Category Archives: Loom & looms & small loom weaving

March 18, 2010 · 12:07 am

Out takes from The Woven Bag

Yesterday, I posted pics of some of the bags that a reader said she really liked (after I posted pics of bags that she didn’t like) 🙂 Link to yesterday’s post: Link

I also said that I would share a few bloopers with you.

Well… I don’t know if this qualifies as a blooper, but I have to confess that I was gobsmacked by discovering that the bag in the middle of the photo above, didn’t make it into the book. I was taking pics of the bags, and wanted to show how neat it is that the inside of a couple of the bags is different from the outside:

I checked the book to see what the final name of the bag on the right was (it started out as ‘Market Bag on the Square’).

I couldn’t find it… I checked again…. eh? (I’m Canadian, and yes, we actually ~do~ say ‘eh?!’ sometimes, especially when baffled and perplexed….). I went page by page…. and …. um… it’s not in the book…

Then I cracked up, because, I have done revision after revision, and re-reads, and checks and checks and proof read after proof read, and I just noticed ~NOW~?!?!?!!? that this bag got bumped? eegads and little fish.

I don’t know why that struck me as being so funny, but it did.

So, The Market Bag on the Square isn’t so much an ‘out take’ as a ‘take out’….

Now, there’s another bag that I have done some ‘take out’ on, too…

It’s the Knotted Fabric Market bag:

Having eco and green and upcycled components to the book was really important to me. I am really pleased with the reclaimed fabric torn into strips, and used instead of yarn in the body of the bag.

What I don’t like, is that I was experimenting with the handles for the bag, and I don’t much like the fabric handles.

Yes, they are soft, and yes, they feel nice in the hand.. and they are in the spirit of upcycling…. but- BUT –

they just look clunky….

So… I have done some revision.

I had a pair of handles that I bought at a thrift shop- they were on a hopelessly worn out bag. I bought the bag, and cut the handles off, and have re-used them on the Fabric Strip Market bag:

I stitched them on with the same fabric strips that I made the bag from, and I am much happier with the look of the bag:

It’s still in the spirit of upcycling, as the handles were re-claimed and are being re-used, and I am much, much happier with it now.

So, there you have it… a few ‘out takes’ and ‘take outs’ from The Woven Bag!

Oh yes! I forgot to say yesterday, that I have started a group on Facebook for The Woven Bag, and people are starting to post pics of the bags that they are weaving. You are MOST welcome to join and post pics of your bags, too!

Link to Facebook group for The Woven Bag; Link

Show us some more bags she said

Last week, I got the nicest letter from a lady. She said that she had pre-ordered a copy of The Woven Bag…. BUT….

When I showed

some pics of

a few of the bags

on the late hankering blog,

she didn’t like them.

So….

she canceled her order.

Eegads and little fish!

THAT’s not good!

Then…

she noticed on

Amazon,

LINK

that you can search

inside the book

and take a peek

at some of the

other bags in the book.

So, she did that,

and loved what she saw.

She ordered the book,

and when it came,

she was THRILLED!

She loves all the neat

techie stuff in the book

and that it’s like having

a workshop at her fingertips.

I asked her if I should

try this again,

and show more pics

of the woven bags.

She said, ‘YES!’

I asked her which ones

she thinks I should

show, and she listed

off these ones,

so I pulled them

out of the trunk

where I am storing them,

and got the camera out….

so, here’s another look inside the book!

woven-bag-patchwork-princess copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

woven-bag-happy-dancer copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

woven-bag-tandem copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

woven-bag-woven-roving-posy-bag copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Tomorrow, I am going to share a couple of little blooper secrets from the book… stay tuned….

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving

Tagged as bags, purses, The Woven Bag, totes, woven bags

December 31, 2008 · 4:37 am

Inkle Loom Dimensions

Recently, someone asked me about the dimensions of my inkle loom.

So, I’ve taken pictures of my loom and measured it, in hopes that this helps her husband in building her inkle loom.

My husband built mine from reclaimed wood from pallets, and it’s VERY hard wood.

You need hardwood for an inkle loom, as you put so much pressure on it.

I have woven everything from rugs to garments to bags to bookmarks on this loom. I love it.

inkle-loom-6

I am not alone in loving my inkle loom…. my cats LOVE to help me warp it!

inkle-loom-1

inkle-loom-2

inkle-loom-3

inkle-loom-4

inkle-loom-5

All images and content on this blog are copyright and not to be reproduced without permission.

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

28 Comments

Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving

Tagged as hand weaving, inkle loom, inkle weaving, small loom weaving, weaving

December 24, 2008 · 12:13 am

Weaving Words

I love weaving words into inkle woven bands.

tottie-and-dame-julian-3

In this picture, Tottie Tomato is wrapped in the words of Dame Julian of Norwich’s prayer:

And all shall be well

and all shall be well

and all manner of things shall be well…

tottie-and-dame-julian-1

tottie-and-dame-julian-2

I love this prayer and say it allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the time……….

To pay homage to Dame Julian and her wonderful prayer, I wove the bands that I used to shape her body (and her banner) on my inkle loom. I crocheted her hands and head, and wove the remainder of the elements of the sculpture on various other small looms.

I use a simple pickup technique for weaving words.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I think I should put ‘do a video of weaving words’ on my to do list!

The images in this blog entry are copyright and not to be used by anyone else for anything else….

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

Tagged as crochet, doll making, dollmaking, dolls, hand weaving, handwoven, mixed media, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, weaving

December 16, 2008 · 6:20 am

What’s on your loom for Christmas?

christmas-08-weaving-3

It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas without at least a little weaving!

My daughter and I are co-creating a present for her husband.

I warped up my Cricket (love that loom!) and am weaving up the bands that she is going to use to make him a pair of suspenders.

I wove about 20 feet of really nice bands…. I’ll show you pics when she’s got the suspenders done….

christmas-08-weaving-2

By the way, my husband made me that shuttle one year for my birthday. Isn’t it gorgeous?

He also built me my inkle loom, which I am working with to weave bands that say different things for different members of the family:

christmas-08-weaving-1

That’s for my son’s camera bag…. hope he likes it.

I love doing pickup techniques on the inkle. It’s slow, but satisfying!

So, what’s on your loom for Christmas?

Happy Weaving!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

17 Comments

Filed under gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as Christmas presents, handwoven, rigid heddle weaving, small loom weaving

November 19, 2008 · 5:10 am

Another healing/prayer shawl made with the mitered loop method

Last week, I wrote about weaving healing and prayer shawls on my Cricket Loom, using a method that I have developed (the mitered loop shawl). Here’s the link to the tutorial

This is one of the shawls that I have just woven for my daughter. The colors didn’t show up at all well… sigh. It’s much prettier in person! Much more turquoise-y.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving

Tagged as hand weaving, handwoven, healing shawl, prayer shawl, rigid heddle weaving, Schacht Cricket Loom, small loom weaving

November 11, 2008 · 7:38 pm

Weaving a healing or prayer shawl on the Cricket loom

Recently, my sister-in-law had an abscess in her brain, which is devastating and life threatening.

Her friends and family rallied around her and have formed a loving caregiving team.

I decided that as part of my caregiving, I would weave healing and prayer shawls for her and some of her closest friends.

So, I warped up the Cricket Loom from Schacht (I love this loom…. it’s beautifully engineered and weaves like a dream. It’s small enough to be portable – you can weave in the car, and big enough to handle full size projects.)

Here’s the Cricket warped up for one of the healing / prayer shawls:

I put approximately 150 inches of warp onto the loom, which is pushing the limit, but there’s a reason for that.

I used Caron Simply Soft combined with some tweed weaving thread from my stash for the warp, and the tweed thread for the weft.

I used 2 strands of yarn in each of the slots and holes. I put the tweed yarn only in the holes and the mixture of yarns in the slots.

After I wove the long strip of fabric, I folded it, and stitched the ends together like this:

This forms a long loop. Trim the excess warp strands to a few inches. If you use a sewing machine, use a zig zag stitch. If you do it by hand, work a Philipine edge first to secure the warp strands

Now, fold the ends into points: