What size bread basket for those Holiday Parties?

Holiday Parties!  Wonderful Bread Baskets for the Table...

There are all shapes and sizes of dinner  rolls!  And all sorts of flavors YUM!

If the dinner roll is about 2" sq, then I use my ceramic bread warmer that is 6" diameter, so it fits in the bottom of my 6.5" basket base( 10-11" top)  and 3" high.  I usually use a matching napkin to display with the basket.  It holds about 10 small rolls.  If it is a buffet, then I put out 2 baskets on either end, since someone always forgets to grab one at first.
For larger dinner rolls, I use a larger basket, with a 12" top and 4" high. 


When I have 10 or more people over, then I use the 12-14" top basket, which is 4" high. I only have the one bread warmer, but it works in the larger basket too.

More people at your table, add another basket! 


Enjoy!


I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
and
Happy New Year!
Peace and Cheers, Jan

Clothesline or Rope?

I use braided cotton clothesline.  It is a medium weight in size 7/32".  I have used 3/16" size, which is usually sold at quilt/fabric stores, but I can not always find that size.  I sometimes find a good braided cotton rope/clothesline at Ocean State Job Lot stores, and they sell it in different lengths.  I usually purchase the large roll of 200 foot for $10.  I also order online the same size thru Amazon, but the line is not as stiff.  I have been to many hardware stores and Home Depot and they carry the cotton clothesline for $2-5 more.

Please send me where you find good clothesline and I will post it here, on my blog. Thanks.

Great Fabrics to Use!

There are so many wonderful fabrics today!  The choices are endless!
Here are just a couple more ideas for making baskets.

I love this rich brown tiger batik fabric for the pattern.
I used it for a lovely contrast.

I'm making a magazine rack/basket for my sister!
She loves puzzles and bright colors!
I made pillow shams for her couch using the fun black batik, so this will match!

Fun Table Mats to match too! 
These trivets are machine washable on gentle with cold water, then AIR DRY!


I can't wait to try these fun fabrics!

Fabric Choices on Pinterest

Pinterest is such fun!
I have pinned many lovely fabrics that would be great for a basket,
check them out!

Another nice customer asked about how to choose the fabric for a basket, which is not easy sometimes.  I will have to remember to take pictures of the fabrics before I cut! 

Sometimes I just can't wait to see how the basket will turn out!
I will post more examples soon.

 I love this brown flannel with the blue and green highlights.
All those shades of brown and tan are very rich.
The little bit of black adds great contrast too.

Isn't this great for a boy's room!

I call this lovely white print, blue jazz.
It goes with a so many colors, it is hard to decide what contrast to add. 
So, I didn't!
I made 2 baskets, I love both the blue and  the green based baskets!

No more plastic shopping bags!

I love this size basket for shopping.

It fits right in the top of any shopping cart.
And It is so pretty, I don't forget it!

Yeah! no more plastic bags!


The base has a center strip 4" long, with the base 6"w x 10"l, and it is 7"high, so it doesn't fall over!  I can fit so much in it too!

Since this is smaller than my other baskets, it goes everywhere with me.

Both fabrics are from the "Gems of the Sea" fabric collection by Janet Broxon with lovely blue and aqua waves and whimsical dots adding lots of fun!

Wonderful Batik Fabrics

I love all batik fabrics!  The colors are so rich, I just can't resist them!

I use mostly multi-colored batiks in my baskets.  The pattern is not as important as the colors!  I usually use small to medium batik motifs, since they seem to have great color depth.  I love to add a little bit of a gorgeous monotone or two tone batik to my baskets to make colors pop!

I love this Autumn batik, with the big bold floral pattern.   I made this little itty bitty basket using left overs from a quilt border.  I love the bold colors with all the different shades of brown and tan.  The pattern is lost in the basket, but the colors are still amazing. 

I used this bold batik as the base of this basket, so that the contrast brings out the colors in both batiks.  Love it!

 

The lovely tan batik below has so many rich colors, that it can stand on it's own!
But I added a blue base to make the bottom and inside of the basket pop! 

Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my! 
(Yes, this fabric had cheetahs and leopards too.)
I finally found a gorgeous animal print fabric!
It has many many colors and rich shades!
Ahhh, there wasn't even a yard left! 

I added a black contrast strip and a dark base
to make the colors pop in the upper fabric.

The base is a wonderful two-tone batik with a tiger stripe motif.

Oval Basket Measurements

 I just made myself a lovely purple magazine rack/basket to test out a size for a new customer.
The center strip of wrapped line that I started with is 8" long.

The finished size is rather large:
10.5" high, 22" across the top,
14.5"long x 8"wide base
oh, but it so nice for all those magazines.
I used a lovely Laura Birch purple fabric with gold highlights.  I love her cats, but this fabric had colorful little snakes, can you tell?

I think the proportions should be a little different on this
basket, maybe 1-2 inches taller to offset the larger base, oh well, not on this basket, since I ran out of this fun fabric.  My little Babylock 6150 struggled with the size too.  I had to hold the basket up most of the time, since the machine motor was not strong enough for the weight.

I like the proportions for the smaller totes to be
6" center strip made into a base of 6"wide by 10"long.
This size works for any heights between 8-10" high.
Good Luck!
Have fun!

I love Purple!  Can you tell!

My Little Helper

I have a little helper that tests out all of my lovely cat beds!
She loves to chase the cord as I coil it into a wonderful bed.

And I wonder why I don't get more done!



I have to hide my pin cushions, she loves to pull out the pins and throw them on the floor.
I guess she likes the ping!
No, she never puts them in her mouth, just bites the heads to pull them out and then bats them around the table until they fall over the edge.
The look of "Where did it go" is too much!
OK, maybe "I didn't do it!"
How about "Another one bites the dust!"

Fabric Choice for Basket

 A nice customer asked if this fabric would make a lovely basket?  YES!

I love this Michael Miller line of fabric, called "Backyard Baby" that you can purchase at the lovely Etsy Shop, Nauvoo   http://www.etsy.com/shop/NauvooQuiltCo?ref=pr_shop_more

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95228259/birch-forest-backyard-baby-michael?ref=af_new_item

This lovely aqua is "Birch Forest" and would make a lovely basket for all those baby toys.  The striped birch trees would create a wonderful swirl effect, but you will lose the fun woodpecker.  And, no I don't think I would see those are birch trees in the swirl.  What I love about this wonderful fabric is the many shades of aqua with high contrast of black and white.  The little green leaves will add  nice highlights too!  There are many other wonderful fabrics in this Michael Miller line that would make great baskets, even the monotones can be used for accents and contrast.

Please feel free to contact me with more questions.
Thanks for visiting!