Great Idea: Lined Bushel Basket

Photo Credit: Lorajean's Magazine

I love, love, love this idea that was recently featured on Craft Gossip. Lorajean's Picnic Basket Tutorial reminded me of something similar that was in the Home Girl booth at the Ohio Country Living Fair. (see last photo) I love a bushel basket all by it's fun little self but add a liner and I could die! Don't you think that laminated cotton would be a perfect fabric for this project?

Illustration Credit: Lorajean's Magazine

Laminated cotton is softer and more supple than the oilcloth so it can handle the gathers in Lorajean's wonderful tutorial with ease! (Pun intended!) Plus it's waterproof so it's easy clean up, just wipe clean and hang out to dry.

Home Girls, Country Living Fair 2010

The intended use for the original project was for a picnic basket, which is just as cute as it could possibly be, but I could see this being a great project basket. You could store all the bits and pieces for a single project in basket, the handy pockets would keep everything in it's place. I am thinking this would be a great way to store the two crazy crocheted afghans I've been working on. Unfortunately,  I've been working on them for about a 100 years and they're both still small enough to fit in a bushel basket.

Happy sewing!

Color Combo's: Picnic Time

Walnut Wood Grain, Red Gingham, Brown Gingham, and Cherries on White

The other day I had to pull out these four oilcloth prints for a few different orders. As I was carrying them to the cutting table and couldn't help but think that they would be great used together. I soon came up with images of having a picnics outside my imaginary and quaint cabin by the make-believe lake. (Of course there's a dock and a row boat along the grassy shore.)

Ahhh....sounds lovely doesn't it? I can see an oilcloth picnic mat made with the red gingham that is sprinkled with cherry appliques now! And a vintage picnic basket  is lined with all four prints! Summer! All I need is the cabin and the lake...