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By THERESA REYNOLDS
Democrat Special Writer
Blessed with abundance as well as beauty, Virginia’s Piedmont area has its own traditional products suitable for holiday giving.
Some regional gift ideas are similar to those elsewhere in the South; some belong distinctly to the foothill, orchard and grazing communities that make up the area.
A regional specialty makes a personal gift, showing love and understanding for our culture and a wish to share it with someone not fortunate enough to live here. Something we take for granted may w arm the heart of a cousin or friend who might find only hardware, software and synthetic music under his tree without our homey, low-tech contributions from the country.
The young white oaks in our thickets and marshlands become baskets for eggs, apples and berries, just as they have since the foothills were settled. Baskets are made from the “splits” — the hand-cut saplings that are peeled and then split with a small axe.
To fashion the classic egg basket, perhaps the most distinctive Virginia basket, the basketmaker starts with two sturdy splits, each made into a hoop and set perpendicular to each other — one becoming the rim and the other hoop becoming the handle and the bottom “seam.” Working from those two parts, the basket is tightly woven with the distinctive two-part bottom that really does keep eggs from rolling into each other and cracking.
Those baskets are expensive and need some care in their selection. Look for the baskets with perfect splits, a handle that doesn’t slip at all and a tightly-woven bottom with a symmetrical, graceful shape. Many less sturdy and attractive baskets
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