Tottie Talks Crafts Blog » gifts & easy to make gifts & presents

Nifty ‘V’ and ‘U’ shape scarves to weave on the potholder loom

tottietalkscrafts — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:49:41 +0000

For this last year and a half, I have been designing up a storm, but not getting the designs out into the world.

I made a promise to myself that I am going to get as many of the new designs up and released as possible before this year ends.

On that note, I am happy to announce that I have finished another pattern- Whee, whew and yay!!!!

The Viva ‘V’ and “U’ shaped scarves are so comfortable to wear!

The clever shaping means that the scarf stays in place without a lot of extra yardage.

It can be made in several different ways. It can be a ‘V’ shaped scarf or cowl, or a ‘U’ shaped scarf or cowl.

It’s a wonderful way to showcase art yarn, and other special hand spun yarns.

Instructions are given for how to weave all the different shapes using regular weaving with yarn techniques on the potholder loom,

AS WELL AS: How to weave with bulky yarns on the potholder loom.

Instructions are also given for how to make big arty buttons from dead branches.

The lightweight version works well as a ‘keyhole’ scarf – one end pulls through an opening in the other end of the scarf.

Adding a spool knitted edging is optional.

There are soooooooooooo many ways to express your creativity with this nifty scarf!

The best part is that it is so quick and easy to make, and a real delight to wear!

The pattern can be ordered from: http://www.crone-findlay.com/Crone-FindlayCreationsPotholderLoomWeaving.html

Happy Weaving!

“Keep Calm and Carry On” Banner to weave and spool knit

tottietalkscrafts — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:36:19 +0000

During the second world war, the British people were encouraged to hang on in a challenging time by posters that said: ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’.

Keep Calm and Carry On Banner by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

Well, times are challenging again, and the advice to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ is still worthy!
So, I decided to weave a banner with these notable words emblazoned on it.
I made a pattern with lots of photos and step by step how-to’s. (It’s what I do well )

Keep Calm and Carry On Banner by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

I think that it would make a wonderful gift. And it’s fun to make, too!
I wove it on a beautiful hand made potholder loom from Hazel Rose looms, but any loom that gives you a 6 or 7 inch square would work just fine. (Including the Martha Stewart Loom).

If you are not a fan of spool knitting (although, in the pattern, I show how to quickly spool knit on 3 pegs) then you might want to buy yourself an ‘Embellish Knit‘ spool knitter from Bond.
The pdf pattern can be ordered from my website:
Crone-Findlay Creations Potholder Loom Weaving

Monster dear and snuggly bunny on the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom

tottietalkscrafts — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:58:54 +0000

I am a dyed in the wool doll maker. No matter what loom or fiber arts tool I am working with, it doesn’t take long for me to wonder how I could use it to make a doll.

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!!!!

My mother’s pincushion

tottietalkscrafts — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:44:02 +0000

My mother has unwillingly had to let go of her lifelong passion for needlework.

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.

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….

Celebrate Springtime with adorable doodled paper eggs

tottietalkscrafts — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:00:22 +0000

I love making little presents that I can just pop in an envelope and mail to family and friends.

Yesterday, I had a flash of inspiration…. well, really it was several flashes of inspiration that came together ever so nicely!

Lately, I have been blogging about doodling, Link and Link , so that’s kind of noodling around in the outer reaches of my brain.

And, a week or so ago, my daughter blogged about very cute embroidered Easter Eggs: Link

And, then Linette blogged about some papier mache Easter eggs that she had just made: Link

These all got me thinking about threads all came together and inspired me to design and make some oh so sweet paper eggs that can hang in a houseplant, a tree or be used as a bookmark or in scrapbooking.

Here’s what I did:

First of all, I drew an egg shape, and then I made a tracer or template from a piece of plastic from the recycling box.

Then, I traced around it on a used envelope (gotta love being green! re-duce, re-use, recycle, reclaim, upcycle!) and cut out 2 eggs. (Front and back).

Then I cut out an inch diameter circle of white paper (use whatever color works best for your choice of skin tone).

I snipped about 4 inches of embroidery floss for the hanger.

Draw the face on the circle and glue it on the front egg.

I doodled merrily away on the front of the egg, and then, because this one is going to my mom, I wrote a message on the back.

Glue the thread in a loop to the inside of the back and then glue the front to the back….. and Voila!

Adorable paper eggs to celebrate springtime!

Variations: I had brunch with 2 friends yesterday, and I made them eggs, but didn’t do the doodles. I took my colored pens with me, and they doodled happily on their eggs while we visited. Fun! Here are their eggs:

I also love to use fragments of tatting to decorate and embellish, so I used some scraps of tatting on 2 more eggs…

This tutorial is Noreen Crone-Findlay’s original concept and design. Please DO NOT COPY the text or photos. Please do share the link! Thanks so much!!!

Tiny Spool Knitted Angel

tottietalkscrafts — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:05:16 +0000

When I am feeling sad and upset, I find it really helps if I make some Angel dolls.

This week has been a corker, with the death of our beloved old horse, among other challenges.

We have done a whole lot of soul searching, and have decided that we just can’t handle having horses anymore. So our dear little girl horse that we adopted a year and a half ago is going to go back to live with her momma and birth brother. She’s going to be well and truly loved and cared for.

This has been one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make in a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time, so believe me, I really have been needing to find comfort. (And yes, I certainly do pray, and meditate, so those are the source of great comfort, but making angels is also a HUGE comfort.)

So, in the interests of invoking Angel Energy for ourselves and for everyone else, too…

I have designed these sweet little, easy to make spool knitted angels.

I began with a design that I had developed a few years back and have re-fined and polished it. I am really happy with it now.

You can make the little angels very quickly and easily and can make them truly one of a kind by changing the yarn (handspun would be perfect)

and whether or not you add buttons for the face,

or add loops or other kinds of hair…..

I also like to stitch a pin to the back of the Angel, so I can pin it on my lapel, or scarf, or shawl, or bag, or hat….

I need to make a bunch more so I can send them and give them to friends and relations….

The more Angels there are, in every way, the better it is!

You can order the pdf for the pattern for the charming Tiny Spool Knitted Angel from:
http://www.crone-findlay.com/Crone-FindlayCreationsSpoolknittingMap.html

Please note that the images on this blog are copyright protected

and are NOT to be copied without permission.

Thank you.

What’s on your loom for Christmas?

tottietalkscrafts — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:20:41 +0000

It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas without at least a little weaving!

My daughter and I are co-creating a present for her husband.

I warped up my Cricket (love that loom!) and am weaving up the bands that she is going to use to make him a pair of suspenders.

I wove about 20 feet of really nice bands…. I’ll show you pics when she’s got the suspenders done….

By the way, my husband made me that shuttle one year for my birthday. Isn’t it gorgeous?

He also built me my inkle loom, which I am working with to weave bands that say different things for different members of the family:

That’s for my son’s camera bag…. hope he likes it.

I love doing pickup techniques on the inkle. It’s slow, but satisfying!

So, what’s on your loom for Christmas?

Happy Weaving!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Christmas ornament

tottietalkscrafts — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:36:54 +0000

One of our favorite holiday traditions is to make a Christmas ornament for our friends and family.

For this year’s ornament, I decided that I would make an Angel of Gratitude…

so I drew and colored her, and then scanned and printed a flutter of angels.

I glued them to wood,varnished them and then cut them out.

I sanded and painted the edges, glued the loops on, cut out the backs and glued them together….

and Voila! This year’s ornament!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Green crafts- hand made book with spool knitted binding cords

tottietalkscrafts — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:11:26 +0000

Oh my.

This week….. winter arrived…..

So, it’s time to get to work on Christmas presents.

I love green and eco crafts - recycling and re-using things to up-cycle new treasures…

I am making my sister-in-law a hand made book with wooden covers.

The wood has been hanging around our barn for more than 20 years.

It was part of an old stage set from my days as a theater set designer.

I cut out the covers and and sanded the edges and scuffed up some layers of the paint.

I then painted gold around the edges.

I drew a Celtic Interlace then drew a tree over top of that. I connected the tree into the interlace and erased the bits I didn’t want. I painted and etched and drew, until I was satisfied with my version of the Celtic Tree of Life.

I tatted 2 butterflies and a dragonfly, and glued them to the inside cover.

Then I spool knitted 3 cords for the binding.

I folded some recycled/reclaimed pages that had been used on one side and punched 3 holes in them.

I put them all together…..

And all in all…. I am very pleased with it….

Hopefully, my sister-in-law will enjoy her book. She’ll be able to put more pages in when she fills these ones up.