Last autumn, my nephew and his bride asked me to weave them a blanket as a wedding present.

Hmm- there were so many options on how to weave the blanket.

I settled on using my triangle loom that had recently arrived from Dewberry Ridge looms.  Link

I set it up to the 5 foot configuration and started weaving:

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I decided that 4 triangles on the 5 foot configuration of the loom, stitched together with the hypotenuse of the triangles forming the outside edge of the blanket, would work best.

I wanted to try giving it a bit more texture and interest than just plain weave, so I went with Over 2/Under 2, and loved it.

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The yarn is gorgeous Kertzer wool that has been discontinued. It took 12 balls of

Kertzer Rejuvenation, 100% wool, 100 gm/3.5 oz, 200 m/220 yds, color # 8006 to make the blanket.

I used  2 strands of yarn held together to weave the triangles for the blanket.

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To stitch the 4 triangles together, I laid them on the dining room table and stitched 2 triangles together (remembering to have the hypotenuse on the outside, and not stitched), then stitched the other 2 triangles together.

Then, I stitched the long center seam together.

I used the ‘V’ or ‘Baseball’ stitch to do the stitching.

This video shows how to do it:

After I stitched the 4 triangles together,  I spool knitted about 21 feet of spool knitted cord for the outside edges.

I stitched it onto the blanket edges….

Here’s a video that shows how to do that:

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I thought that loops at the corner would be pretty, so I added them

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It was a crazy amount of work to make the blanket.

The weaving took 12 or 13 days of full days at the loom, and  the spool knitting, fulling, stitching etc added several more days.

So, this is NOT a quick and easy project.

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I hope that my nephew and his bride like it, and if they don’t, I gave them my permission to give it away, so that someone else can enjoy it.

No point in having it fill up a cupboard and not be used, so hopefully, it is keeping someone warm and cozy!

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It was fabulous!

What wasn’t fabulous was the reason for their huge population upsurge: A vicious swarming plague of mosquitoes. UGH!

Ah well… here we are in deep mid winter, and now it’s just the memories of the dragonflies that are a pleasure, without the nasties of the mozzies.

I celebrated my love of dragonflies by weaving a shawl on the 7 foot configuration of the Dewberry Ridge triangle loom (LINK)

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I wove it with handspun wool that has shots of silk and angelina in it.

I also included rows of eyelash yarn every 28 nails, which gave me the perfect grid for embroidering the dragonflies.

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I embroidered the dragonflies onto the shawl while it was still stretched on the loom- the loom is the perfect embroidery hoop!

It is definitely a one of a kind, as all the combination of elements that came together to make it just won’t happen again.

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

When I was doing the embroidery, I turned the loom every which way to make it easier to get to each square.

The dragonflies are embroidered with silk that I spun on my support spindle.

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I didn’t use a pattern or drawing to embroider the dragonflies.

Pardon the pun, but I just ‘winged’ it. :p

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

People stop me to admire the shawl when I wear it. It gives me an opportunity to talk about weaving, spinning and embroidery (and spool knitting, too!)

triangle-loom-dragonfly-shawl-copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I don’t like fringes on shawls- so I spool knitted a looooooooooooooooong cord, and stitched it onto the shawl while it was still on the loom.

That was wonderfully easy! I held the spool knitted cord up against the outside of the nails, and ‘v’ (baseball stitch) it to the shawl.

This video shows how to stitch cord to a finished woven edge:

Happy dragonflies! Happy triangles! Happy everything….

Here’s a video tutorial on how to stitch spool knitted cords to woven or other finished edges:

And, another how to on stitching things together- this time, it’s how to stitch potholder loom squares and motifs together

Here’s a video tutorial on how to spool knit a whole bunch of different ways with the Martha Stewart loom:

So there you have it Lotsa video tutorials…. hope they are helpful!

Potholder loom woven capelet (c) by Noreen Crone-Findlay

The Capelet is made by weaving simple squares with yarn on the potholder loom, and stitching them together.

The drawstring is a spool knitted cord.

Potholder loom woven capelet (c) by Noreen Crone-Findlay

When the drawstring is tied, it gathers the points of the squares into petals.

Potholder loom woven capelet (c) by Noreen Crone-Findlay

The capelet is flattering to all figures.

The pattern for the capelet fits sizes Small to Extra Large.

It is easy to adjust it to fit more voluptuous figures.
The pattern is $4.95 Cdn and is available at:
http://www.crone-findlay.com/Crone-FindlayCreationsPotholderLoomWeaving.html

Happy weaving, and joy in all that you celebrate!
) Noreen

Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

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!)

Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

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:

Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

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

Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

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

Whimsical-woven-cats-by-Noreen-Crone-Findlay-(c)

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!

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

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I’ll be working on it, bit by bit to get information into it….

and you are so welcome to join!

Noreen’s Ravelry group

So, that posting was more of a ‘how NOT to’ than a ‘how to’…..

Luckily, my finger is growing back and I have finished the chunky 3 bead necklace….

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I left the beads to soak in a bowl of vegetable oil for a few days. Because grandbaby is going to be chewing them, I don’t want to use anything that could be dangerous to him on the beads.

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And, that is why I am using organic cotton to spool knit the cords that hold the beads together.  (Lion Brand Organic cotton).

I spool knitted 2 short cords and stitched them into the spaces between 2 of the beads, and one long one for the neck cord.

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NOTE: The neck cord NEVER goes around the baby’s neck!!!

It goes around the neck of his grown ups, or is looped through the tie of the sling , so he can retrieve it when he drops it.

He only has access to it when he is being held and supervised, and not when he’s sitting in the car seat.

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The big holes are great for chubby little fingers to hold onto…..

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And those big beads are just so satisfying for a little guy to gum away on! (Well… to bite with his TWO new teeth!!!)

He absolutely loves the necklaces, and so do we.

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The first Tshirt to succumb to my snippie scissors and be transformed into yummy fabric strip yarn, well, ‘Tarn’ (this  is the new term for upcycling T shirts and turning them into fabric strips for spool knitting, weaving, crocheting and knitting), was a longish T that is mostly cotton with a touch of spandex.

I have been writing about how to cut fabric into strips for yonks… instructions on how to do this are in several of my books, so I am glad that it is now  hip to reclaim old T’s and turn them into new fun finery.

As I cut the T into strips, I wound it onto one of my dolly nostepinnes.

The ball got bigger and bigger, and I decided that Nostie looked like she was wearing a tutu!

I had to take pics of her, as I thought that

she looked really quite fetching….

By the way… I have been getting a lot of mail from people who have seen my video on how to wind a ball of yarn on the nostepinne. They have been asking if I am going to make more of the Dolly Nostepinnes to sell….

So… guess what? I spent the day in the workshop and the studio, making a wild and wonderful Dolly Nostepinne.

Here’s the link to introduce you to her: Ermingarde

If you want to see the video on how to wind yarn on the nostepinne, here it is:

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A very beautiful Celtic Interlace necklace, even if I say so myself….

Since the pattern went live,

people have been saying:

‘Hey… Noreen!

Have you seen this? It looks just like one of your designs!’

And,  with a grin that

reaches all the way round…

I have been responding:

‘Why yes! I have seen it…. and yeppers… it IS one of mine!’  LOL!

Here’s the link: Celtic Interlace Medallion Necklace pattern on the Lion Brand site

Spool knitting works beautifully for making jewelry, and I have designed lots of wearable pieces in spool knitting.

It was a pleasure to design these necklaces for Lion Brand. I used their ‘Vanna’s Glamour’ yarn, which is very springy and stretchy, so it works well for making lightweight, very comfortable jewelry. The touch of glitter in them is great, and I like that it is really soft, and not scratchy, like some metallic yarns.

Because of the flexibility of spool knitting, you don’t need fittings or closures for the necklace.

If you want to add beads, you can certainly do that, too…

I also wrote an article  for Lion Brand about spool knitting, too:

Article about Spool knitting on Lion Brand Site

One lady wrote to me, after reading the article and asked exactly what spool knitting is, and how is it done.

To see what you can do with it, and to see some video tutorials on how to do it, click on

Spool knitting on Crone-Findlay Creations (the video links are at the bottom of the page)

Happy Spool Knitting!