On a recent trip to Charleston South Carolina to celebrate my 14 wedding anniversary I learned about sweetgrass. Sweetgrass baskets use to be called slave baskets until one day someone took a negative and turn it into a positive, so the name was changed to sweetgrass baskets. I also learned that the art of making sweetgrass baskets is passed down to the next generation just like crocheting. Sweetgrass baskets are almost identical in style to the shukublay baskets of Sierra Leone, where learning to coil baskets "so tightly they could hold water" was an important rite of passage in West African tribes like the Mende and the Temne. This basket-making tradition came to South Carolina in the 17th century by way of West African slaves who were brought to America to work on plantations. West Africa resembles South Carolina in both climate and landscape, and rice had long been cultivated there. In slaves, plantation owners gained not only free labor but also a wealth of knowledge and
This is a short blog about Grandma Leona's Hot Pad by Kathleen Mower at Miss Abigail's Hope Chest . I can not take any credit for this pattern, Kathleen gets all the credit for this pattern. I am only wanting to promote this free pattern, and show you my work. This hot pad does not use any special stitch, just a simple single crochet stitch. However its the way you make the single that makes this hot pad thick and durable, and here's how. The rows overlap the previous row. I have not done this technique before, but it's really easy to learn. This hot pad has become one of my favorites to make because of the thickness and sturdiness of the finished product, and I like to use 100% cotton so it holds up to the heat better. If your interested in the pattern head over to Miss Abigail's Hope Chest you will find the free pattern and how she found this pattern while shopping at her favorite craft store. When she saw a beautiful sample of Grandma Leona's Hot