Category Archives: weaving & handwoven

March 29, 2013 · 10:12 am

A new woven shirt to celebrate springtime

Springtime has been hopelessly late here in Alberta, so I decided to go ahead and celebrate it anyhow, by making myself a new shirt.

I wove the fabric last year:

I wove the fabric on my Saori loom:

This became a sleeve:

I used my ‘standard’ shirt pattern, Simplicity 2741 LINK

And shortened the sleeves, as I have short arms.

BUT… I blythely cut it out and sewed it up in, ahem, my husband’s size, oops…. so it is too big for me.

Ah well, I guess that’s better than being too small, isn’t it? 🙂

I did all kinds of clasped weft and inlay on body of the shirt.

These are techniques that are used a lot in Saori weaving.

Saori is weaving based on the philosophy of creative self discovery through free form weaving.

See Saori Japan LINK

At times, when I was weaving the little squares, I had up to 8 extra shuttles in the row.

Doing inlaid sections slows down the weaving process, but it is really worth it.

Here’s the other sleeve:

I used inkle woven bands for the collar and cuffs.

I am not going to put buttons on it, as I don’t think that I would ever wear it buttoned up.

So, this is my celebration of Spring…. hope you are celebrating merrily, too!

Happy Springtime! 🙂

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

Tagged as clasped weft, handwoven shirt, inlay weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Saori weaving, weaving techniques, woven garments, woven shirt

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:

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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 9, 2013 · 12:32 pm

Woven Women – Uncertainty

When faced with challenges, one of the ways I work my way through them is to weave.

This tapestry is the result of dealing with a huge challenge- how to cope with difficult news about the health of my beloved daughter.

This piece is called: ‘Woven Women- Uncertainty’, and she has a little poem….

She’s a mixed media piece, woven in soumak, with inkle bands and spool knitted cords.

I spool knitted wire to encapsulate sea glass, seashell fragments and pottery shards.

Her hands are shaped from wire, and they clasp a purpleheart wooden heart.

She’s approximately 20 inches tall by 11 inches at the base.

And, here is her poem:

Uncertainty

is the trembling bridge

crossing from

Here

What if?

Courage

is the

breath

that tears

the quivering shadows

from the heart.

Image and poem copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

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Tagged as abstract images of women, emotion, healing, sea glass, soumak weaving, spool knitted cord, spool knitted wire, tapestries, Woven Women tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

February 23, 2013 · 9:52 am

Woven Women- In the Heart of the Flower

In the deep mid-winter, I long for flowers.

My studio is full of plants that bloom, and I am grateful for their beauty.

Even though I can’t have flowers growing outside in the deep deep snow and ice,

I can dream of flowers and weave yarn songs to blossoms and blooming……

Here is my homage to flowers and blossoms:

She is 15 inches wide by 39 inches tall.

See: Woven Women-Dreaming the Well LINK for a photo of how I weave these tapestries on peg looms.

Finished my eBook on Woven Jewelry (Happy Dancing)

Do you hear that skippetty thump thump?

That’s me, happy dancing!

I’ve been working on a new eBook for more than 6 months and I have FINALLY finished it!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE! and Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 😀

What’s it about?

Jewelry Woven on weaving sticks: LINK TO MY WEBSITE to see lotsa pics and order it, too 🙂

I’ve designed a slew of wonderful necklaces, bracelets and pins that are just sooooooooooo neat!

Some of them, like this bracelet, are woven with t shirt yarn, so woots!

You can be super eco friendly and upcycle and recycle at the same time as weaving and wearing fab jewelry!

Speaking of being eco-friendly, I show you how to make funky, cheap and cheerful embellishments and nifty closures for necklaces and bracelets:

You can use all kinds of yarns, cords, threads, fabric strips, paper ribbon- you name it….

I love weaving jewelry, and hope that you will, too!

So scoot on over to my website, and see more pics and order the book, and start weaving!

Happy weaving! 🙂

8 Comments

Filed under eco crafts & green projects, jewelry, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as fashion, how to weave jewelry, Noreen Crone-Findlay, paper ribbon, small loom weaving, stick loom weaving, style, weaving stick loom, woven jewelry

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 15, 2013 · 7:50 pm

How to weave a hexagon using continuous warping and weaving techniques on the Lily Speed O Weave loom

A couple of years ago, when I was working on the designs for The Lily Speed O Weave design book LINK,

I figured out how to weave a hexagon on the loom, using continuous weaving methods.

The method is slightly tricky (it took me a LOT of experimenting to figure it out!) and has one disadvantage….

You have to use quite bulky yarn or else the hexagon is really loopy and open meshy (aka ‘sleazy’).

I decided that this made it not worthwhile to share the technique, as the knotting technique that was traditional for the Lily Speed O Weave loom allowed you to use absolutely any weight of yarn or thread.

Besides, I had figured out a way of speeding up and streamlining the knotting process, so I decided to just go with that.

But, a few days ago, a lady on Ravelry asked if anyone knew how to weave continuously on the hex loom and wasn’t into the knotting technique.

So, I figured…. okay…. I’ll make a video showing how to do this….

The secret to weaving continuously on the Lily Speed O weave looms?

Mashing up triangle loom weaving techniques with the continuous weaving technique of the potholder loom.

AND>>>> There’s a VERY important switcheroo that you have to make, mid-stream, as it were. 🙂

Once you have mastered the technique, it’s REALLY quick and easy to weave up hexagons on the Lily Speed O Weave loom!

And, here’s the video to show you how to do it:

Happy Hexagons! 🙂

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as bulky yarn, hand weaving, handwoven, hexagon motifs, hexagonal loom, hexagons, how to weave a hexagon, Lily loom, Lily Speed-O-Weave loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, potholder loom, small loom weaving, video tutorial, weaving loom

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…..

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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

January 29, 2013 · 2:34 pm

Woven Women- Child in the Shadows

I’ve decided that once a week, I am going to post a photo of one of the pieces from my solo show of tapestries and woven works, ‘Woven Women’.

This week, it’s : ‘Child in the Shadows’.

I love working with images of shadows.

I wove this little tapestry using Soumak stitch.

It’s 8 1/2 inches wide by 9 1/2 inches tall.

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

Tagged as small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

January 25, 2013 · 12:07 pm

Woven Women- Out of the Mist

My mother passed away recently, and one of the ways that I have been processing my grief is to take it to my looms and weave about it.

Because I am deeply focused on weaving tapestries and woven pieces for my solo show, ‘Woven Women’, it was natural that this weaving would take the form of a Woven Woman.

My mother suffered from a form of dementia, I have been feeling is how sweet it is for her to be released from that dreadful fog of confusion……..

And, so, I have woven a piece on my Saori loom with supplemental embellishment with my stick weaving loom, that I call:

“Out of the Mist”. She’s approximately 30 inches tall by about 10 inches wide at the widest point: