In my post last Spring, “The Problem with Knitting”, I mentioned my very first attempt at a cowl or smoke ring.  It was made with Noro yarn.  Beautiful colors, but anyone who has worked with Noro knows that it’s texture leaves something to be desired.  Since both of my new cowls are working out quite well this winter, I decided to pull apart that first smoke ring and find something else to do with that beautiful Noro.  I was admiring some beautiful West African Baskets at Costco this Christmas, made out of recycled materials, when it hit me.  There was no reason I couldn’t make that style of basket with yarn.  And no one really cares if a bowl is soft to the touch, so the Noro was a great choice.  I made two of these and gave them both away for Christmas.  I have since made another, this time using a novelty home spun that I had dyed when I was practicing dying techniques.  This project is a great stash-buster, as a 50 gram skein makes a nice sized bowl.  I am going to be teaching a class on how to make these soon.  Hopefully I’ll be motivated enough to create a tutorial.  🙂