And, now, my newest mermaid is woven – on only 6 sticks!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Weaving sticks are probably the easiest loom ever – but that doesn’t mean that there is ANY  limit to their creative potential.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I have been having a wonderful time, designing all kinds of magical dolls with them.

I have just released the first of a series of VERY fun patterns for them-

The Mermaid….

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I’ve woven these mermaids with hand spun yarn made by my beautiful daughter in law,

using the  Weaving Stick loom kit from Lee Valley:USA Link  Canadian Link

If you are in Europe or England, you can get gorgeous weaving sticks from Suzanne in her etsy shop: LINK

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The pattern is available on my website at: MERMAID

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

By the way, there’s a wonderful group on Ravelry that is all about weaving with sticks and pegs: LINK

Here’s to Mermaids, and here’s to weaving, and, of course, here’s to sticks and string!!! 

This morning, I received an email, and a pm, from someone who was right ticked off with a terrible photo that was up on my website.

It was a tiny photo of my knitted Minoan Goddess of the Bees.

OOPS!

So, I spent the day, not only re-doing the photo, but building a beautiful new pdf of the knitting pattern for the Minoan Goddess of the Bees.

She looks lovely now!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Many years ago, I was reading a book about ancient Greece.

There were a couple of tiny drawings of little figures that were engraved on pottery and furniture from Crete about 1700 BCE.

I fell in love with the tiny images and have been working with them ever since.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

They were called, ‘Minoan Dewdrop or Bee Goddesses’ sacred to the goddess, Persephone.

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They are known as ‘Melisae’.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The pattern for the knitted Minoan Goddess of the Bees is available at: http://www.crone-findlay.com/knitteddollpatterns.html

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My most recent self published pattern is for the Woven Whimsical Cats.

You can order the pdf pattern from my website:  Link

They have been so much fun to design.

I started the designing process for them last February.

I went through several variations of them  before I settled on the two versions that are in the pattern.

There’s the sitting Whimsical Cats, who are infinitely poseable (and can be convinced to wear shoes and play musical instruments, too!)

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They have distinctly, ‘Who me?!’ expressions of feline innocence, which probably means that they are up to all manner of mischief!

Their ‘Laying Down’ cousins:

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are lovely to rest your wrist on when playing with the computer mouse.

Of course, they might take a swipe at the mouse, but that’s to be expected, isn’t it?

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They were woven on the lovely potholder loom from Dewberry Ridge looms:http://www.dewberryridge.com/products/potholder-loom

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The yarn is art yarn, handspun by the delightful Nancy Nagle of Nangellini: www.nangellini.com

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The spool knitter that is used in the project is the Lollipop from Harrisville designs: Link

When I was designing and weaving the Whimsical Woven cats, I was remembering all the wonderful cats who have graced my life with their marvelous ways.

So, here’s to our Feline Friends! with love and thanks for all the blessings!

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I am calling this series, ‘Woven Women’. I made a little video mini tour of one corner of my studio, showing ‘The Green Empress’.

The Green Empress brings together many of my favorite fiber techniques: Tapestry weaving, inkle weaving, small loom weaving, crochet, wire work, tatting and punch needle embroidery.

My plan is to eventually have enough ‘Woven Women’ for a one woman show. I don’t have enough of them finished yet, but I am working on it!

Here are some more photos and the video tour that shows The Green Empress:

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Her face is punch needle embroidery and her crown is tapestry weave.

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Her hands are heavy gauge wire, wrapped with cotton thread. They are cupped so they can hold small objects.

Her arms are inkle bands and 2 inch Weave it Squares, stitched and shaped and layered.

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Her feet are a combination of 2 inch squares that I wove on my vintage Weave it loom, with Inkle weaving.

I just kept stitching and shaping until I was happy with her feet.

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I crocheted wire in an open work mesh to shape her body and skirt.

They, I wove miles of inkle bands (woven on my Schacht inkle loom) through them.

I also wove in tatted lace, too. The skirt is about 24 inches wide, but is folded and stitched.

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This closeup shows a small panel of punch needle embroidery , tatting, inkle weaving and the copper wire armature.

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Close up of one eye and part of the crown.  You can see that I love Byzantine art, as there is a definite influence here.

And, here is the link to a mini studio tour, with my wonderful husband playing one of his compositions (with our small dog in his lap, as small dog insists on sitting in Jim’s lap when he plays and practices!)

Well… I am finishing them up and getting them up on my website.  Happy happy dancing!!!!

So, taddah! Here are the latest of my new designs to be launched: Mr and Mrs Gnome and their Gnome House to weave on the potholder loom.

Potholder-loom-Gnomes-and- Gnome-house-by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

There are so many neat things about the Gnomes and their Gnome home:

The roof of the house opens, so you can store treasures inside it, or reach inside to place little pieces of furniture for the Gnomes.

The house is woven with cotton loops on the potholder loom.

Potholder-loom-Gnomes-and- Gnome-house-by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

There are windows for Mr & Mrs Gnome to peek out of. The door opens & closes.

Instructions for how to weave the door & windows & chimney are included.

The Gnome house is trimmed with spool knitted cord.

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The Gnomes are woven with yarn on the potholder loom. Because they are flat, you can stitch a pin to them to wear on your lapel, hat or bag. Or, they can live in your favorite book to mark your place. They also love to slip into envelopes and fly off to visit friends! They also enjoy hanging out on the branches of Christmas trees.

Potholder-loom-Gnomes-and- Gnome-house-by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

There are a lot of unique and innovative new techniques in this pattern- it’s really fun!

This is a truly magical project to inspire your imagination and ignite your creativity!

Here’s a link to my website: Gnomes

I was so excited about the Gnomes that I made a little video about them:

Happy Gnomies and happy weaving!

For many years, I collected Matroushka dolls,  but a few years ago, in one of my favorite thrift shops, I found the Kokeshki doll that’s on the far right of this photo:

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That was it… I was smitten!

Here’s a close up with some of her wooden kinfolk:

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I was awestruck by the mastery of the wood turner who was able to create the head of the little girl in the middle on his or her lathe!

Isn’t she enchanting?

The little fellow on the right looked like he had been a lamp at one point in his life, as he had the remains of an old lamp fixture in his wee wooden noggin.

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I am not spending a lot of money on these little lovelies… the Kokeshi in the center was 25c at a garage sale,

and the little girl in the brown kimono was 50c on a ‘get rid of this stuff’ table in front of a thrift shop last summer.

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I just love the quirky pair of Kokeshi that are on the top shelf in the pic above.

Someone wrote ’1963′ in pencil on the bottom of them. There’s a lot of Japanese characters, too.

I love that the wood turner who made them left part of the rough branches as part of their bodies.

It’s almost like they are nature spirits.

The trio below them must have been meant to be napkin holders, as they have big round holes in their little bodies.

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I have to admit that this beautiful Kokeshi is my most favorite.

She’s so elegant and spare. Some of them are a touch heavy on the ‘cute’ end, but not this beauty. Pure and simple.

I never intended to collect them, but, one Kokeshi lead to another, and  they had captured my attention.

Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with them, and my ‘Kokeshi radar’ went up.

And so, they have their own little place in my studio, and in my heart.

So, it’s no surprise, that as I was designing projects for my new book on the vintage Lily Speed-O-Weave loom, (that’s a link to my website to see more) I had to come up with some fun dolls and stuffies.

Lily-Speed-O-Weave-monster-designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (coppyright)

Monster Dear was inspired by a book that my daughter loved when she was a very little girl.

It was about a monster who was afraid of the dark. She loved him, so of course, I had to make her one.

This is a new version of ‘Monster Dear’.  I think he’ll chase away bad dreams!

And, a ball of squishy soft yarn inspired me to make the snuggly Bunny dolly:

Lily-Speed-O-Weave-Snuggle-Bunny-designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (coppyright)

I’ve always loved rabbits and bunnies, so I’ve designed and made countless versions of them over the years.

These two fuzzy friends delight me.  Ah, the joys of yarn- it’s endless!!!!

Knitting Today Matroushka Backpack designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting Today Matroushka Small Bag designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting Today Matroushka Keychain designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Matroushka bags designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Here’s the link to the pattern: Matroushkas

Happy knitting!

Because of health challenges, she is not able to handle independent living anymore. Reluctantly, she has moved out of her condo and into a different living situation where she gets the support and assistance that she now needs.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Most of her possessions are now being lovingly shared out among her kids and grandkids and nieces and other kith and kin.

There were a couple of things that I really really wanted to have…..

She was a spectacularly gifted embroiderer, and so I really wanted to have some of her threads.

The other thing that I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly wanted was a pincushion doll that I had given her when I was a child.

When I was a little girl, I saw the most beautiful thing I could have ever imagined…. it was a pincushion of an Elizabethan Lady….

I would go into the shop, and visit the Lady, and stroke the velvet skirt, and be filled with longing.

I decided that I HAD to buy it for my mother to show her how much I loved her.

So, I asked the lady in the store if I could pay for the Lady in stages, and she agreed to that. I don’t know if she had ever had a child make such a request, but she was so kind about it!

Every week, for weeks, and weeks, I would take my allowance in, and give it to the shopkeeper. She would then bring ‘The Lady’ out, and I would cradle her in my hands… and then sigh, and hand her back….

Eventually… the little bits of allowance added up and up, and – ‘The Lady’ was mine!!!

She was swathed in tissue, and placed carefully in a box, and I secreted her away until Mother’s Day.

I don’t know if my mother knew how much effort went into buying her ‘The Lady’, but I think she felt the love and excitement that I had in presenting her with my treasure.

And now, ‘The Lady’ has come home to me…. and some day, she will be gifted to my daughter…. with love…. always with love….

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Tselah, like all the other Nostepinne dolls that I have made

(see Ermingarde and Flora)

has her own story.

Here’s Tselah, The Tree Spirit Nostepinne Doll’s story:

The bite of the saw blade snapped Tselah awake – just as a saw blade  had shocked her into deep waiting slumber all those decades ago, when it cut her away from her roots, her leaves, her branches.

It cut her away from the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rain, the snow.

And, most of all… it cut her away from her Best Beloved, the Wind.

The gentle wind, the wild wind who would tug at her, teasing her- whispering:

“Leave your roots, Tselah, and dance with me!”

But when she refused, and curled her roots more tenderly into the deep dark earth, Wind flailed away, hissing.

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Then, that stunning, searing pain of the bite of the saw….

and Tselah slept.

But… then suddenly,

she found herself

whirling, whirring- and

Tselah thought that her love, the Wind,

had come to reclaim her-

for, couldn’t she hear the whoosh, a caress?

Suddenly, a nip, a scritch of the chisel blade….

Tselah resisted at first,

but then, she melted into the whirl, the spin, and

a knowing that, once again,

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she was awake,

and that her dreams

were slicing

out of their

cocoon.

Tselah sang

as her memories

blossomed, and

she swayed-

remembering

remembering.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Remembering

searching of roots,

dance of clouds,

song of stars

breath of sun

whisper of moon

leaves dropped

leaves uprising

and

most of all

most of all

her love- the Wind.

Tselah knew

she carried them

and contained them

all….

and that

she would

never let

them go

again….

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

and,

yes,

there will

always be

one tear,

one leaf….

for the remembering….