Reprinted from Positive Thinking, Premiere Issue, 2005 written by Lisa Marie Rovito and Andrea Dawn Clark 

ALONG HIGHWAY 17 in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, there's a cozy roadside stand with a bright red sign: Mae Hall Baskets. Take a look at the coil baskets in all shapes and sizes, each meticulously handcrafted. Breathe in their distinctive scent, "a sweet smell, soft, like flowers." And visit with proprietor Mae, proud practitioner and caretaker of the centuries-old tradition of basket making, brought into the low country by West African slaves.

Mae learned to sew baskets as a young girl from her cousin but put the craft aside to raise four children and pursue a nursing career. When her husband took sick, she left her job to care for him, and instinctively reached for the art of her youth.

A single fruit basket requires 12-16 hours of handiwork. Mae finds serenity in sewing row after row of tiny stitches. She says it lowers her blood pressure, and even soothed her grief when she lost her husband in 2000. Basket making remains the best remedy she knows for a restless spirit: "If I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get to sleep, I'll put a basket on the bed and get to work," she says. "I can really get lost in it."

No wonder Mae considers making sweetgrass baskets not only her heritage but also her life's work. To see her latest creations, stop by her stand on the Mt. Pleasant Hwy or visit sweet-grassbaskets.com.