Category Archives: Loom & looms & small loom weaving

February 5, 2014 · 2:55 pm

New woven vests February 2014

Vests are one of my most favorite garments to design, weave and wear.

I have just finished two new vests that both have something that I believe to be essential: Pockets 🙂

I didn’t use a pattern to make the vests, but I was inspired by design #51 for a jacket, in the Saori weaving book that has a black cover.

I don’t know the actual name of the book, as it’s all in Japanese, but if you contact your local Saori dealer, I am sure that they will be able to sell you the book. The Saori books are all fabulous beyond words, and are all treasures!

I wove the fabric for the red vest on my Saori Piccolo loom, which is a joy to weave on. The fabric for the turquoise vest was woven on my 4 harness table loom.

The warp for the red vest was 10 inches wide and the warp for the turquoise vest was 17 inches wide.

They were both woven at 10 epi.

They both work well worn open, or pinned shut with a brooch, or tied with a belt or sash.

When I was weaving the fabric for this vest, I was playing with the fibonacci sequence, and also playing with numbers in other ways… in a way, I was coding messages of love, good health, happiness and abundance into the fabric as I wove it!

Weaving is so meditative, and it’s fun to deliberately figure out ways of ‘weaving happiness’ into my fabric 🙂

I love shawl collars, as they make me feel so cozy:

And those oh so important pockets! I wove the fabric for the pockets on my 4 harness loom.

I used a wool cotton blend for the weft when I wove the band at the top of the pocket so it would shrink and pull in to shape the pocket.

There are so many neat ways to shape garments, and using threads that you know will shrink is a ‘secret tip’ that works well for getting sections of your weaving to pull in and gather after the fabric is washed.

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

I’m trying very hard to not get too attached to these vests, as I am going to be offering them for sale at the maker’s faire that I am participating in this weekend… (On the Spot Maker’s Faire at the Boyle St Plaza in Edmonton AB on Feb 8 & 9).

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

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, hand woven garment, hand woven vest, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Saori, Saori Piccolo, Saori weaving, textiles, vests, woven clothing, woven vests

January 20, 2014 · 3:14 pm

Occupied by Octopi and Einstein

People keep asking me to design and weave baby toys……….. so…….

Every day of the last week, I have been obsessively weaving one octopus after another. Why?

Well, because I’ve been contemplating how to weave toys that are appealing to and for babies.

My checklist for the baby toys:

Bright colors

No beads or buttons, only embroidered embellishments

Lots of opportunities to hold onto the toy, and to hang it up from strollers if wanted, and to connect other toys to it.

The answer: OCTOPUS!

Tah dah!

An occupation of octopuzzzzzzzzzz in my studio!

Tottie Tomato is somewhat confused by my sudden obsession with oceanic friends.

She sought out a little advice from her friend, Albert Einstein.

He reassured Tottie Tomato that all the mermaids in the studio will be sure to keep the octopuzzzzzzzzzzzz under control.

Besides, they are only in residence temporarily, until they are adopted, and, it’s a well known fact that octopuzzzzzzz don’t eat little Tomato people. 🙂

PS: if you are feeling inspired to weave an octopus or two, too, I used my pattern in WEAVAGARUMI

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, potholder loom, Tottie Tomato Loves, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Albert Einstein, hand woven toys, handwoven baby toys, Noreen Crone-Findlay, octopus toys, Tottie Tomato, Weavagarumi, weaving for babies, woven baby toys, woven octopus

January 9, 2014 · 5:32 pm

New woven toys

I have a passion for weaving toys that are not just for children, but also to light up the heart of adults, too.

Over the last year, I have been designing and weaving all manner of woven wonderfuls for my booth in all the heaps of artisan’s markets and maker’s faires that I have been doing.

Which is why I have been rather remiss in blogging – it’s all about the weaving, these days 🙂

It’s been a pleasure to let my imagination run wild and create one of a kind pieces without worrying about having to make sure that I can repeat the process to make patterns.

Not to imply that I don’t like designing and making patterns- I really do!

BUT…. it’s delicious to simply let my hands fly and listen to what emerges…. and to respond to what WANTS to emerge! In which case, I have had to build a series of new little looms to keep up with those ‘wanting weavies’. 🙂

Here are a few of my latest pieces:

I never get tired of weaving homages to Albert Einstein 🙂

Everyone in our family really likes gargoyles, so I had to weave one (and I feel the need to weave more! LOL)

And, we all quite like frogs- in fact, the joyous uproar of frog song in springtime is one of our favorite things!

This fellow seems very affable to me….

This Debonaire Ginger Cat is actually based on one of my patterns that is available on my website LINK or on my etsy shop.

And, for that matter, the pattern for dragons woven on the potholder loom is also available on my website:

And now, back to ‘one of a kinds’ – This is Dumpling Darling:

Ahhhhhhhh, babies….. I love to weave babies of all descriptions, like baby piglets:

and baby hippos:

Oh, yes, a monster or two….

And, sometimes, a fairy toadstool wants me to weave it….

At Christmas, I wove a capybara for my son in law:

and a fox:

So, now you see why my blogging hasn’t been up to scratch in 2013…. 🙂 Too busy weaving….

But…. I do plan on being more active with my blog in 2014….

I have a lot of photos of pieces for my Woven Women show that I haven’t posted, so I need to get back to posting those. All in good time 🙂

I’ve been better at posting pictures to facebook, so if you would like to follow me on facebook, the link is:

facebook.com/NoreenCroneFindlayDesigns

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, potholder loom, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Noreen Crone-Findlay, potholder loom, woven Albert Einstein, woven capybara, woven cat, woven doll, woven dragon, woven fairy mushroom, woven fox, woven frog, woven gargoyle, woven hippo, woven hippopotamus, woven kitty, woven monster, woven toys

October 9, 2013 · 12:16 pm

Woven Women: Mother Holdfast

The last year and a half or so has been quite a roller coaster ride with worry/anguish/anxiety over our daughter’s health issues. I cannot even put into words what we’ve gone through, so I won’t….

But, things have resolved, and she’s come through surgery and now radiation, with flying colors, so we are all relieved beyond belief.

In the midst of dealing with our daughter’s healing process, our daughter in law suffered a miscarriage, which threw us into more grieving. Things were mighty, mighty rough.

I felt like I had to keep a very tight lid on the volcano of emotions- the worry, fear, uncertainty, sorrow, anguish, grief- you know – all that stuff that roils up when your beloved children are having a hard time.

Plus, we were all working our socks off all summer while dealing with all of this, and it just was so intense that it meant that I simply had to hold a very very tight focus, emotionally.

And, now that we have come through this harrowing passage, I am slowly releasing all that pent up stuff…

For me, the most healing way of doing that is in making art….

This is the direct result of the beginning of the process of transforming my volcano of emotion into a positive expression of beauty, while using all that energy in a directed way.

My husband and I took a break for a weekend at the beginning of September, and went to the west coast to visit sisters.

We came home with our suitcases full of driftwood, sea glass and seaweed- some of my most favorite raw materials, ever.

Three of the pieces of driftwood in particular called out to me.

So did a dried up kelp root, called, a ‘holdfast’, that one of my sisters gave to me- she has treasured it for a long time, and so it’s very precious.

The metaphor of ‘holdfast’, of roots holding a great kelp tree anchored in the ocean spoke so deeply to me as a symbol of what I, as the mother of young women and their loved ones in a time of troubles, was called to do in holding the energy for my family.

So, the name: Mother Holdfast rings true for me.

Here is the holdfast, being held fast in ‘Mother Holdfast’s hands…. which I made from wire.

One of the pieces of driftwood became the head of ‘Mother Holdfast’:

Another piece of driftwood became her shoulders, and the third one became part of her upper arm:

As soon as I drew, then burned the face onto the ‘head’ piece of driftwood, Mother Holdfast let me know exactly what colors and textures she wanted me to weave.

So, I warped up and wove at a feverish, furious pace…..

And, then, I started layering, stitching, layering more, weaving more….

Until Mother Holdfast was complete….

She is TALL! She is almost 6 feet 6 inches tall….

As well as my woven fabrics and inkle bands, I have also stitched and woven in antique and vintage lace fragments, tatting (tatting goes with me everywhere, and keeps me sane when I am having to wait or watch or…), smaller fragments of driftwood and seaweed, and spool knitted wire cords that I filled with sea glass.

Here’s the lower part of her dress:

‘Mother Holdfast’ has been a powerful healing experience for me to create.

One of my dear friends was looking at her, and then turned and asked me:

‘So, my dear, what does she want you to do next? Where will she lead you?’

An interesting question, indeed…..

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

Tagged as 'mother holdfast', hand weaving, hand woven, multimedia tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay, Noreen Crone-Findlay, weaving as a healing art, Woven Women

October 5, 2013 · 11:39 am

Geometric Butterfly Motif to weave on the potholder loom

For the last couple of years, I have been working on a new design for the potholder loom.

It’s for a Geometric Butterfly motif- and I have finally finished the pattern for it, and for a bag and wrap made using it.

I have listed the pdf pattern on my website on the potholder loom page LINK

The Geometric Butterfly motif is wonderful for bags:

and wraps

It would also make beautiful prayer flags, pillows, afghans, vests, throws, wall hangings, table runners and whatever else your heart desires.

It’s a great way to showcase handspun yarns, but commercial yarns work just fine with it.

Tarn, or t shirt yarn is also great in the Geometric Butterfly pattern.

The pattern has full color step by step photos and diagrams, and comes with links to helpful videos.

There is a separate pdf that has all the step by step photos and instructions for how to weave all the different shapes on the potholder loom.

Isn’t it amazing what you can do on the simple potholder loom? 🙂

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

Tagged as butterfly motif, Butterfly pattern, Geometric Butterfly motif, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, pdf pattern, potholder loom, small loom weaving, woven accessories, woven bag, woven shawl, woven stole, woven wrap

May 21, 2013 · 5:53 pm

Quick tip for cutting hand woven fabric

So many people are afraid to cut their handwoven fabric….

BUT…. conquering the fear of snipping means that you can chop away with great gusto and whip up fabulous, one of a kind garments and accessories! So, YAY!

I was cutting out a spiffy hat today, and it struck me that I should make a quick little video to show what I do to cut off a length of fabric from my main piece of hand woven. So here’s what I do when I am cutting out the pieces for a project:

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Tagged as cutting hand woven fabric, fearless stitching, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven fabric, how to cut handwoven fabric, sewing handwoven fabric, sewing techniques, textile techniques, video tutorial

May 20, 2013 · 5:33 pm

Steampunk Brooch with woven fabric and an upcycled juice can lid

I love weaving jewelry, and I love upcycling.

So, I have combined these loves by using upcycled elements in some really fun Steampunk inspired brooches that I have designed and made.

I weave the backgrounds for the brooches with the Schacht Zoom loom (the new version of the classic Weave It loom).

Then, using the lid and base from frozen orange juice cans, I build fab brooches.

I combine all kinds of things, like tatting, found objects, various embellishments that I make, as well as crocheted and woven wire.

Fun!

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

Tagged as brooches, hand woven brooches, hand woven jewelry, handmade, handwoven brooch, jewelry tutorial, Schacht Zoom Loom, Steampunk jewelry

April 30, 2013 · 10:41 am

I’ve been weaving bracelets

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.

And, now, I must get back to my looms! 😀

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as brass findings, copper and brass, handwoven bracelet, Noreen Crone-Findlay, paper yarn, t shirt yarn, Tarn, upcycling, vintage buttons, woven bracelets

April 18, 2013 · 4:23 pm

DIY How to turn a computer desk into a loom stand with treadles

A couple of months ago, I bought the neatest loom on Kijiji.

It’s a 2 harness Leclerc table loom, with a weaving width of 20 inches.

It’s a joy to weave on, but my tendons were grousing about the side levers and my back was honking at me.

I figured that there had to be a cheap and cheerful way to build a stand with treadles for it….

and VOILA!!!!! (happy dance)

I have just figured out how to do it! Wheeeeeeeee!

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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Tagged as diy, eco project, green project, hand woven, how to hack an old Ikea desk into a loom stand, how to turn a computer desk into a loom stand, Leclerc table loom, loom stand, Noreen Crone-Findlay, treadles, video tutorial, weaving