Regina Riley taught herself to coil pine needle baskets over 24 years ago. Since she has always had a needle and thread in her hands, coiling is just another form of sewing. Regina encourages students to use other natural materials, which is another reason for her enjoyment of this form of basketry. She has taught in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri. Her latest interest in basketry is the Cherokee Double Wall style and the Oklahoma Cherokee Double Wall style. One of Regina’s first pine needle baskets is in the permanent collection at the Rountree Gallery in Platteville, Wisconsin. She has also become interested in willow baskets, as they are also natural materials as well as a material that can be grown in her backyard.
Over the past several years, Regina has taken an interest back into knitting, which then got her interested in spinning, and then of course, on to weaving.
