Tottie Talks Crafts Blog

August 8, 2022 · 5:01 am

Teddy Bears Adventures and Picnic

The Saffron Woven Teddy Bears invited some wooden teddy bears and tiny woven bears to have an adventure with them, and then to join them for a picnic.

They climbed onto some tractors and into some wagons and even a bulldozer to ramble off to the picnic place.

The tiny Blue Bear of Happiness was thrilled to drive the clockwork tractor, but found changing the gears was challenging and sent the passengers tumbling a few times.

They didn’t mind, in fact it was kind of fun.

Jimmy Bear drove the larger tractor with style and his passengers enjoyed the ride in the various trailers, carts and chariots, but did find the heat to be rather intense. (It was blisteringly hot!)

A bulldozer was the ride of choice for a few of the Pandas and their friend….

All the bears sang ‘The Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ at the top of their lungs.

Sadly, the carved wooden teddys found the heat to be un-bearable, so they scampered back into the studio and sat in front of the fan to cool off.

The woven Saffron Bears were perfectly happy in their sun hats, so the sun didn’t bother them.

Jimmy Bear played his guitar and all the other bears loved it.

Two of the bears had brought along a telescope to watch birds, but were able to keep an eye on their carved wooden friends to make sure they made it safely back to the studio.

Only one of the bears had remembered to bring a parasol, but shared it when anyone need a little rest from the sun.

The pandas wondered if the grass might taste like bamboo, but the hot sun had dried it out so much that they decided to not sample it.

And two little bears leaned back in their folding chair and quietly dozed off right after this picture was taken.

The tiniest bears were so glad that someone had remembered to bring their travelling bed along and after some giggling and wiggling, they fell asleep, too….

While the Blue Bear of Happiness and Wee Brown Bear enjoyed the shade of their umbrella.

All in all, it was a fine afternoon on an incredibly hot and sunny summer day.

I designed and wove all the Teddy Bears for the Mirrix Summer Weaving Challenge 2022.

The Saffron Bears were all woven on the Mirrix Saffron Loom. LINK

The tiny Bears were woven on the Baby Duo looms from Hello! Looms. LINK

All the ‘how to’ links to the videos for the step by step process of weaving all the looms are listed on

L I N K (Note: They will be added one by one through the week of August 8 to 15, 2022 and will remain available once they have been released, so there is no time limit on getting the weaving done.)

Happy Weaving! And, may the teddy bears bring you delight!

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Tagged as #freepatterns, #mirrixlooms, #mirrixsaffronloom, #mirrixsaffronpocketloom, #summerweaving, #summerweavingchallenge, #teddy, #teddybear, #teddybearspicnic, free patterns, hand woven, Mirrix Saffron loom, small loom weaving, Summer Weaving Challenge 2022, video tutorial, weaving, woven teddy bears

August 8, 2022 · 2:05 am

Saffron Teddy Bear – How to Weave the Body Lots of Different Ways

When I started designing the Teddy Bears to weave on the Saffron loom from Mirrix for the

2022 Summer Weaving Challenge, I had NO IDEA that I would go down such an amazing Rabbit Hole

There are so many ways to weave the Saffron Teddy Bear.

Even though the same basic ‘recipe’ is used to weave all the bodies, using different weaving techniques and different weights of yarns makes each of the Saffron Bears totally unique.

Here are some video tutorials showing how to weave the variations of the Saffron Bear’s Body:

The Basic Body:

The Black Panda Body:

The Pink Panda Body (How to Weave the Body with Super Bulky Yarns):

The Striped Body (Tapestry/Weft Face Technique):

Some Notes about Tapestry Weave for the Body:

See the Teddy Bear’s Picnic to see all the Bears having a wonderful day:

LINK

The Links for all the Video Tutorials are at:

LINK

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Filed under gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, teddy bear, tutorial & how to, video tutorial, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as #mirrixlooms, #summerweavingchallenge, #teddybear, hand weaving, hand woven, how to weave a teddy bear, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, video tutorial, weaving

August 2, 2022 · 7:34 pm

All the Links for the Noreen part of the Summer Weaving Challenge 2022

This post is where I’ll be putting all the links to all the ‘how to’ videos for the woven Teddy Bears that I have designed for the Mirrix Summer Weaving Challenge for the summer of 2022.

The videos will stay up as long as I have a YouTube channel.

For starters…..

Here’s the link to the Summer Weaving Challenge on the Mirrix website: LINK

If you don’t have my book, you can order it from Mirrix, and yup, you’ll want a Saffron loom, too (it’s one of my most favorite looms ever- so adaptable!). LINK

How to carve a weaving hook from a chopstick using a few simple tools: LINK

LINKS TO THE POSTS FOR ALL THE VIDEO TUTORIALS:

INTRODUCTION: The Teddy Bears have a Parade and a Picnic: LINK

1- What is needed for weaving the Saffron Bears LINK

2- Saffron Teddy Bears- How to weave the Arms LINK

3- Saffron Teddy Bears- How to weave the Teddy Bear Body, with lots of variations LINK

4- Saffron Teddy Bears- How to weave the Teddy Bear Head and Nose LINK

5- Saffron Teddy Bears- How to Assemble the Teddy Bears LINK

6- Saffron Teddy Bears- How to Weave Sun Hats for the Teddy Bears LINK

7- Tiny Teddy Bears woven on the Baby Duo Looms from Hello! Looms LINK

Happy Teddy Bears! Happy Weaving! Happy Summertime!

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

Tagged as #summerweaving, #summerweavingchallenge, #teddybear, #woventeddybear, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, Summer Weaving Challenge 2022, weaving

July 11, 2022 · 2:00 pm

A Basket Full of Woven Teddy Bears for the Summer Weaving Challenge

I have been weaving up a delightful basket of bears for the week of Aug 8- 14, 2022.

That’s the week that I will be leading the Summer Weaving Challenge that is hosted by Mirrix looms.

The Teddy Bears will be revealed in their full adorableness and by then, I will have finished editing the heap of ‘how to’ videos that I have been obsessively filming about the making of the teddy bears.

The Teddy Bears will be having a wonderful picnic, and I will show how each of them (and those that are still in the works) are in fact, samplers of techniques in my book: Innovative Weaving on the Frame Loom.

I’ll be posting links for the videos for the Saffron Teddy Bears here LINK on my blog beginning Aug 2, 2022.

If you don’t have my book, you can order it from Mirrix, and yup, you’ll want a Saffron loom, too (it’s one of my most favorite looms ever- so adaptable!).

Here’s the link: https://mirrixlooms.com/collections/starter-packages/products/noreen-crone-findlay-x-mirrix-looms-imagine-weave-along-kit

Happy Weaving! Happy Summertime!

Videoing for The Summer Weaving Challenge

A couple of weeks ago, we went camping and my much loved little Mirrix Saffron loom came with us.

I was weaving away while we were camping (and I still am, but I have advanced to the video filming and editing stage) for the week that I will be leading the Summer Weaving Challenge (August 8 to 15, 2022).

Here’s the link to join in the fun (and you can buy my book: Innovative Weaving on the Frame Loom on the Mirrix website, too on the Starter Kit page 😊 or at any of the online book selling websites.

https://mirrixlooms.com/pages/2022-summer-weaving-challenge

The links to all the how to videos will be posted at LINK

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Filed under frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, teddy bear, tutorial & how to, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as #handwoven, #mirrixlooms, #mirrixsaffronpocketloom, #saffronloom, #summerweavingchallenge, #teddy, #teddybear, #woven, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven, Mirrix loom, Mirrix Saffron loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, Summer Weaving Challenge 2022, video tutorial, weaving

June 14, 2022 · 9:04 am

There’s a Summer Weaving Challenge this summer

Mirrix Looms are sponsoring a Summer Weaving Challenge again this summer.

Go to https://mirrixlooms.com/pages/2022-summer-weaving-challenge for all the info.

I am going to be leading the Challenge for the week of August 8th – 14th.

I’ll be adding to the inspiration by posting all kinds of fun weaving projects with a focus on the magic of frame looms.

I am featuring the Mirrix Saffron and as a sweet little treat, I’m also going to be using the Baby Duo from Hello! Looms. (helloloom.com)

If you don’t have a copy of my book Innovative Weaving on the Frame Loom, it’s available at Mirrix looms in their ‘Starter Packages’ section of their shop. Here’s the link: https://mirrixlooms.com/collections/starter-packages/products/noreen-crone-findlay-x-mirrix-looms-imagine-weave-along-kit

It’s FULL of great how to’s and other deliciousness. Small loom weaving is perfect for summer.

It’s going to be fun!

A Wooden Teddy Bear Carved in Response to Grief

The death of our beloved 15 year old small dog has been really hard on both my husband and me.

I wrote in my previous post about the Comfort Doll that I carved from a fallen branch- LINK

When I was carving her, I was inspired to carve a Teddy Bear that would have an open space in it’s heart…..

I used amber color shellac to paint the Teddy Bear to look like our little dog, and then…

My husband and I each placed a tiny scoop of our little dog’s ashes in the open circle.

Then I glued a gold heart over it to seal it….

The glue seals it completely.

It took a while to dry and turn clear.

We both held the little teddy bear and found it to be very comforting….

We sat Teddy Bear and Pollydolly in front of the box of our little guy’s ashes, but when I finished weaving her outfit and knitting a red sweater and blue jeans for him, we sat them on top of the box:

My husband loves working with metal, so he made a little steel doggie: Edward Alloy in tribute to our wee fellow, and it has joined them on the box…..

We have found this tender making of small things in celebration of our wee dog to be very comforting!

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Tagged as carved wooden dolls, carved wooden teddy bears, doll making, dollmaking as a healing art, grief, grieving, teddy bears

May 3, 2022 · 9:43 am

Carving a Comfort Doll from a Fallen Branch

Last week, our darling little dog died. He was 15 years old and we miss him terribly.

The day before he died, a branch fell from the huge Elm tree in front of our house. I love the tree and so I picked up the branch and moved it onto our lawn, thinking that I should probably carve something from it.

A couple of days after we came home from the Vet, without our dear boy in our arms, the impulse to pick up the branch and start carving grew stronger and stronger.

I had been feeling called to carve another 6 inch doll like one that had carved last fall, so I used her as a companion and guide:

I used the same branch for her arms:

And for her legs, but I got the first pair all wrong, so I made another pair from another scrap of wood.

Of course, it took me a few days to carve her and to allow the still wet wood to dry before I could paint her.

This allowed me to follow my inner prompts that were a gift from this little healing dolly and start work on carving a teddy bear. I have posted about him here: LINK

I was surprised that she wanted a very round head, but when I went to carve it down, she firmly told me to just sand it smooth and live with it. Okay…. it’s important to not try to push the doll where she does not want to go!

She let me know exactly what she wanted for her hair, leotard, leggings and boots:

I knitted her a dress that was totally wrong for her, but works beautifully on a different doll.

Then I tried a different dress that I had knitted for another little doll. Nope.

She wanted me to weave her a white skirt and shrug from yarn that my daughter in law spun.

So, I did….

Her name is Pollydolly and I have found the process of carving her (and the teddy bear that I will post about next) to be very soothing and healing.

Dollmaking is very much a healing art and no matter what form it takes, it’s good for the soul.

Grieving is a journey that is unique to each person who has to follow the path, and it’s important to do the things that help the grief be nurtured in a transformative way that becomes the root of compassion.

Carving dolls and bears and knitting and weaving are an important part of my way of healing.

In the next post about the Teddy Bear that Pollydolly told me to carve, I’ll show you where she is sitting now. LINK

If you are grieving, please know that you are not alone. There is so much to grieve right now, and we all have to find our way through it. Blessings on your journey!

With love! ❤

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Tagged as #dollmakingasahealingart, carving, carving wooden dolls, dollmaking, dollmaking as a healing art, grief, grieving, handwoven doll clothes

March 29, 2022 · 7:39 am

Larger Vasilisa Comfort Dolls

I have been carving a series of dolls that are intended to bring comfort, inspiration and delight.

I call them, Vasilisa Comfort Dolls. They began as very small dolls but the series has branched out in several directions:

Small Vasillisa Comfort Dolls LINK

Vasilisa Comfort Dolls: Great Mother Series: LINK

Vasilisa Comfort Dolls that are Lucet Cord makers: LINK

These Vasilisa Comfort dolls are larger than the original ones….

This photo gives a sense of the size difference:

ARCH SHAPE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS

HELPING HANDS:

In gratitude for all ways that people help one another. 3 1/2 inches/9 cm tall

THE BLESSING CUP: SOLD

“Being a Mother and Being a Daughter”

SWEET DREAMS:

A BLESSING FOR THE CHILD

AND THIS GROUP OF LARGE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS HAVE JOINTED ARMS:

“Sunflower Song” We’ll never see Sunflowers in the same way again, will we? Praying for Peace in Ukraine and an end to the invasion

ROSIE:

BUTTERFLY DREAMS

I did the tatting, using shuttles that I carved myself. She’s about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall

DREAM CHILD

about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall (GLASS BACKGROUND NOT INCLUDED)

SURPRISE and her BABY

Surprise was a fascinating doll to create…. she kept taking me in new directions…. including wanting a baby…..

With her hat, Surprise is almost 8 inches/20 cm tall

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING ONE OR MORE OF THESE DOLLS, PLEASE LEAVE ME A NOTE IN THE COMMENTS (IT WON’T BE PUBLISHED) AND I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP

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Tagged as doll making, dolls, Vasilisa Comfort dolls, Vasilisa dolls, wooden dolls

February 25, 2022 · 11:48 am

Vasilisa Comfort Dolls: Great Mother Series

The Great Mother series of my one of a kind hand carved Vasilisa Comfort Dolls have their roots in my feelings of connection to the Feminine Divine.

I am influenced by images of the Goddess in all her ways of Being, as well as the Black Madonna, and by my dreams, drawings and tapestries, as well as my love of Sacred Geometry. I have a passion for flowers, especially the wild roses that bloom so freely here in Western Canada, so they are an important element in my work- for their connection to the Feminine Divine and for how they symbolize how I am rooted to the land I gratefully live on.

Each of these Great Mother Vasilisa Comfort Dolls is an expression of healing energy and of all the ways that LOVE unfolds in us and around us. My intention is to create one of a kind dolls that will lift the heart of the person who interacts with them.

I also see these dolls as a way of connecting our Present Self to our Future Self, and also to the Inner Child that still lives inside of each of us.

They are lovely to hold in the palm of your hand, but also to have in a special place like an altar or on a shelf with other treasured objects of contemplation, meditation and prayer.

I use all kinds of wood to carve them. I love using upcycled wood (including pieces of old pianos that have come to the end of their playing life, so our friend, a piano tuner, passes pieces of wood from the dead pianos to wood carvers and furniture makers to ensure that the wood is re-created into something lovely).

We are often given logs or pieces of trees from our neighborhood to burn in our wood burning stove.

But, we don’t want to just burn these precious trees that have lived long and lovely lives and then died.

So, my husband has built a sawmill from an old bandsaw, and he cuts slabs of wood from the pieces of log so we can make art with the wood, giving new life to the trees.

Here’s one of the Great Mother Dolls on one of the slabs (I carved her from another one of the slabs):