Baskets are integral to my homemaking. I gather from the gardens with them. And I use them for serving. Charcuterie is not only about big boards; baskets do nicely, as well.

When I walk in the woods, I will often take a basket and a pair scissors. Maybe I'll have a mantel to decorate or some research to do about a tree or those rare flowers. Sometimes I  want to press flowers or learn how to draw a certain leaf or flower. Anyway, it's obvious to me why one should never leave the house without a basket. It could be more important than is my phone/camera.

It's beneficial to the soul to focus on God's creation by glorying and gathering ...  a basket makes all the difference. It's so much better than trying to solve the world's problems while hiking along, thus missing everything that truly makes sense.

Baskets also make great decor, hanging from the beam in the kitchen or stacked in readiness by the door.

Collecting the right baskets for our needs is as easy as shopping used shops or seeing the possibilities in someone's cast-off pantry collections. I have a couple of old-fashioned, half-sized bushel baskets, besides the kind you see I these pictures, that I think came from Elv's mom.

Finally, it isn't about being trendy and old-world in my home making, but sometimes the most practical turns out to be chic by accident. That's fun too. Happy gathering to you all.