The great pine needle search

07 Mar The great pine needle search

One of the great adventures of pine needle basket making is gathering the needles. The first step in the process is to find the needles, no easy task as it turns out!

To me the perfect needle is something that’s fairly long (aprox the length of my forearm), and also something that has a good consistent color. One of the keys to consistent color is freshness. So something in a yard (as people rake and clean needles at least a couple times a year) is typically a good find. So scour your neighborhood, keep your eyes peeled as you are driving (well maybe as you are passenger in a car!).

I found my perfect tree in the neighborhood where i do my morning walk. When i’m in need of  a refresh, i loop over to that street, grab a bundle, sit for a moment just past the house (which happens to be a lovely bench by the ocean) sort them into a bundle that’s easy to carry… all the ends facing the same direction, then continue along my walk.

The passer’s by probably think i’m a little off sitting there sorting through pine needles, but hey what the heck!