Tottie Talks Crafts Blog

June 2, 2014 · 4:27 pm

Tapestry Diary May 2014

I have committed to a year long project on Ravelry- weaving a tapestry diary.

I didn’t quite finish my May tapestry diary piece in May…. I just finished it today.

I have been bothered and irritated by one of the eyes and just wasn’t happy, so had to do some serious unweaving and unpicking.

I am still not quite there with it, but it’s going to be on the loom until I weave the next diary piece (I warped enough to weave several small diary entries) so, I can puzzle over it more, or simply accept it as is.

It’s called: Woven Women- Spiral Eyes.

Here it is in progress:

And here it is in it’s ~almost finished~ state (of course, it will have to be ‘really finished’ later when it comes off the loom, but that won’t be happening right away)

It’s about how we spiral inward when we are faced with difficult events in our lives-

May was very challenging for us, with the death of one of dear old dogs, the destruction of my website by hackers, then, learning that the gallery that was supposed to be hosting the solo show of my tapestries and other woven works has been botched by the builders, so the gallery can’t open this year- so my show is cancelled.

Then, we learned that a long, long time friend is very ill.

Rough, rough month…. and in the news, the school girls in Nigeria still not being released, as well as troubles all over the planet…. oh my….

And, the thing that I take away from my personal journey and looking at what others are facing,

is that we simply have to come from a place of compassion….

which is what the spirals represent to me-

spiral in, spiral out.

The eyes, of course, are about seeing….

the blue around her face represents tears,

the green in the spirals is all about hope.

So… that’s what’s woven into a very tiny tapestry. (It’s 3 inches by 5 inches)
I will be framing it in one of my painted plaster frames when it comes off the loom.

On a very happy note, I was thrilled today to receive the most gorgeous package of yarn from LeiLaniSue of Heavenly Fibers LINK

Thank you, thank you, LeiLani!

So very beautiful!!!!!!! and soooooooooooooo appreciated!!!!!

7 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, tapestry, Tapestry Diary, tapestry weaving, Woven Women tapestry by Noreen Crone-Findlay

May 28, 2014 · 7:58 pm

Lucet techniques- 6- Celtic Interlace Hearts

This is the 6th how to video in Noreen Crone-Findlay’s series of Lucet technique tutorials.

In this video, I show how to make gorgeous Celtic interlace hearts that you can use to embellish woven, knitted, crocheted or sewn fashion accessories or home decor items.

They are also great for scrapbooking and can be used on stationery.

They are perfect Valentines or as Christmas or birthday decorations and ornaments.

Another wonderful way of using these Celtic Interlace hearts is to hang them up as ‘Yarn Bombs’ for people to find and adopt. What a lovely way to brighten someone’s day!

The video shows how to make different sizes of the Celtic Interlace Heart.

Here is the template- print it out so that it’s about 5 inches square, but smaller or larger works just fine, too.

Spool knitted cords work fine for making the Celtic interlace hearts, too.

Here is the video tutorial:

Please go to https://www.etsy.com/listing/190037126/handmade-wooden-lucet-by-noreen-crone?ref=listing-1 to purchase one of my handmade lucets, and to check out all the nifty spool knitting patterns and eBooks, as all those patterns will work beautifully with Lucet cords.

This is Noreen Crone-Findlay’s original design and concept.

2 Comments

Filed under Lucet, tutorial & how to, video tutorial

Tagged as Celtic Interlace, Celtic interlace heart, Celtic interlace hearts, eco craft, embellishment, fashion accessory, green crafts, heart ornament, home decor, how to make a Celtic Interlace heart, how to video, Lucet, lucet cord, Noreen Crone-Findlay, ornament, scrapbooking, spool knitted cord, video tutorial, yarn bomb, yarn heart

May 28, 2014 · 7:21 pm

Lucet techniques- 5 – Shoelaces- upcycle to make aiglets

This is the 5th how to video in my series of Lucet technique tutorials.

In this video tutorial, I show how to make awesome shoelaces, and a great upcycling way of making those little thingies at the end of the laces.

I couldn’t remember the right name for them when I was making the video, and called them ‘aplets’, but the correct name is ‘aglets or aiglets’.

Wikipedia defines them as: The word aglet (or aiglet) comes from Old French aguillette (or aiguillette), which is the diminutive of aguille (or aiguille), meaning needle.[1] This in turn comes from acus, Latin for needle. An aglet is like a small needle at the end of a corde

Here’s the video:

Please go to https://www.etsy.com/listing/190037126/handmade-wooden-lucet-by-noreen-crone?ref=listing-1 to purchase one of my sweet little handmade lucets, and to check out all the nifty spool knitting patterns and eBooks, as all those patterns will work beautifully with Lucet cords.

This is Noreen Crone-Findlay’s original design and concept.

Button button I love making buttons

The title of this post says it all.

I. Love. Making. Buttons. 🙂

I have been making them all my adult life, using different mediums, and right now, I am in a love love love state about making wooden buttons.

I enjoy making eco friendly buttons from the trees that fall down in our grove, or from the twigs and wood that my sisters-in-law prune from the gorgeous arbutus tree in their yard.

But recently, my friend, Molly, asked me to make thinner buttons….

So, I have been making thinner buttons, and loving it!

I’ve been doing wood burning for decades, and really enjoy embellishing the buttons with ‘pyrography’ (wood burning).

I will start getting them into my etsy shop next week.

I was surprised to learn that mailing them isn’t as expensive as I thought it would be, so it is definitely something I will follow through on.

(People asked me if I would do this, and I said no, because I thought that the postage would be insane. Ahem…. after I actually checked it out…. ahem…. it turns out to be ‘yes’) 🙂

I am participating in lots of artisan’s markets/maker’s faires and outdoor festivals this summer, so I will post the dates for those on my facebook page- LINK

In my previous post, I showed how to make 3 different styles of closures using a lucet… LINK

This makes special buttons even more special 🙂

4 Comments

Filed under buttons, eco crafts & green projects, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents

Tagged as button closures, handmade wooden buttons, Noreen Crone-Findlay, one of a kind wooden buttons, twig buttons, wood burning, wood buttons, wooden buttons, youtube video tutorial

May 18, 2014 · 4:23 pm

4 videos on Lucet cord making techniques

I absolutely love Lucets.

I have designed and made a very small lucet that is my all time favorite.

It’s only 2 inches by 2 inches, and so it’s so easy to take with you wherever you go.

I am selling them in my etsy shop, here:

LINK

I’ve made 4 video tutorials that show how to use the Lucet to make cords, and then some wonderful things to make with them.

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

The first video shows the basics of cordmaking on a Lucet:

The second video shows how to add buttons, beads, charms and found objects to lucet cord – great way to make a wrap bracelet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtw1U22wuo4

The third video tutorial shows 3 different ways of making button closures using Lucet cords:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vlus76Owqc&noredirect=1

The 4th video shows how to make knots and Celtic interlaces to make beautiful embellishments and jewelry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF73AXpGa2k&noredirect=1

Here’s the template for the 4 loop Celtic interlace knot:

All my spool knitted patterns and designs will work beautifully with Lucet cords, so please check out my etsy shop for those, too: Link

1 Comment

Filed under buttons, jewelry, Lucet, tutorial & how to, video tutorial

Tagged as bracelet, cords, crafting, crafts, how to, how to make lucet cords, jewelry, knot making, knots, Lucet, lucet cords, necklaces, spool knitter, spool knitting, video tutorial, yarn, Yarn Crafts

May 15, 2014 · 4:38 pm

Woven Women- Blue Dress

Today, I finished another of my tiny tapestries: “Woven Women- Blue Dress”.

I wove her on the very small copper pipe loom that Jim built for me:

And then blocked her:

And, finally….

framed her:

Details:

The tapestry is 3 inches by 5 inches (approximately).

The frame is about 5 inches by about 7 inches (also approximate).

Woven at 8 epi.

Warp: Cotton Seine Twine

Weft: Wool tapestry yarn.

10 Comments

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

Tagged as Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestry, Tapestry Diary, Woven Women - Blue Dress, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

May 15, 2014 · 4:26 pm

Challenging week

This has been a very difficult week for us.

On Monday, our beloved little dog, who has been chronically ill for years, became terribly ill, then rallied briefly, but went into crisis.

Early Tuesday morning, we took him to our wonderful vet, who eased his passing.

As everyone who loves their animal companion knows, it has been very hard to loose this dear little fellow….

Our sweet boy

While we were in the midst of nursing him through to his passing, another challenge arose.

For several weeks, I have been working with my website host to try to rescue my website, which was hacked.

Finally, they told me that the only thing they could do was to wipe it right out to get rid of the nastiness that the hackers had planted.

Kaput.

Website gone.

So many hours of work.

Up in smoke.

But.

We have been so moved by the kindness of family, friends and fellow travelers.

Love.

That’s what it’s all about.

Love.

And, kindness.

And compassion.

But, yes…. it’s all about love.

14 Comments

Filed under personal stuff

Tagged as animal companions, death of furkids, grief, personal stuff, website issues

May 6, 2014 · 4:24 pm

Woven Women- May Day in her frame

A few months ago, my wonderful daughter, Chloe Findlay-Harder, bought me some exquisite vintage chip carved frames in our favorite thrift shop.

Oh my! Inspiration!

Weave tiny tapestries!

Make moulds!

Cast plaster of paris to make many frames!

Well…. it’s been a lot of work, and I haven’t been at all certain that it would turn out…

I’ve had a few fails along the way, but….

WHEEEEEEEE!!!!

I finished the first tiny tapestry (it’s 3 inches by 5 inches) – I posted about it yesterday.

She’s called: Woven Women: May Day

I loved weaving her soooooooooooooooo much that I asked my darlin’ husband to make me a teeny tiny copper pipe loom for weaving the rest of the series. Bless his heart, he built me a poifeck one, but more about that later….

Anyhow, with trepidation, I painted many layers of paint onto one of the frames, added some woven band to the top and bottom and worked out a system that will keep the tiny tapestry secured in the frame.

And, Voila!

Here she is:

‘Woven Women: May Day’ in her frame. (The frame measures about 8 inches/20 cm tall by 6 inches/15 cm wide).

The photo goobered on me and doesn’t show the paint accurately. Ah, well, c’est la vie….

I LOVE LOVE LOVE weaving these tiny tapestries more than words can say!

Happy dancing. Yup. 🙂

The only problem is that I love working on the tiny tapestries so much, that it’s hard for me to go back to weaving on a larger scale! oops….

6 Comments

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

Tagged as Chloe Findlay-Harder, hand weaving, hand woven, miniature tapestries, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestries, tapestry, Woven Women tapestries by Noreen Crone-Findlay

May 5, 2014 · 7:15 pm

Tapestry Diary tiny Woven Women

As part of my ongoing participation in a year long weave along of tapestry diaries, I am weaving small images for my Woven Women show of tapestries and other woven works.

I have just finished 2 new tiny woven pieces – they were both on the same loom, so I had to finish the second one so I could cut them both off the loom and finish them.

And, here they are: (They are each 11 inches tall).

‘Woven Women: Dreaming of Flowers’:

and,

‘Woven Women: Looking Skywards’

Now that the loom is finally empty, I warped up, using a ‘Four selvedges’ technique.

I have begun a series of very very small tapestries that are 3 inches by 5 inches.

This is ‘Woven Women- May Day’:

I am making plaster frames for the series of 3 inch by 5 inch tapestries, and have started experimenting with how I will be painting them…. right now, the first one looks like a black blob, so there’s not much point in photographing it, but I will soon.

Weaving the tapestry diary pieces is just pure joy. 🙂

I am working on some larger pieces, too. Must take some photos….

2 Comments

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

Tagged as 'Woven Women' by Noreen Crone-Findlay, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, tapestries, tapestry, Tapestry Diary, Weave along, weaving

April 18, 2014 · 2:02 pm

Weaving with recycled & upcycled fabrics for Green Window City

For the last 6 weeks or so, I have been weaving up a storm, working on an installation for the Green Window City project in Edmonton Alberta. Link to Green Window City

I wove 7 banners ( each 5 yards long) from cut up clothing and t shirts cut into t shirt yarn (tarn and ‘Farn’- fabric strip yarn) on my Saori loom.