Lavender Bliss

I bought my first lavender plant from Purple Haze Lavender Farm many years ago and I have loved lavender ever since. Lavender is very easy to grow and smells and looks wonderful. Plus, lavender helps attract bees to the garden, keep pesky bugs away and calms the nerves and has many other benefits. I also enjoy drying lavender flowers to make sachets for use in drawers and closets and lavender stems for basket making.

Last summer I participated in the first Antique, Collectible and Lavender Sale at the Olalla Valley Vineyard and came away even more inspired by lavender. I also realized I needed to make some lavender baskets to have available for sale at this years event on July 23 & 24. This was my first attempt at using dried lavender stems in a basket. They worked great, plus the combination of lavender and pine makes the basket smell wonderful. As I was making this basket, I remembered that I pressed lavender flowers that I bought at the Lavender Sale last summer. (I tend to be an out of sight, out of mind type person...I have to keep working on changing that). Now I have to figure out what to make with them. Maybe lavender note cards to go with this basket...all ideas are welcomed!

I made this baskets using natural green and purple dyed Long Leaf pine needles, dried lavender stems, amethyst nugget beads, a purple crystallized Brazilian agate base and stitched it all together with lavender and plum colored Irish waxed linen thread. Enjoy!