Category Archives: Loom & looms & small loom weaving

January 14, 2015 · 10:22 pm

Upcycling a little box into a band loom

I absolutely love weaving Scandinavian style woven bands, using different styles of rigid heddles.

A few weeks ago, as we were cleaning and clearing in preparation for our big move, we found some sweet little drawers that my father in law had made many decades ago.

He had reclaimed some tiny little wooden butter boxes and made wee drawers for his workshop with them:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.tottietalkscrafts.com

And, since then, the idea for building a tiny, oh so portable band weaving box loom has been gestating in my mind….

After much trial and error, I have built the little loom, and absolutely adore it!

I have made a small video that shows what I did to build this little charmer:

This is the ratchet and pawl that I designed for my loom.

I made them from a scrap of marine plywood, which allowed me to curve the pawl.

I am going to make the next one from a piece of purpleheart that we’ve been saving, so I am going to make the pawl straight, to make it stronger and not risk breaking it by cutting a curve against the grain.

If you are interested in learning more about weaving Scandinavian style narrow bands, definitely seek out the work of the marvelous weaver extraordinaire, Susan Foulkes:

http://durhamweaver64.blogspot.co.uk/

And, if you’d like to see some of the ways that I use narrow bands please click:

https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2014/08/08/woven-women-small-bird-sang-and-all-was-forgiven/

Note: I have upgraded the little box loom…. it’s even better!

Here’s a link to how the little band loom has evolved: LINK

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Filed under band loom, eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, video tutorial, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, how to build a box loom, how to make a band loom, loom, narrow band weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, reclaiming, recycling, Scandinavian style, upcycled box loom, upcycling, video tutorial, vintage butter box, woodworking

October 29, 2014 · 10:21 am

Sigh- this is NOT the background for the book pics

While I am weaving up a storm, working on projects for my new book, I can’t post pics of what I am weaving.

You know…. you just can’t ‘scoop’ yourself and let the cat out of the bag, no matter how enticing it would be to let it out for just a very little peek.

But, nope. It’s zipped lips and fingers off the keyboard when the itch to do a tiny reveal has to be firmly pushed down.

On the other hand, when something gets vetoed by my editor and the art dept…. I can say:

“Guess what! Here’s something that you WON’T be seeing in my new book!” 🙂

I had this ~~bright~~ obviously Not so bright, idea that I would weave the background for all the project and how to photos on the peg loom.

I liked the idea.

A lot.

I wove and wove and wove for many an hour…..

And wove a large background piece.

And, merrily shot photographs using it.

But…..

I am learning the nuts and bolts of my new camera and so I sent photos in to my editor to make sure that the photos will be acceptable for all the manipulations that have to happen for publishing.

Oops….

The art department nixed the background.

oops.

Should have checked in on that one sooner, shouldn’t I?

oops.

Building a book is never a straight line- it’s a ziggy, zaggy, loopy and sometimes, snaggy one, indeed.

Ah, the learning curve.

All part of the journey.

Back to work I go.

🙂

But hey, at least I was able to show you something that I have been working (and working and working) on.

🙂

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks

Tagged as fail, failure, Noreen Crone-Findlay, oops, peg loom book, small loom weaving, weaving, writing a book

September 30, 2014 · 12:39 pm

Too many projects for one book?

Oh oh…. I am so inspired by my new book about peg loom weaving that I am coming up with waaaaaaaaaay too many ideas for it….

I can draw a star with my weaving sticks LOL

And, then, instead of carrying on with figuring out yardage etc and working on the forms I have created to help me track my progress and keep everything organized… I stopped and played…..

Sigh.

That’s not going to get a book written, is it?

Okay.

Back to work.

(Voice of Inner Child: But look! I can draw things with my weaving sticks! Whee!

Voice of Serious, Studious Adult: Oh, shush, and let me get back to work…. oh wait… that IS fun!)

All right, all right…. I really am getting back to work now.

Really. 😉

4 Comments

Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Noreen Crone-Findlay, peg loom weaving, weaving sticks, weavingsticks, writing a book

September 25, 2014 · 3:18 pm

Book Contract Signed- Now I Can Tell

Wheee! I am so excited!

I can finally share my good news!

For months, I have been sworn to secrecy, but now….the contracts are signed…. so……..

My editor has given me the go ahead to let the cat out of the bag.

(A brief moment of happy dancing here)

Stackpole Books is going to be publishing my new book about Peg and Stick Loom Weaving.

I love peg looms and stick weaving- they are simple little looms, but have incredible creative potential.

I have already self published many ebooks and patterns for wonderful designs with peg and stick looms:

Jewelry making with Peg and Stick looms: LINK

Baskets LINK

Mermaid Dolls LINK

Woven Dolls: with 6 weaving sticks LINK with 4 weaving sticks LINK

A shortcut to my Peg Loom & Stick Weaving listings on etsy are: ETSY

And, I’ll post pics of some of the tapestries that I have woven on the Peg Loom soon, just to show a bit more of the potential of these delightful looms.

For the new book, I have designed oodles and oodles and oodles of new designs- oh my! I am so excited!!!!!

And…. I am covering all kinds of awesome techniques right from the very basics up to advanced and slightly boggling ways of working with the peg loom. (And weaving sticks, too).

I’ll be working my sweet little chops off from now until June of 2015, when the manuscript, photos, illustrations and diagrams take flight to land in the capable hands of my editor and her clever cohorts.

They will then spend months making magic with it, (so much happens to the text, photos, diagrams and illustrations once the wizards of technology at Stackpole Books get their hot little hands flying!).

Then, the book comes back to me for my proofreading, and back to them and then, it takes flight again, off to the printers.

That’s why it takes another whole year before it can miraculously pop up on book shelves.

It’s worth the wait 🙂 I hope.

I’ve asked my editor if it’s okay to share my journey with writing the book with you, and she has said yes, as long as it doesn’t upset people that they have to wait so long for it.

There is soooooooooooo much involved in writing a book, and I find it very interesting, so I hope that you will, too.

(And of course, I can’t let the cat out of the bag about the exact projects until the book is closer to release, but then, I’ll be able to share ALL the pics).

But, now…. I must get back to work!

After a little more happy dancing, of course….. 🙂

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, personal stuff, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Noreen Crone-Findlay, peg loom weaving, publishing, Stackpole Books, weaving sticks, writing a book

September 5, 2014 · 2:34 pm

Woven Women- And All Shall Be Well

One of my most favorite prayers is Dame Julian of Norwich’s …

“And All Shall Be Well, and All Shall Be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well….”

This prayer is a mantra that I repeat to myself through thick and thin, through the darkest nights and hardest moments- we all have them, and they are transformed into a wellspring of compassion, but, oh my, how incredibly challenging it can be at times to navigate them.

Thank you, Dame Julian, for these words to live by…..

I love weaving words, and have done many woven homages to Dame Julian.

But, this is the first time I have woven her prayer in tapestry-

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.crone-findlay.com

She is approximately 36 inches tall.

I wove the central tapestry panel on my Mirrix 8 inch tapestry loom at 6 epi.

The side and back panels were woven on my 4 harness floor loom at 12 epi.

On her face, there are bits of sea glass, fragments of pottery and seashells, as well as driftwood.

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as And all shall be well, Dame Julian, Dame Julian of Norwich, hand weaving, Mirrix loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestries, tapestry, woven

August 23, 2014 · 12:38 pm

Woven Women tapestries- Seven Ravens

The story, The Seven Ravens, by the Brothers Grimm inspired me to weave a tapestry.

I have been working on it for more than 5 months, and I am thrilled to have finally (!!!) finished it!!!!

While I was weaving it, I tried to remember to take progress pics, so I could make a little video showing how it grew.

I wasn’t very good at remembering to do that, so the pics really lurch and skip, but c’est la vie- sometimes, we lurch, don’t we?

And, now, thank goodness, it’s finally done!!!! yay!!! done done done!

And, here is the little video showing how it grew:

I am now delighted to be warping up for a new tapestry- yay!

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as Brothers Grimm, fairy tales, Noreen Crone-Findlay, raven, ravens, Seven Ravens tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestry, tapestry weaving, The Seven Ravens, woven tapestry, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

August 20, 2014 · 9:57 am

Woven Women – Three Sisters

Three sisters of the heart- tapestry/mixed media pieces that I wove and fabricated this summer:

On the left: Woven Women- Asking for Miracles 36 inches tall
Center: Woven Women- Edith’s Song (no regrets) 31 inches tall
On the right: Woven Women- Small Bird Sang and All Was Forgiven 36 inches tall

Woven on my Mirrix tapestry looms (16 inch wide loom and 8 inch wide loom).

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, Mirrix, Mirrix looms, mixed media art, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestry, tapestry weaving, textiles, weaving, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

August 18, 2014 · 9:06 pm

Woven Women-Asking for Miracles

Night and day for the last couple of weeks, I have been weaving up a storm, finishing Part 3 of Rebecca Mezoff’s online tapestry workshop.

And, I have just finished: Woven Women- Asking For Miracles, which is built around the sampler that I wove for Part 3:

The dragon ship on her chest is based on images in the Bayeux tapestries, and the tree of life is based on a fragment of the Overhogdal tapestry fragments that I saw in the Viking exhibition at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC in July.

The Overhogdal tapestry was woven with a linen background, with the figures outlined in soumak and the colors filled in with colored weft in a kind of brocade technique.

The imagery in these tapestries is just so marvelous that I find them really inspiring and love sketching elements from them.

For her head dress, bodice construction, cuffs and hem, I used narrow bands that I wove on my double slotted Swedish rigid heddle loom.

Her head, hands, shoulder medalions, and feet are plywood.

I drew, cut out and burned and painted all the wooden elements.

Her earrings are made from beads, vintage buttons and reproductions of Viking coins that I bought in the Museum gift shop.

‘Asking for Miracles’ was woven on my 16 inch Mirrix tapestry loom and is about 36 inches tall.

And, that title?

Well…. there are a lot of things happening these days that could use some miraculous energy to set them to rights…

you know, the wars, the devastations that are being wrought on so many levels and in so many ways on our precious little planet.

As I weave, I often meditate on sending out peaceful, healing energy…. the stuff that miracles are made of, after all, so to be honest, I think that when I am doing this, I am asking for miracles…..

and may your life be full of miracles of healing, wholeness, wonderfulness in every way!

Miracles.

Yes, please.

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, Mirrix loom, mixed media weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Rebecca Mezoff, Royal British Columbia Museum, tapestries, tapestry, tapestry loom, tapestry workshop, woven, Woven Women tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

August 11, 2014 · 11:09 am

July 2014 Tapestry Diary

I’ve been so busy catching up since we got home from holidays that I forgot to post a pic of my July Tapestry diary.

Here it is:

The title is: ‘Questions’.

It’s 3 inches wide by 5 inches tall.

I wove it on my wee copper pipe loom at 8 epi.

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as copper pipe tapestry loom, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestries, tapestry, Tapestry Diary, tapestry diary weave along, textiles

August 8, 2014 · 8:03 pm

Woven Women- Small Bird Sang and All Was Forgiven

When we went on holidays in July, I took along 4 small looms- My Norwegian Cradle loom, my 8 inch Mirrix tapestry loom, my wee copper pipe loom and my tiny peg loom.

I warped up my Norwegian Cradle loom with fine cotton to weave a narrow band, using my Swedish double slotted rigid heddle.

The heddle is actually too wide for the Cradle loom, but oddly enough, this worked well in a quirky way.

I wove and wove and wove and wove as we drove for many, many days, with the Norwegian Cradle loom in my lap:

The cotton thread in the narrow band is in the same colors that I was using to weave the sampler for Part 2 of the online tapestry course offered by Rebecca Mezoff.

I knew that I wanted to have narrow bands as part of the figure that I was weaving, using the sampler as the body.

And here she is: Her name is:
“Small Bird Sang and All Was Forgiven”.

Her body is the sampler that includes the techniques that were covered in Part Two of the course.

I wove her arms separately, using techniques from Part 2 as well.
I have included driftwood from our beachcombing at the ocean, as well as found objects.

Her hands, head, feet and the archway panel are cut from Baltic birch plywood. (Lovely stuff!)