I love creating baskets. Pine needle baskets became a passion for me after taking a class in 1980. I use Long Leaf pine needles from the Southeast, raffia from Madagascar, and dried gourds from a variety of sources. Sometimes I start the basket by making a very small coil and building on it. In the last few years, I have also prepared dried gourds to use as a basket base. I cut, clean, and finish the gourds inside and out and then drill holes around the edge to attach the first pine needle coil. Because coiling is a stitching process, I make a decision where to place my stitch with every stitch. I control the shape as I coil so that every basket is one of a kind.