Category Archives: doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making

April 29, 2010 · 9:30 pm

This week 2 profiles and Friendship Fairies

It’s been a busy week in the studio!

I have been working away on a new design for some adorable little spool knitted dolls.

They are ‘The Friendship Fairies’. They’re spool knitted dolls that are a celebration of wonderful friends and relations, teachers, students, co-workers…. you name it- if there is someone who makes you feel like the world is a better place because they are here, then that’s who the ‘Friendship Fairies’ are meant to celebrate. The pdf is available for purchase on my website at Spoolknitting .

Several months ago, (sorry about the bold face type… I can’t seem to get it to stop doing that!) I was asked to share some photos of my studio and to answer some questions about where I work. It’s been really hectic, and it took me a long time to get it done, but the post has gone live. This pic is a photo of the alcove where I shoot my video tutorials. Hmmm… you’d think that I could have straightened the lampshade before I took the pic…. oops… anyhow, here’s the link:

noreen-crone-findlay-studio

Cherie Burbach also posted an interview with me this week. It’s here: Cherie’s Interview

Lots and lots more has been cooking up in the studio, so I’ll be posting more about it as it all ripens…

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March 15, 2010 · 12:05 am

Tottie and the Teddies Take Tea

Tottie Tomato is always up for a tea party. Today, she’s sipping tea with a group of teddy friends.

Some of her teddy friends are really tiny. One little mischievous fellow decided to go for a little dip in his teacup, which raised a few eyebrows. Other than that slight social faux pas, the tea party was a great success.

What’s the story behind Tottie’s tea party today?

Well, the other day, a lady asked me if I still had copies of my Crocheted Teddy Bears book. I checked on my shelf, and realized that I did, but only had 2 copies left and that I had tagged it to transpose it into pdf format.

So, I spent the day and evening working on re-building the book as an eBook.While I was working on building the pdf’s, I wondered what had happened to the original teddies from the book. I had crocheted a really enormous one, and knew that I had given that one away, as I just don’t have room to store it.

I knew I had several of the tinier teddies from the book scattered around the studio, but it took some searching to find them.

Some of them completely eluded me, but I just remembered that there is a collection of them in my workshop boxes, so I will have to see if I can lay hands on them.

I love crocheting teddies with unusual materials. Do you see the teddy bear that I crocheted from wire?

He’s the one who’s whispering secrets into Tottie’s ear. Because he’s kind of see-through, I put some precious objects inside him, which then makes him even more special.

I have stitched pins on the backs of the other really tiny bears, and I wear them as pins.

A friend made me the naughty little one in the teacup, and spool knitted a cord onto it to turn it into a fine little bookmark.

So, you see, teddy bears can do more than just sip tea!

They can do all manner of important things.

But, when you think about it, really, all a teddy bear REALLY needs to do, is to just be him or herself.

A lesson that we all could learn from, yes?

PS: If you are interested in the pdf patterns for my crocheted teddy bears, they can be ordered from:

crocheted teddy bears

Tottie and the spool knitted doodle doll

Do you like to doodle? I do. I always have.

A friend mentioned that she’s been using

her doodles to inspire her in her

crochet design, (I’m going to be writing more about

this soon, with links)

and that got me thinking…

Why not doodle on wooden dolls?

So, I got out my Faber Castell artist pens

(link to where my husband bought them for me

for Christmas: pens

and did a little doodling on

a small wooden peg doll body.

Here’s the front of the doll body,

and

here is the back.

Because the doll is

tiny,

and this pic

is wildly blown up

it looks much coarser

than in real life.

I varnished the doll

body after I doodled on it,

and then

made little

wooden

hands and feet.

I varnished them

as well,

and then

drilled tiny

holes with a

very fine

drill bit.

That’s so I

could sew

the spool knitted

cords that

I made with

Cordelia cord maker

Link to Cordelias

for the doll’s

arms and legs

to the hands

and feet.

For the legs,

I spool knitted

a cord that is

6 inches long.

As you can see,

the cord goes

through the body.

I drilled larger

holes through the

body for the arm and

leg cords.

For the arms,

I spool knitted a

cord that is 4 1/2 inches long.

The hands and feet

are stitched to the

arms and legs,

and then the extra yarn

is wrapped around the

wrists and ankles,

stitched through

and woven into the

arm or leg.

Here’s the Doodle Doll,

cuddling with Tottie Tomato’s

puppy, waiting for Tottie to pour tea….

Tottie is a little distracted,

because she’s busy admiring

the new Cordelia cord maker

that I just made, with a

portrait of her on it.

Tottie is pleased with it,

and has suggested that

I put it to work,

making another Doodle Doll

to keep her new friend company.

I will have to do that,

but first, we ought to pour tea….

Happy Girl’s Day! It’s Doll Festival Day

Today, Tuesday March 3, is a day to celebrate little girls and to wish them hope and protection.

In Japan, today is the day that elaborate displays of precious dolls are created….

Paper dolls symbolizing things that are unhappy are placed into boats and set afire, to take away the unhappiness…

And, little girls are invited to have marvelous teaparties with their friends and their dolls.

I wish I had known about this when my daughter was little, because we would have teapartied heartily!

It’s never too late to have a happy childhood, so I say:

Get out your dolls and have a teaparty!

Make some paper dolls that symbolize some kind of unhappiness that you are ready to let go of, and then burn ’em.

I am going to celebrate by sharing a picture of one of the new dolls that is in my just about to be released book:

‘Spooligarumi: Cute & Easy Spool Knitted Dolls & Toys’

Here’s the Fluffy Bunny Spooligarumi Doll – Perfect for celebrating Doll Festival Day:

spooligarumi-pink-fluffy-bunny-275

My new downloadable pdf book: Spooligarumi: Cute & Easy Spool Knitted Dolls & Toys

is now available from my website .

All text and images on this site are copyright protected and not to be copied or shared without Noreen Crone-Findlay’s permission

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February 12, 2009 · 10:05 pm

Tiny Spool Knitted Angel

spool-knitted-tiny-angel-plain-1000

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,

spool-tiny-angel-hair-1000

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:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/48409301/pdf-pattern-for-tiny-spool-knitted-angel?ref=shop_home_active_3

Please note that the images on this blog are copyright protected

and are NOT to be copied without permission.

Thank you.

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February 6, 2009 · 10:08 pm

Some handmade books – 1

I am inviting people to a Green Challenge of making a handmade book that has big envelopes or plastic sleeves to hold their sketches, notes, clippings, pdf’s etc.

See: Challenge posting

Just for fun, I thought that I would post a few pics of some of the handmade books I’ve made over the years:

Here are some handmade books that I made and then glued origami angels to. (yes, I made the angels)

The angels are all very eco friendly and ‘green’ as they are recycled and upcycled, as they are all made from junk mail or magazine photos

handmade-book-origami-angel-11 handmade-book-origami-angel-2 handmade-book-origami-angel-3 handmade-book-origami-angel-4 handmade-book-origami-angel-5 handmade-book-origami-angel-6 handmade-book-origami-angel-7

I’ll post more pics soon.

All images are copyright protected and not to be copied without Noreen Crone-Findlay’s permission

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Tagged as book making, doll, doll making, dollmaking, dolls, eco crafts, flat doll, flat dolls, green crafts, handmade books, journal, mixed media, multi media, Origami, origami angel, origami angels, origami doll, recycling, recycling crafts, upcycling, Yarn Crafts

January 28, 2009 · 11:19 pm

Wild and Woolie Spool knitted doll

spool-knitted-handspun-pink-doll-finished

Every once in awhile, a little wild woolieness ought to come into a Yarnie’s life.

So, I have designed this Wild and Woolie Spool knitted doll. I used hand spun yarn to make it, but any yarn that makes your heart sing would work well.

All together now, let’s sing: Wild Thing! I think I love you!

LOL!

I’ve got her pattern listed etsy shop now: Wild Thing

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

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January 28, 2009 · 6:14 am

Lily is back!

knitted-lily-doll-qs

I am so pleased!

One of my most favorite dolls of all the thousands of dolls that I have designed, is ‘Lily’.

Somehow, I managed to loose the file that had her pattern in it, and oops, had sold all my paper copies of her pattern.

Oh my word!

It’s been driving me nuts that I couldn’t find her file, so I spent most of the day searching through all my files. whew.

I was THRILLED when I found her file!

So, I set to work on rebuilding it, as it was an earlier version, and now I have created a pdf of her pattern.

Whee hah! My darlin’ Lily is back in town! woohoo!

I’ve put her on my website. You can see her at:

Noreen’s Dolls

wheeeeeeeeeee

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

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January 10, 2009 · 11:31 pm

Rosie Recycle is done and ready to go!

rosie-recycle-book-and-dolls-2-qs

I am so excited!
I have finally finished The Rosie Recycle Doll Book!

http://www.crone-findlay.com/Crone-FindlayCreationsWhatsNew.html

tottie-and-pin-dolls-qs
Rosie Recyle dolls are charming little one of a kind dolls that are
an inspiration to ‘go green’, and become a thrifty ‘eco crafter’.

Combine your stash of scraps of yarn & embroidery floss
with colorful bits of junk mail, old magazines
and packaging to create enchanting & unique little
Rosie Recycle Dolls.

The book includes instructions and patterns for
* Knitted Rosie Recycle Dolls
*Crocheted Rosie Recycle Dolls
* Spool knitted Rosie Recycle Dolls
*Rosie Recycle Dolls with ribbon or lace scrap skirts.

The completed Rosie Recycle dolls
are approximately 5 inches (12.5 cm) tall.

They have pins on the back of their heads, so they can dance from
your hat, bag, lapel, curtain, inspiration or bulletin board.
They’re also great for scrapbooking, too…..

The Rosie Recycle booklet is 48 pages, and is full color.
It’s 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches- so easy to slip into your tote bag!

I am doing the big time happy happy happy dance….

and Tottie Tomato thinks that Rosie Recyle is pretty darned wonderful, too!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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Tagged as crochet, doll, doll making, dollmaking, dolls, eco crafts, green crafts, knitting, recycling, recycling crafts, Rosie Recycle, self published books, self publishing, spool knitted cords, spool knitter, spool knitters, spool knitting, Yarn Crafts

January 7, 2009 · 2:43 am

Mapping the layout for new book

I have been working sooooooooooo hard on a new little book.

😀

The process has been really intense, because, as well as designing and making the dolls for the book, I have been learning a whole lotta new software and systems. Oh MY!

The book is called: Rosie Recycle Pin Dolls : Thrifty Little Dolls to Crochet or Knit And Spool Knit.

The dolls are adorable and I am very excited….

I’m getting close to being able to release it…. just working on finishing up the layout of the book….

mapping-layout