For the last 6 weeks or so, I have been weaving up a storm, working on an installation for the Green Window City project in Edmonton Alberta. Link to Green Window City
I wove 7 banners ( each 5 yards long) from cut up clothing and t shirts cut into t shirt yarn (tarn and ‘Farn’- fabric strip yarn) on my Saori loom.
For the last month or so, I have been building and weaving up a storm.
I am part of a project in Edmonton, Alberta, called, Green Windows City, that has partnered 13 artists with small shops in the arts district.
The artists are creating installations built from upcycled or recycled stuff, and are creating magic!
Today is installation day, so I will take photos after I complete my installation and post them.
One of the really fun things that I have done is to design and build a tapestry loom (although it can be used for other things than tapestry) and stand from trash.
I built the loom from a picture frame and the stand for the loom using heavy cardboard tubes thrown away by the fabric store, an old broomstick and a few nuts and bolts.
It has ingenious ways of tensioning the warp strands, and opening the sheds for ease of weaving.
All it all, it is a wonderfully functional loom and stand that is almost no cost.
To my delight, I have found it to be a loom that I love and will be using for years.
I liked it so much that I have built a second one to be weaving on while this one is busy being in the installation.
I made a video showing how to make the loom and stand, and how to warp it (including the warping device that I messed up on and then replaced LOL)
Here’s the video- it’s a cheap and cheerful way of creating a really great little tapestry loom.
This week has been insanely busy, with a major new project being on the top of my list, plus a maker’s faire yesterday, AND having to rush to get a vest done that I have been working on as a wedding gift… busy… very busy!
Even so- I have been working on my tapestry diaries….
Here’s where I have gotten to with my latest ‘Dancing Lady’:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
The Schacht Mini Loom has been surprisingly satisfying for this small piece (*no affiliations or profit from saying that I do like this little loom*) although, of course, tensioning is pretty minimal!
I still have a whole lotta work to do on her, but that is ongoing.
For April, I will be working on this piece, that is the other half of the warp strands from my first Dancing Lady of the month:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
The light is so glaring in my studio right now that I am either getting totally over exposed or under exposed pics. Sorry.
One of the things that has kept me so wildly busy, is that I am participating in a very neat project in Edmonton, Alberta, called, ‘Green Windows City’.
A group of artists have been paired with businesses in Old Strathcona, a very artsy part of Edmonton.
The artists are scrounging up stuff that has been discarded, or donated to the ReUse center, and are creating magical installations in one storefront window of their assigned business.
I chose the theme: ‘Weaving a new world’, and have been busily building a mannequin and loom and stand and props, and will be weaving up all manner of things….
so, here’s the loom warped (I’ll show more about the loom and stand in the upcoming days), but I haven’t got the drawing done for the cartoon yet….
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
The warp is set at 6 epi, and is soft hemp that was given to me by someone who had given up on weaving. The label said that it was warp, but it’s sure new to me to use hemp as warp! Wish me luck!!!!
The next couple of weeks are going to be sooooooooo busy, as I have to have everything done and ready for the installation on April 17 – eeeeeeeeep!
But, I do feel that the weaving on the loom for the installation is very much part of my diary process, so I will be including it here, and posting about it.
I’ll have them at the next Mercer Maker’s Market on Saturday March 29 from 10 -4 (The Mercer is on the corner of 104 ave and 104 St), so Edmonton peeps, I hope to see you there!
Last night, we were at a wonderful birthday party – it was such a pleasure to feel so much love focused on our friend!
He deserves it.
Jim and I were sitting with friends, basking in the lovely time.
One of our friends is a young woman who is a gifted musician.
She opened her bottle of Jones soda and read out the ‘fortune cookie’ written inside the bottle lid.
It said: “You will be confronted with limitless opportunities”.
She contemplated it for a minute and said: ‘Confronted with limitless opportunities….. hmmmm’…..
and that began a heartfelt conversation between us…..
‘Confronted’ with limitless opportunities really does speak to the necessity of developing discernment and wisdom, doesn’t it?
She is a woman of deep heart and great intelligence – and she is a wisdom seeker.
I felt that this small ‘fortune cookie moment’ was filled with significance, so I asked her if I could take the bottle cap and make a brooch for her with it.
I spent the morning working on it, and have just finished it.
I hope that she will feel the love and tenderness in it……
(Update: Yes, she does like it 🙂 )
Ending on a personal note, and speaking directly to my friend:
Jordan, my dear, may you be blessed on your journey!
You are a gift and a blessing and you make the world a better place. 🙂
As an older woman-even though I was born with the name: Crone, I am living it now 🙂 –
I am participating in all kinds of craft fairs and maker’s markets this summer in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I’ve been weaving up all kinds of bracelets for the upcoming shows:
The bracelets are a combination of paper yarn, t shirt yarn, vintage buttons and charms and other embellishments, as well as copper and brass findings and embellishments that I have made.
Several years ago, we bought a metal Ikea computer desk at the thrift store.
I didn’t like having half of the top attached at an angle.
So my beloved DH, Jim and I drilled some holes, took the angled section off and re-attached it so it was nice and flat.
I had passed the desk along to my daughter and her husband, and when they gave it back to me last week, I was inspired.
First, to make the desk a comfortable height for weaving, I cut 3 inches off the legs with a pipe cutter- whew!
That was HARD work!
I mulled over how to attach the loom to the top of the desk, as it was just a hare’s breath away from fitting properly.
I took the top apart and played with the sections to see if I could come up with a workable solution- and then- woohoo!
I discovered that the chanels for a sliding mouse pad section that were supposed to be on the under side of the desk top, fitted the crosspiece of the loom perfectly! Jubilation!
I zip tied the sides of the loom to the desk and was happy as a clam…..
except…. for the pesky owees of the tendons grizzling about the side levels, and my back spazzing out on me.
Hmmmmm…..
Inspiration! add lamms and treadles!
I started by cutting a support piece at the side, and bolting it to the side of the stand.
I used 2 angle brackets as the support for the lamms (with a little block to fill in excess space).
Then, I drilled holes in the lamms for cords to the levers and to the treadles.
I tied the lamms to the levers and was verrrrrrrry pleased! Things were moving along quite nicely!
There had to be a way of supporting and securing the treadles, so I used a board from an old pallet, and drilled 2 holes for the legs. Poifeck.
I had a 6 inch length of threaded 1/4 inch steel rod, which I ran through the treadles (which I had cut out of scrap lumber).
The treadles were too wide at first, so I cut dippsy doodles into them to make them fit better.
The most frustrating part of the whole process was finding nuts that would go onto the threaded rod. Grrrrrrrrr!
I finally ended up filing the ends of the rod, as I just couldn’t get anything to thread onto the rod. Once I did that, zip! on went 2 nuts, happy as can be.
I screwed the whole treadle mechanism to the crossboard on the floor, and tied the treadles to the lamms…..
and held my breath…… what if it didn’t work? eep….. that would have been 3 hours down the tubes….
BUT! Joy! and whee and halleujah! It works like a dream!
So, if you would like to have a floor loom, but don’t have the ca$h, watch for a table loom on the various online places, and convert a desk into a stand for it.
You’ll need to have some basic carpentry skills, and I couldn’t have managed drilling the holes through the sides of the treadles without a drill press, but I bet you could do it if you had to.
Here’s the video that I made about how to convert a computer desk into a loom stand with treadles:
Here are some notes to keep in mind if you would like to adapt my project for your table loom:
Things to look for in a desk or table that you want to use for a loom stand:
1: Being able to bolt or screw the lamm support piece along the left hand side of the table/desk legs is essential.
2: Being able to shorten the legs to drop the height of the table to a comfortable ergonomic height is also essential.
3: Being able to attach the loom to the table is one more essential. (Clamps? Zip ties? A channel like the one on mine was a piece of beautiful serendipity)
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