My husband really likes the dragon that I designed for my ‘Innovative Frame Loom Weaving’ book.
He asked me to weave him a dragon tapestry for Christmas, so I did.
I went a bit overboard on the beads, but he likes it, so that’s okay.
He hung it on the beam between the kitchen and the dining room to be the Guardian of the Hearth.
I am so glad that he likes it.
Woven with love in every stitch.
And, yup, I designed and made the frame for it.
Oh my goodness! Carving wooden spoons is just wonderful!
Hard work, yes. but…. ohhhh….
I have been a wood carver for decades, but have just discovered the joy of carving spoons.
The picture above is the first spoon I carved…. for our grandson.
My husband loved it, so I secretly carved one for him for Christmas, too.
I asked my family if they would like spoons, and the response was an enthusiastic yes!
So…
and
And, then….
I couldn’t resist combining one of my other great delights, which is carving wooden dolls, with spoon carving.
The inspiration that poured out kept me out of bed for a couple of nights as I had to sit and draw and draw and draw
all the ideas that were just pouring out….
I have tied in a few metaphors that have been weaving their way around in my heart…
On Facebook, I learned about stardust that has been discovered in Antarctica and then having a long time friend
sent me a poem about how the trees are full of stardust (as we all are) just enchanted me!
I am now carving what I call: ‘Storyteller Spoons’ – hand carved spoons that are meant to stir up STORIES, not soup.
After, stories are food for the Soul 🙂
Oooh! I had to carve a Star Baby spoon from walnut:
And, I have started a series of ‘Stardust Sisters Spoons’- articulated dolls with moving arms,
This one is carved from a blank that my son made for me from a birch tree that died and was cut down
in his neighbor’s yard:
I carved this Stardust Sister from the bass wood blank that came with the kit:
I love the metaphor of hearts and hands working together, so I went back to
the drawings that I did for the first scoop that I carved for my daughter.
But, I added a hand to the spoon, and carved out a bowl in the palm of the hand
as well as in the scoop of the heart.
While I was carving it, it came to me that spoons are meant to gather things,
but also to offer them, which is the perfect metaphor for this spoon:
I will be working with Hearts and Hands together a whole lot!
I made a video showing some of the carving that I have done over the last 30 odd years,
as well as the very very first beginnings of getting started in spoon carving.
These are just the first spoons that I have carved, and now that I have worked out
a pattern language for myself with this, there will be many, many more!
(I hope!) 😀
And, I hope that you are finding things that bring you joy, too!
Be kind, be safe, be well! ❤
Here’s the video:
One of my most favorite things to do at Christmas time is to make ‘the ornament of the year’ to give to family and friends. I usually end up making a LOT of them and it’s totally delightful.
This year, I have been weaving up a ton of tiny Snowmen- I designed them last year and made a video so other people can make them too.
Here’s the link to the ‘how to’ video:
One of my favorite projects in my new book, Innovative Frame Loom Weaving, is an extremely useful tool.
It’s a woven Needle Book that holds sewing needles.
Pin cushions are good for pins, but needles can get buried in them too easily.
Needle books hold sewing, darning and other craft needles safely and handily.
This video shows variations on the Needle book that I designed for the frame loom, including ones woven on the potholder loom and Weave It style pin loom.
And, also, a relative asked for a brooch that she could stick pins and needles in while mending, so there’s one of those in the video, too!
Our small dog inspired me to weave a clip on pouch to carry hand sanitizer.
She picked up a chicken bone when we were walking and I had to stick my fingers in her mouth to get it out.
Oh, so in need of getting my hand cleaned off quickly!
I decided that NOT having to stick a messy hand in my pocket was a great idea, so I came up with clip on pouches to carry hand sanitizer.
Then, I wove up a stack of potholder squares to play with different ways of exploring color and texture and also different kinds of hanging loops.
I also figured out different ways of connecting clips, toggles and clamps.
This is a quick and easy project and would make a great gift!
Here’s the how to video:
Ahhh, tea! One of life’s great pleasures!
Some teas come in cloth tea bags that can’t be composted, so instead of throwing them in the garbage,
here’s a great way to upcycle the bags into yarn that you can weave with (or knit or crochet).
I’ve made a video about how to cut the cloth tea bags into fabric yarn-
What can you do with upcycled tea bag yarn?
Weave with it as if it’s regular yarn… for instance, here are a Star , a Dragonfly and Heart woven on pin looms that I designed for Dewberry Ridge Looms
Or: Make upcycled brooches- here’s a video showing how:
More videos about weaving with teabag yarn –
How to Weave Using Upcycled Teabag Yarn 2 Nails at a Time on Pin Looms:
AND:
AND:
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:
For many years, I have adopted all the stray balls of crochet cotton that I have found at the thrift shop.
I have happily been using them in many different ways, but now they are coming together to be upcycled into lovely kitchen cloths to use instead of paper towels.
They are a pleasure to weave on potholder looms and are lovely and soft.
While we are all holding the fort at home, let’s create some beauty, and enjoy the sweet pleasure of weaving on simple looms!
Here’s the video I made about this very satisfying form of upcycling.
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
I have been folding little Origami boxes to help me organize the Comfort Bears as I weave them.
People have asked me for instructions on how to make the Origami boxes, so here’s a video tutorial on how to fold them:
Happy Folding!
Noreen Crone-Findlay, designer and author
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 