ONE SKEIN, ONE JOURNEY
 

While I was wandering through the Connemara Sheep and Wool Centre in Leenane Ireland, I found two beautiful handspun skeins tucked away in a little room.
 

This was the other one. It was handspun Cheviot wool: sturdy, textured, and full of the natural character that comes from wool spun by hand.
 

I knew almost immediately that it was too sturdy for something I would want to wear.

So I let it wait.
 

I didn't have a finished project in mind. I simply kept coming back to the wool and wondering what it wanted to become.

Eventually, the answer was a basket.
 

LETTING THE WOOL LEAD
 

I crocheted the entire skein around a sturdy, round wooden base. The wooden base gives the basket structure, while the handspun wool brings warmth, texture, and all of the little irregularities that make it unmistakably handmade.
 

It's just the right size for keys, crochet notions, or the little treasures that tend to collect on a table.
 

What makes this piece special to me is the journey of the wool. Gladys spun it by hand in Ireland. I found it, loved it, and carried it home across the Atlantic. Then I spent time with it until I understood what it wanted to become.
 

One skein. One spinner. One journey across the Atlantic. And one little piece of home.
 

It reminds me that handmade things don't always begin with a finished idea.

Sometimes you just have to listen to the material.
 

Made slowly and intentionally by hand, one stitch at a time.