Rug update and new basket

I've always liked these big tobacco drying baskets. I finally found one. I nearly had a wreck driving past an antique store Sat. The basket was part of a display outside the store--and I made a quick turn into the parking lot to get a closer look.

Mine has a couple of my owls nestled in the bottom. The ones in the Pottery Barn catalogs never have cute owls in them...

Also, here is a photo of the rug. I've not worked on it for about a month. It is still about a third the size I hope to make it. Perhaps I'll have time to work on it this summer.