One of the joys of self publishing patterns is that I get to talk about them as soon as I finish them. (Not allowed to do that with commissioned projects! It’s up to the editors to decide when the word goes out on those).
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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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The yarn is art yarn, handspun by the delightful Nancy Nagle of Nangellini: www.nangellini.com
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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! 😀
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:
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!)
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 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.
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….
Recently, I noticed that -horror of horrors! – that there was a link to a dead file in my pdf pattern for the Spool knitted Menopause Fairy. Here’s the link to the pattern in my etsy shop: LINK
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
So, I completely re-built the pattern, and added all the information that was missing, and made it all ‘oh so pretty’.
😀
And, one of the things that I needed to do to make the Spool knitted Menopause Fairy do-able is to make a video on how to turn a 4 peg spool knitter into a 5 peg spool knitter.
So, I shot the video and here it is…. I love doing the impossible, don’t you? LOL 😀
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 .
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
Tottie Tomato is always up for a tea party. Today, she’s sipping tea with a group of teddy friends.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
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:
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 