Category Archives: tapestry

March 21, 2014 · 3:49 pm

Tapestry Diary for Woven Women show – 2

This week, I began a series of small woven figures for my Woven Women show (see previous post LINK).

I joined the Tapestry Diary Weave Along on Ravelry, and I am so pleased that I did.

This is the progression of the first piece, so far:

I warped up my 8 inch Mirrix so I can weave one diary entry on the front of the loom and one on the back.

A Tapestry Diary is a kind of daily journal that, of course, reflects what is happening what is happening in the weaver’s life at that moment….

I’ve been longing for springtime, so it was natural that flowers would appear immediately.

Using my mother’s stash of embroidery floss and yarn has been powerful for me.

Even though she is no longer with us, it is very tender to be working with something that she loved so much.

Each day, I’ve been uploading a pic of my progress in my diary- I find this rather daunting, as the ‘not good enough’ gremlins leap up and bite so uncomfortably! ugh….

I had some concerns about weaving with super slippery rayon embroidery floss, but it was fine…. although, I’ll need to do some serious sewing in on the wrong side.

That’s a bit of tatting that I stitched to the hem of the dress.

I always have a tatting shuttle in my pocket for ‘incidental moments’- it’s wonderfully contemplative, meditative and also so portable that I can take it with me everywhere.

I tat long strips of edging that I then include in my tapestries.

The face is applique’d on – I designed and wove a series of faces in a narrow band, using my double hole rigid heddle loom.

The arms are wrapped wires- I haven’t quite finished the wrapping, which is okay, as I won’t get to finish this piece until I weave the next one that is on the other side of the loom.

Being part of the Weave Along is such a pleasure- the international community of weavers that has formed around this weave along is a generous and supportive group.

I have no way of knowing how the Tapestry Diaries will unfold, but I will be posting as they do.

6 Comments

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

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Ravelry, Tapestry Diary, tapestry diary weave along, weave, Weave along

March 17, 2014 · 6:41 pm

Copper pipe stand for copper pipe tapestry loom

After my husband and I made a set of pivoting clamps for my copper pipe tapestry looms, see this post: LINK

I thought…. oh, would it ever be great if we could make a stand for the looms.

I’ve been using a music stand as an easel, which works great for my little 8 inch Mirrix loom, but it was just not good for the larger copper pipe looms.

Luckily, last fall, I bought a length of 3/4 inch copper tubing at a garage sale- what a deal!

I paid $2(!) for 14 ft of copper tubing! (The people used to run a ‘You Pick’ farm but were selling up all their irrigation equipment, including this unused chunk of copper tubing! wowsa).

I was convinced that we could uncoil it and use it to make a stand.

Jim was not at all convinced!

He insisted that we buy steel conduit, because it was stronger. And straighter. And it hadn’t been coiled up by an over eager giant.

I hated it.

I stuck to my guns, and kept saying that yes, yes, the wonky curves in the tubing will be fiiiiiiiiine!!!!!

Jim was still not convinced.

But, together, we bodgered together a slightly wonky, somewhat Dr Seuss-y stand for my copper pipe looms and

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

We made 2 ‘U’ shapes…. basing the measurement for the inside tube on the width of my looms (we made 3 copper pipe looms that are the same width- at some point I’ll explain why) plus the height I wanted the stand to be.

Then, we made the larger ‘U’ shape to fit around the first ‘U’, so it can fold flat.

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

I wanted long pivot bolts so I can hang scissors and bobbin baskets and bags off the sides of the loom.

And, yep, the ‘stops’ are boot laces. Humble, but functional!

Yes, it’s a little wonky, but I LOVE it! It’s so much more ergonomically friendly to weave at it now than on the music stand.

And, now I don’t have to set up the saw horses to warp the copper pipe looms.

The loom can be easily rotated in the stand. Bliss.

This photo shows how we put a longer bolt into the pivot clamp so that it can easily pass through the 2 copper pipes of the stand.

I wanted a long bolt because I hang bags for bobbins and yarn, as well as scissors, from it for convenience.

I put a wooden bead between the stand and the pivot clamp (as well as washers) to space it out from the wing nuts of the clamps.

By tightening the bolt on the outside of the pivot, against the stand, it puts enough pressure on the loom to keep it from spinning while you are weaving.

I sit with the lower edge of the loom in my lap, which keeps it from spinning, but, eventually, when I have woven to the top, I can see that I will have to change that position.

Will post about that when I get there!

And, it is very easy to release one loom and transfer another loom onto the stand. 🙂

I am such a happy camper.

Okay, back to my weaving. 🙂

17 Comments

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

Tagged as copper pipe, copper pipe loom stand, copper pipe tapestry loom, copper tubing, home made loom stand, loom stand, tapestry loom stand

March 17, 2014 · 1:05 pm

Tapestry Diary for Woven Women show- 1

Even though I haven’t been posting about my solo show of tapestries and woven works (Woven Women) that is opening in August 2014 (eep…. tick tock, tick tock…. eep), I have been working away on new pieces for it.

I noticed that the Tapestry weaving group on Ravelry (the facebook of the fibre arts world) is having a weave along in which people are weaving ‘Tapestry Diaries’.

That means that they are weaving daily, weekly or monthly, on pieces that reflect their lives in those given moments.

I have wanted to do this for several years, but just have never started one…. until, the other day, I had an ‘Aha!’ moment.

I have been contemplating a series of small woven figures- I’ve woven the faces for them, but haven’t started the bodies.

It struck me that weaving the bodies for these figures would work beautifully as a Tapestry Diary.

I got all excited about doing this, and then took the plunge and asked the moderator if I could join, even if I am late to the party.

She graciously said that I could, and so I am!

I love that the online community creates ‘Virtual Guilds’ with members from all over the planet inspiring and encouraging each other. It’s just awesome.

I decided to warp up my 8 inch Mirrix tapestry loom to get started, but I can see that I may want to warp up my 16 inch Mirrix for this, too.

Some people choose to weave very specific shapes in their tapestry diaries, like little squares or rectangles, that are quite uniform in size.

I have decided that my shape is going to be one that I have loved working with over the decades.

It’s an hourglass motif that has shown up in embroidery, weaving, stitchery, stone and metal work for thousands of years.

It’s sometimes called. ‘The Shepherdess’ motif.

I did a bunch of drawings, until I was happy with a very simple, basic shape that I think will give me lots of options for experimenting with color and pattern. Of course, I have no idea how they will turn out. 🙂

I chose to weave these figures in a fairly narrow configuration- only 3 inches wide, set at 8 ends per inch.

Here’s my loom warped up, heddled, and with the first little bit woven.

I inherited my mother’s stash of embroidery floss and threads, and will be using them in this series.

Thanks, Mom….. hope you like what I am doing with your treasures……

The Woven Women Singing Mermaid opens her eyes

My wee grandson does not like it when I make a doll or weave a tapestry that has closed eyes, or no face.

He frowns and says to me: “She can’t see me! Open her eyes!”

I think I have internalized his demand to ‘Open her eyes!’, because the other morning, I woke up, after dreaming about my large Singing Mermaid tapestry, and heard, you guessed it: Open her eyes!

And so, The Singing Mermaid from my Woven Women series- see here LINK for previous post about her:

has opened her eyes – with the help of my felting needles and some fleece:

The colors are looking slightly odd, but in real life, they are quite pleasing.

The Jasper Community Habitat for the Arts Gallery that will be hosting my ‘Woven Women’ show of tapestry and woven works is not on schedule with the construction.

So, the show will now be running from August 1, to Sept 9, 2014 in Jasper AB.

6 Comments

Filed under tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as hand weaving, handwoven, mermaid tapestry, Mermaid's song, Noreen Crone-Findlay, singing mermaid, textile art, textiles, weave, weaving, woven mermaid, Woven Women tapestries and woven works by Noreen Crone-Findlay

March 22, 2013 · 11:13 am

Woven Women- Our Lady of the Waters

Today, on facebook, the National Parks of Canada said that it is ‘World Wide Water Day’.

So, I decided to post a photo of my newest tapestry:’ Woven Women: Our Lady of the Waters’

And, here is her poem:

Our Lady of the Waters

Moving in us, through us-

Fill us with awe

with wonder

at the beauty

the Every Thing….

Fill us with delight

in the power of

the sacred drop of water.

What color is water?

It is, ‘Yes’.

It is, ‘Life’.

It is ALL.

‘Woven Women- Our Lady of the Waters’ is a mixed media tapestry, including wool yarn, stones, wire and pounded metal.

I wove her with several different looms: A tapestry loom, a 2 harness table loom, a 2 harness Saori floor loom, a peg loom and also used a spool knitter.

She’s 28 inches tall by 11 1/2 inches wide.

I think that she is probably my favorite piece that I have ever woven.

Here’s a closeup of a section that I wove on the table loom at 15 epi.

I used tabby, inlay, soumak, clasped weft and embroidery.

It was VERY slow to weave:

14 Comments

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

Tagged as 'Our Lady of the Waters' by Noreen Crone-Findlay, ecology, hand woven, mixed media, nature, spool knitter, tapestry, tapestry about water, the environment, woven, Woven Women tapestry

March 1, 2013 · 4:27 pm

Woven Women- Sun setting, Moon rising

This week’s Woven Women tapestry has a long title:

Sun setting

Moon rising

Small wave at ocean’s edge

touches Her foot…..

Woven 2012-2013

7 inches wide by 14 inches tall

9 Comments

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

Tagged as Goddess image, Goddess tapestry, hand weaving, hand woven, tapestries, Woven Women tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

February 17, 2013 · 5:54 pm

Woven Women – Blythe Spirit

This week’s tapestry is a love song to my beloved cousin who died from a brain tumor.

She was a total sweetheart and I miss her so much.

She was a gifted photographer, and I based this tapestry on a self portrait that she took of herself not long before she died.

I’ve named it, ‘Blythe Spirit’, because that’s what she is….. a lovely soul!

6 Comments

Filed under tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as arts, creativity, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestry, woven images, Woven Women tapestries

February 4, 2013 · 11:52 am

Woven Women-The Eyes of the Butterfly

When I became a grandmother, I saw the world in a whole new way…. through the eyes of the butterfly…..

Seeing my grandson emerge, and witnessing him ‘spread his wings’ makes it so heartrendingly clear just how magical and fragile our precious world is.

In response, I wove this tapestry, which is a love song to my daughter and her son.

Becoming a grandmother means that I now sing a love song to all the tender new lives that we must nurture.

Tapestry: Woven Women-The Eyes of the Butterfly

by Noreen Crone-Findlay 2012-2013

approximately 14 inches wide by 36 inches tall

The yarn used in the tapestry is special to me for 2 reasons…. one is that most of it came from my mother’s collection of yarns, and the rest of it was spun by my beautiful daughter in love, Alliston Findlay.

Lots of precious threads here…..

8 Comments

Filed under tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as babies', baby, beauty, becoming a grandmother, creativity, grandmother, grandparents, hand weaving, nature, tapestries, tapestry weaving, weaving, woven, Woven Women tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

October 14, 2012 · 11:48 am

Update on progress in tapestries Oct 2012

Yesterday, I took a tapestry off my 16 inch Mirrix loom- it’s nowhere near being finished as I am going to be doing embroidery on it.

I thought that I would give an update on the tapestries that I am weaving for my solo show next summer.

So, even though NONE of these pieces are anywhere close to being done, here’s a quick little glimpse at the works in progress:

And yes, I did plaster copyright notices all over them, as I have found that images have a way of getting away from you, so I want people to be able to follow them home!

The large tapestry is about a meter long – when you use extenders on the 16 inch loom, you can weave very long pieces.

On the music stand are 2 tapestries that I am just getting started on.

The 12 inch tapestry has gobbled up all my ‘s’ hooks, so I need to go buy some more.

I warped up my 5 inch Mini in a totally outside the box way….. totally outside the Scrabble box, that is!

I bought a couple of extra Scrabble games from the thrift shop so I could use the letters for my titles of my video tutorials.

I plunked the tile holders into a drawer and occasionally, I wonder what I will do with them.

Well… the other day, when I was puzzling over how I could warp the Mini when all my ‘s’ hooks are in use elsewhere, I had a flash of inspiration-

I duct taped 2 of them together to make a cap to go over the Mini’s knobs at the top of the loom!

This is the back of the loom, showing how I warped it continuously, going over the ‘Scrabble Cap’.

It works brilliantly!

I don’t like showing a piece before I have made some progress on it.

In November, I’ll do another update, and hopefully, I’ll have lots more to show you! 🙂

Soumak-Pouch-Weave-Along-Part-6-Edging-Cords

Part Six of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is all about the edging cords for the pouches.

You can use purchased braid like the Kreinik cord on the edges of this pouch:

The edging is 3/8 ” trim: # 170 Natural Pewter
http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=17023&cat=0&page=1

Or you can make your own edging cord:

Starting at the left hand side, the cords are:

Square cord spool knitted with 2 colors on 4 pegs,

Cord Spool knitted with 3 pegs

Kumihimo cords – the directions for how to braid the round cords come with the Kumihimo kit from Mirrix

Tubular Peyote stitch cord- instructions are available in beading books and when you google ‘tubular peyote stitch’.

And last, but certainly NOT least, and definitely the fastest, easiest cord of all to make is the Simple Twisted cord, using the method that I have developed, using a spool and a crochet hook.

You will need a cord that is about 15 inches (37.5 cm) long to go around the sides and upper edge of your pouch.

The instructions for how to attach them to your pouch will be in the final installment of the Weave Along: Finishing Techniques.

Here are some videos that I have made to help you make your decorative edging cords:

How to spool knit a cord with just 3 of the 4 pegs on the spool knitter: