Category Archives: doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making

March 29, 2020 · 8:38 am

How to Make a Simple Mermaid Doll with Yarn

Mermaids are a beautiful metaphor for staying afloat, no matter how hard the waves may crash upon the rocks.

This video tutorial shows how I took the idea of Yarn Baby (Tassle) dolls and created Mermaids with a little bit of yarn, a whole lot of love and a little bit of head scratching.

Oh, yes, also a few sneezes are included with love from our aged rescued Chihuahua mystery mix dear old dog who seems to respond to the making of video by coming into the studio and sneezing loudly whenever the video camera is turned on. Why? Who knows?

Anyhow, I hope that you will enjoy making Yarn Dolly Mermaids!

Here’s the video tutorial:

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, eco crafts & green projects, free pattern, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, mermaid, tutorial & how to, video tutorial

Tagged as #mermaiddolls, #tasseldoll, #upcycleyarn, #yarnbabydolls, #yarncraft, #yarndoll, easy to make yarn doll, mermaid, mermaid doll, upcycled yarn doll, yarn baby, yarn baby mermaid, yarn mermaid

March 21, 2020 · 8:20 pm

A Yarn Baby Doll that Hugs Your Finger

Today, I figured out how to make a Yarn Baby (Yarn Tassel Doll) that hugs your finger like the Comfort Bears.

We all need a little extra comfort these days, so having a small yarn doll in your pocket to give you a hug when ever you need it is a good idea!

Take good care of yourselves!

Here’s the how to video

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Filed under crafting for charity, doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, free pattern, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, tutorial & how to, video tutorial

Tagged as #yarnbabydolls, #yarndoll, doll, doll making, dollmaking, Yarn Crafts, yarn doll, yarn doll that hugs finger, yarn tassel doll

March 20, 2020 · 4:52 pm

How to Make Very Simple Yarn Dolls

I have loved making yarn dolls (aka ‘Yarn Babies’ or ‘Yarn Tassel Dolls’) ever since I was a little girl.

Since we are living in such challenging times these days of the pandemic, it struck me that making a video of how to take some scraps of yarn and turn them into a dear little doll would be a soothing and lovely thing to do.

These little yarn dolls are a simple and fun thing to make with children, or just as a way of calming and centering yourself.

They are a lovely little gift, and a lot of them will fit in a pocket, so they can be given away freely, or mailed, or hung in a tree with a note, perhaps, that says: ‘I wish you well, so I made this for you’.

Here’s the video of how to make Simple Yarn Dollies:

Take good care my friends! Hugs all round. ❤

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Tagged as #homeschoolingproject, #howtomakeyarndoll, #kidscrafts, #yarncraft, #yarndoll, crafting with kids, how to make simple yarn doll, how to make yarn doll, kids crafts, tassel doll, yarn babies, yarn doll

March 18, 2019 · 7:12 pm

Hurrah- a link for Edward and Anastasia knitted teddy bears

I am thrilled to bits…. a lady on Ravelry found a link to Knitting Today archives.

This means that people who are looking for patterns for Edward and Anastasia teddy bears (that I designed for Knitting Today) can now get the patterns online.

Yay!

I can’t send them out because the publisher owns the copyright.

I did a LOT of designing for Knitting Today, so there are lotsa other patterns in there from me, too.

Here’s the link: https://archive.org/search.php?query=knitting%20today

I also searched for ‘Your Knitting Life’ which was a different title to the same magazine, and the Yellowstone Edward and Anastasia came up:

https://archive.org/details/Your_Knitting_Life_2012-June-July/page/n9

Happy knitting!

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, knitting, teddy bear

Tagged as Edward and Anastasia Bear, Edward Bear, Knitting Today, Knitting Today! magazine

July 5, 2017 · 1:22 pm

6th Sense One of a Kind Art Dolls

For many months, I have been working really hard on new mixed media fiber art sculptures.

The 6th Sense is intuition/inspiration/imagination.

These one of a kind art dolls are based on dreams, memories, meditations and contemplations and are an invitation to embrace creativity, healing and wholeness.

They are a combination of tapestry weaving, narrow band weaving, lucet cords, tatting, knitting, wood work wire work and leather work.

Here’s a slide show video of my 6th Sense One of a Kind Art dolls.

Most of the 6th Sense One of a Kind Art Dolls in the video are for sale, but some of them have already sold and gone to live in their new homes.

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Filed under band loom, doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, knitting, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as 'Woven Women' by Noreen Crone-Findlay, 6th Sense Woven art dolls by Noreen Crone-Findlay, doll, doll making, dollmaking, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven, narrow band weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, tapestry weaving

December 23, 2016 · 1:48 pm

Wooden and Woven Dolls for Christmas

Recently, I had a lovely conversation with my darlin’ grandson.

He said to me: ‘Nanma, I LOVE your dolls. Will you make me one for Christmas?’

I was thrilled that he is pleased with my work and that he wanted me to make him a doll for Christmas.

What an awesome 7 year old he is!

I asked him if he wanted a wooden one or a woven one, and I was convinced that he said, ‘Wooden’….

So, I stayed up very, very late one night, and got up early, to carve him a wooden doll:

I used a birch branch from our son’s neighbour’s tree. It’s been drying for a year and a half and is lovely to carve.

Tottie Tomato cheered me on as I carved.

She comforted the new doll, because she knows that the knives, chisels and sandpaper are very uncomfortable, and that paint brushes tickle….

After he was done, and I had knitted his sweater and jeans, Tottie Tomato and New Boy went to hang a few ornaments on the tree in the village.

Something was feeling not quite right….

I thought: I have to check and see if Grandson actually said that he wanted a wooden doll…..

So, I asked him which dolls he loved?

Wooden or the woven art dolls?

We were out at a concert of his Grampa’s music, so I sketched the shape of the 6th Sense art dolls in the air.

YES! he said, firmly!

THOSE are the ones I love!

Oh oh….

I asked him to draw in the air and show me what shape he had in mind.

Yup….. Woven Women 6th Sense art dolls, and NOT 6 inch tall wooden dolls….

oops.

He specified that he wanted it soft to cuddle and that it had to wear black shoes.

I asked him to draw exactly what he wanted…..

He held his hands up in the air and showed me the size.

So…………………………

I have been weaving up a storm……………. well, a doll, along with a few other things……

I used the tapestry weaving technique to weave the body front, and plain weave for the back.

I did a clasped warp technique for the arms and legs to make the color changes work for the arms and legs.

I hope that he approves of how I interpreted his design!

I hadn’t thought of making him a doll for Christmas, so I am incredibly grateful that he asked.

And, because I didn’t get the brief right first time around, our little sweetheart gets TWO dolls, not one!

For now, they are chilling out by the Village Christmas tree, enjoying themselves in knitted armchairs that I designed for Findlay and Flora Bear.

The pattern for the chairs is in my etsy shop:

LINK

I can’t bear to wrap them until the last moment, so I will have a chance to enjoy them, too!

Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, Happy Solstice, Happy Yule, Happy EVERYTHING to you and yours!

Love and blessings all round.

May 2017 bring Peace, Wisdom and Compassion!

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Findlay Bear and Flora Panda, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, knitting, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, wooden dolls

Tagged as Christmas dolls, Christmas gifts, dollmaking, dolls, hand made dolls, handwoven, holiday gifts, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, spool knitting, tapestry weaving, weaves, weaving, weaving techniques, wooden dolls, woven

December 13, 2016 · 1:06 pm

6th Sense One of a Kind Art Doll- Tree Mother

Last month, when there was a spectacular Super Moon, we stepped outside to admire it.

The gigantic moon looked like it was suspended in the huge trees that line our street.

The image of the Great Tree Mother, rocking the Moon in her arms, rose up in my mind….

and I knew that I had to build one of my 6th Sense one of a kind art dolls.

Here she is:

Great Tree Mother Rocked The Moon in Her Arms:

While I was contemplating how to build the Great Tree Mother piece, my husband and our daughter took the dogs for a walk one morning.

Chloe came home with a wonderfully gnarly branch that had been pruned from someone’s tree and tossed into the alley.

She just knew I needed it…. even though, at that point, I hadn’t told her what I was mulling about 🙂

We have a very deep connection!

It is perfect.

So’s our daughter….

Anyhow…

The faces….

Years ago, my dear friend found a moose antler that had been shed and she asked me if I could use it.

I cut 3 faces from it, and carved them and painted them.

Two of them became part of this piece:

Tree Mother’s face.

She also has a ‘Hidden Face’ that is hidden inside the piece and will never be revealed.

Too bad I didn’t photograph it! Oops…

Here is Moon’s face:

I carved the hand from wood.

I wove the bands on 2 different looms and knitted the grey hand spun cloth of her robe.

All of the 6th Sense Woven Women have 6 pennies incorporated into them, as a metaphor for coming to our senses, and embracing intuition, intelligence and inspiration.

She is 29 inches/72.5 cm tall and the branch spreads out to 15 inches/37.5 cm wide.

She is not for sale.

By the way, she is also a celebration of creative adaptive re-use and upcycling. I love that.

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Tagged as celebrate the moon, celebrate trees, doll, doll making, dollmaking, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven, knitted doll, moon, moon doll, narrow band weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, one of a kind art doll, small loom weaving, textiles, tree, tree doll, Tree Mother, trees, upcycling, weave, weaves, weaving, wooden dolls, woven, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

November 14, 2016 · 9:31 pm

6th Sense One of a Kind Art Doll- The Love of Trees

I’ve just finished a new 6th Sense One of a kind art doll: ‘The Love of Trees’.

She’s 16 inches/42cm tall.

I sculpted the face then cast and painted it.

She’s a combination of weaving and knitting.

Above the trees is a mylar mirror.

Like all the other ‘6th Sense’ art dolls, she has 6 Canadian pennies that are a metaphor for coming to our senses, common sense, and the 6th Sense, which is actually a combination of intuition, inspiration, imagination and integrity.