I am very fond of the little kiddo that lives next door. He and his Mamma are good friends of mine.
The doorbell will ring and my little friend will announce that it has been 50 years since we talked, so we will sit together on the porch and have a chat. His Mamma sits on the grass and we all enjoy the moment.
Yesterday, I took paper and pen outside and drew around his hand and he astounded me with his mathematical abilities. Three years old and doing some pretty clever addition! wow….
We had a lovely time drawing lots of handprints.
Then I cut one of them out, traced it on wood and cut it out. I burned the date on it and am going to give it to my friend for Mother’s Day.
I haven’t felt up to doing any wood work for more than 6 months, so it felt sweet to say hello to my saw and sander again.
I made wooden handprints of my children’s hands when they were little, and still treasure them.
One of the things that I am learning about living with Long Covid is to be gentle with myself and stop just “pushing through”. I have had a very bad habit of over working all my adult life, and now, that’s not possible anymore.
So even though I am working to deadline on a new little book (thank goodness it’s a little one- I don’t have the wherewithal to do another ‘big’ book), I am taking time to enjoy some simple little things that make me happy….
What makes me happiest? My husband, our beloved family, our friends…. you know, all the truly BIG important things, so that all goes without saying…. even though I just said it! 🙂
Okay…. so a simple little thing that makes me happy?
Bead weaving. Last summer, I wove a new Goddess figure that was fairly complex…. but life has gotten complicated since last summer, (no time or energy for larger figurative weaving right now… but that will happen again- after the book is done and I am further along with making peace with Long Covid) so for now, I have warped up my little Mirrix Mini and have been weaving a super simple little band that might become a bracelet or a book mark or part of one of the new series of Goddess figures that is currently on hold until the book is done.
At first, my ‘Gremlins’ were all judgie: Oh this is not good enough, blah blah blah….
I told the Gremlins to shut up, as this is NOT about ‘good enough’….
it’s just a simple little thing that makes me happy.
My husband turned the beautiful wooden beading bowls for me almost 40 years ago.
They make me happy, too.
I hope that you are finding Simple Little Things that make you happy, too!
I spent a challenging day in the hospital yesterday, being treated by the most incredibly kind and compassionate Health Caregivers… the EMTs, nurses and doctor were wonderful.
What started out looking like a cardiac even has turned out to be (after more than 8 hours of testing and examination) to be Long Covid.
This explains so much about why I have been feeling so awful for the last 5 months…. I thought that my slowness in recovering from Covid was because of the grief I was suffering over the death of my beloved son in law, and other illnesses in the family.
That might have had an impact, but now that I have had Long Covid explained to me and the fact that I am ticking all the boxes and then some, makes sense.
Please, friends and family, if you are feeling ill- get help! I am now being entered into a Long Covid program with lots of dr apts and hopefully a happy and successful outcome that will leave me feeling like me again.
I wish I had taken more Comfort Bears with me, but I only took one, and gave it to the lovely woman who cared for me in the ambulance (her partner was kind, too, but was more in an admin role than caregiving)…. and she loved it
. Once I am feeling more energetic, I am going to make sure that I send a whole bunch of Comfort Bears to the Emergency Ward!
And, wow, am I ever lucky that one of my close friends is an Emerg Nurse, who took care of me before the ambulance came and who talked with the intake folks. Bless her heart!
I am also soooooo grateful to my darling husband and precious daughter who were there with me through it all and to our sweet son and daughter in law who cared for our puppies while the whole long thing was going on.
So…. please take care of yourselves!
Get help!
I am embarking on some radical self care, so slowing down on all kinds of things. Hugs all round!
The knitted Clancy Comfort Bear is my latest design for comfort bears.
I designed it in honor of my beloved son in law who died last year.
Clancy was kindness incarnate and always kept several Comfort Bears in his pocket to offer to people who were having a difficult time. So, the Clancy Bear is a living legacy to keep his kindness unfolding in the world. With love in every stitch……
THE ‘HOW TO’ VIDEO FOR THE CLANCY COMFORT BEAR IS AT:
NOTE: The finished size of the Clancy Bear is determined by the thickness of yarn and size of knitting needles that you use.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Knitting Needles in a size that is appropriate for the thickness of your yarn,
Yarn: Less than an ounce for each Clancy Comfort Bear
A crochet hook that is appropriate for the thickness of your yarn.
Black 6/0 glass beads for eyes, Stuffing,
Black sewing thread and a needle that is small enough to sew on the beads, Tapestry or darning needle
Sewing machine thread in a color that matches your yarn (optional)
Felting needle, Tape measure, Row Counter, 4 small safety pins, Scissors or thread snip
INSTRUCTIONS: Beginning at the feet:
Cast on 11 stitches.
Rows 1- 16: Work in st st (knit one row, purl the next)
Place one of the little safety pins at each end of Row 6 and then 1 more pin at each end of Row 10.
At the end of Row 16, cut the yarn, leaving a 42 inch/105 cm long tail
Thread the tail end into a darning or tapestry needle and lift all the stitches off the needle.
Pull up to gather the top of the head.
Take the needle through the stitches one more time to secure them.
HEAD:
Sew the centre front seam using the Baseball stitch to the first set of safety pins. (see video for how to).
Take a couple stitches to secure the head. Remove the 2 safety pins.
Stuff the head.
Wrap the yarn tightly around the neck 2 times then stitch over the wraps to secure them.
EARS:
Take the yarn up to the side of the head at the top of the head and stitch over the knitting needle or crochet hook twice.
Stitch over these loops several times to make the first ear.
Repeat for the 2nd ear.
Take the needle back down and out at the ‘shoulder’ to be used to make the arms.
TUMMY SEAM:
Thread another strand of yarn or the sewing machine thread into a needle and stitch the center front down to the next set of safety pins.
Stuff the body.
LEGS:
Fold the cast on edge in half to find the midpoint.
Take the needle through it and stitch it to the end of the tummy seam.
Stitch in place a couple of times to secure it.
Squeeze and fold the edges of the front to meet the cast on edge, forming the leg with the corner point becoming the toe. It’s a bit like origami.
Stitch the leg inseam together, pulling up tightly.
Stitch the second leg inseam.
Secure at the middle.
Take the needle through the body to the back, and snip.
ARMS:
Take the crochet hook through the stitch at the shoulder where the yarn came out.
Yarn over, pull up a loop through the stitch on the body.
Chain by taking the yarn over the hook and pulling it through the loop on the hook.
Do this 7 to 9 times, depending on the thickness of your yarn.
Take the crochet hook through the shoulder on the other side of the body and pull up a loop.
Thread the yarn end into the tapestry needle and stitch the loop to the body.
Take the hook through the first chain stitch at the shoulder, and make a slip stitch in it by pulling up a loop through the chain stitch.
Repeat this for all the chain stitches, ending at the first shoulder.
Stitch the end into the body and use the felting needle to secure the arms to the shoulders and to bury the yarn end.
NOSE:
Take the black thread through the head, coming out at the center of the face.
Secure it with a couple of tiny stitches.
Make several horizontal stitches for the nose.
MOUTH:
Move down and take a couple of shorter horizontal stitches for the mouth.
EYES:
Take the needle up slightly above and to one side of the nose and sew on the bead for one eye,
then the other.
Secure the stitches by going back down to the nose and taking a couple of tiny stitches at the corner of the nose, then taking the needle back through the head. Snip the ends.
PANDA:
INSTRUCTIONS: Beginning at the feet:
Cast on 11 stitches with black yarn.
Rows 1- 6: Work in st st (knit one row, purl the next)
Place one of the little safety pins at each end of Row 6
Rows 7 & 8: Join white yarn and work in st st
Rows 9 & 10: Drop white yarn and work in black yarn.
Place 1 more pin at each end of Row 10.
Cut the black yarn, leaving a tail of 42 inches/105 cm.
Rows 11- 16: Work in white yarn.
At the end of Row 16, cut the yarn, leaving a 20 inch/50 cm long tail
Thread the white yarn end into a darning or tapestry needle and lift all the stitches off the needle.
Pull up to gather the top of the head.
Take the needle through the stitches one more time to secure them.
Stitch the center front seam of the head with the white yarn.
Stuff the head and wrap and secure the neck.
Take the black tail end out through to the shoulder and leave it there for now.
Work the rest of the Panda body, legs and arms the same way as the Basic Clancy Bear.
EARS:
After working the Arms, take the black yarn up to the top of the head and make the ears.
EYE PATCHES:
Take 3 small vertical stitches for each eye patch.
NOSE:
Take 2 horizontal stitches for the nose.
MOUTH:
Take 1 smaller horizontal stitch for the mouth. Secure the yarn by stitching through to the back of the neck and stitching in place the burying the yarn in the body.
EYES:
Sew the eye beads to the center of the patches. Secure the thread ends in the eye patches.
Sometimes, we need laughter in our lives. It’s such a wonderful way of healing all manner of sorrows!
I have just designed a little bit of woven laughter.
They are certainly not what most people think of as ‘Healing Dolls’, but I am finding them to be VERY healing!
I have been very depressed as I grieve the recent death of my beloved son in law, and both my grief counselor and psychologist have told me that I NEED to have fun and to laugh…..
(if you are having issues with depression, please get help! I am so glad that I have!)
So, here they are…. The Easily Amused Monsters! They are so easy to weave on Equilateral Triangle looms and such fun to personalize and make totally unique.
The Easily Amused Monsters are quirky and are great at making you laugh and smile.
They have washers stitched to the top of their heads, the ends of their arms and legs and one on their faces for a mouth. This means that when little magnets are clicked to the washers, the Easily Amused Monsters can do all kinds of goofy things.
The magnets allow them to take silly poses and to be attached to metal surfaces like fridges, metal doors, filing cabinets etc. and to hold onto things like thimbles ….
Their mismatched eyes add to their silliness.
The Easily Amused Monsters LOVE to give hugs!
If you would like to order the pdf pattern for the Easily Amused Monster
Please post a note in the comments and I will get back to you asap or you can go the link for my Etsy shop. LINK
The PDF pattern for the full how to’s with step by step photos is $3.50 Cdn.
BUT! A WARNING….. The Easily Amused Monsters are NOT to be given to young children or left in places where dogs, cats or other animal companions can ingest them.
Magnets are dangerous as all get out when swallowed and the eyes, washers and other trims can be a choking hazard for children.
So, have a lot of fun with the Easily Amused Monsters, but do be careful if you have little kiddos or critters in your home.
I love weaving Teddy Bears and other toys and dolls, too.
If you would like to order the pdf patterns for the projects, please post a note in the comments and I will get back to you asap OR click on the link to my etsy shop. Thank you!
A little Pocket Penguin to weave on the Equilateral Triangle loom. The Pocket Penguin enjoys travelling about in a pocket or gazing at the stars with the Mermaids. If you would like to order the PDF pattern, please send me a message or click the link for my Etsy shop.
I love Koala bears, so I had to design one to weave on the Equilateral triangle loom. I used the 4 1/2 inch loom for the Koala. The Koala bear sits by my computer and also holds my favorite thimble for me. And, of course, gives hugs!
If you’d like to buy the PDF pattern for the woven Koala, please post a comment and I will get back to you asap or click on the etsy link. Thanks
If you would like to order the pdf patterns for the projects
Please post a note in the comments and I will get back to you asap or please click the links to my etsy shop. Thank you.
Shawls, stoles, scarves and wraps are some of my most favorite things to weave and to wear.
So, of course, I have woven a collection of them on the Equilateral Triangle looms that I designed and Dewberry Ridge Looms makes and sells.
If you would like to order any of the pdf patterns, please either leave a comment and I will get back to you asap or go to my etsy shop by clicking the various links.
This Butterfly is a celebration of Springtime, Transformation, Renewal and Geometry and who knows what all else? Many things, I am sure. Wear it as a shawl pin or on a hat or a bag…
This how to video by Noreen Crone-Findlay shows how to make potholders and mug rugs (coasters) woven on the Equilateral Triangle looms, using techniques shown in previous ‘how to’ videos.
The potholders and mug rugs are quick and easy to weave using the Weaving techniques that she developed for the Equilateral Triangle Looms that she designed and Dewberry Ridge Looms builds.
Here’s the link to the ‘How to’ video for the potholders and mug rugs (coasters):
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 