create variations of your own.