by MEGAN NORTHCOTE
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

Three Appalachian women have preserved tradition using nothing more than a needle, some yarn, a few scraps of fabric and nature’s grapevines.

With a little patience and a lot of creativity, these women have kept the art of three traditional Appalachian crafts alive: basket weaving, knitting and quilting.

Barbara C. Sox, a local basket maker from Deep Gap, has been weaving baskets since she was first introduced to the art through a Regional Home Extension workshop in the 80s.  

“I don’t think it’s a dying art, but it’s an ancient art,” Sox said. 

Basket weaving dates to the Native Americans who designed baskets to be used for storage.

“Native Americans can tell what tribe they’re from by the type of basket they make,” Sox said.

Baskets are also strongly associated with particular regions. 

Sox said Appalachian egg baskets are the traditional style found within the Boone area.

These baskets are characterized by a long handle that connects two egg-like spheres across the center of the basket.

Sox wove her way into the art of basket making by earning a degree in industrial technology with a concentration in crafts from Appalachian State University. 

She is now the president of Mainstreet Gallery in Blowing Rock.

 Basket making is typically considered a generational art that is passed down to family and friends. 

Hoping to keep the tradition alive, Sox teaches basket weaving classes through the Craft Enrichment Center at Appalachian. 

Sox said most students find basket weaving to be a fairly simple art to learn.

“That’s one of the reasons I like making baskets… it doesn’t take a lot of high tech tools. You don’t have to use a machine. You use your hands and grab some materials and get started.”

Sox uses a variety of materials to make the framework for her baskets including grapevines, honeysuckle, hand-made paper, wire, and eucalyptus leaves. 

She then interweaves feathers, shells and other small objects from nature into her work to give it character.

“You can make baskets out of almost anything,” Sox said. “I like to purchase from the local area.”

Sox is not the only Appalachian craftsman who likes to purchase her materials from surrounding areas. 

Martha M. Deal, a local knitter, purchases her yarn from local yarn shops that sell locally spun, hand-dyed yarns.

Deal was first taught to knit by her eighth grade teacher when she made a neck warmer for a class assignment.  
Since then, she has been knitting off and on, making gifts for family and friends.

“It’s like a habit. Just something to do to keep my hands moving,” Deal said.

Deal now sells black and gold scarves and hats at Broyhill Inn & Conference Center.

Last year she sold 40 to 50 scarves however, this year has not been as successful. 

Nevertheless, she plans to continue knitting to preserve this traditional art.

“It’s so soothing and relaxing to me,” Deal said. “I’m just trying to keep old traditions alive.”

Gail A. Lund, president of the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild in Boone, feels the same way about quilting.

“Quilting was a dying art in the 70s, but now it’s reemerged,” Lund said. “It’s big now.” 

This is largely due to the introduction of the sewing machine which made quilting faster, but less personal.  

To add a personal touch, Lund always sews a label onto each of her quilts so “50 to 100 years from now, you’ll know who it was made for and why,” Lund said.

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