Tottie Talks Crafts Blog

February 21, 2012 · 11:38 am

A tiny pair of woven pants for Rosie Recycle doll

Yesterday, a lady who had just bought my Rosie Recycle doll book (link)

asked me a very good question. (I love good questions!) 🙂

She said that she always wears pants to work, and would like to be able to make pants for her Rosie Recycle doll, too, and how could she do that?

Using regular fabric to sew them would be a real pain, so how to do this?

Like I said: Great question!

Here’s one answer: Weave a tiny pair of pants on a 2 inch square loom.

I used a vintage Weave It loom to weave two 2 inch squares with embroidery floss:

Stitch the 2 squares together for 1 inch to make the first body seam:

Fold one of the squares over, and stitch the leg seam.

Fold the other square over and stitch the second leg and the remaining body seam. Weave in the ends.

Thread a strand of embroidery floss through the waistband, pull up to gather and tie a bow.

And, there you have it! A pair of pants for Rosie Recycle.

Actually, they are a touch short, so for the next pair, I would either make her legs a little shorter, or crochet cuffs onto the pants.

Vintage Weave It looms can be hard to come by (they are really pricey on eBay), but luckily, there are loom makers who are building lovely little 2 inch square looms (and other sizes, too). The one in this pic came from Dewberry Ridge looms

I love it when people ask questions….. 😀 (Well, not ALL questions, but you know what I mean!) 😀

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as 2 inch loom, Dewberrry Ridge looms, making doll clothes, miniature dolls, pants for dolls, Rosie Recycle dolls, Weave it loom, weaving doll clothes

February 20, 2012 · 8:18 pm

How to embroider the face on a tiny teddy bear face

I’ve been making video tutorials for how to’s for Edward and Anastasia Bear.
Here’s a video tutorial on how to embroider the face on Baby Brownie Bear:

Happy Knitting!
Noreen

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Filed under knitting

Tagged as 'Your Knitting Life' magazine, Baby Brownie Bear, bears, Edward and Anastasia Bear, knitted bear, knitted teddy, teddy bear, teddys, video tutorial on how to embroider a teddy bear face

February 18, 2012 · 2:52 pm

How to spool knit without a spool knitter

You can use spool knitted cords to decorate and embellish your crochet in a million different ways.

One way to do a thicker spool knitted or i cord is to use several strands of yarn held together.

And, if you don’t have a spool knitter, not to worry! You have your fingers!

I have made a video tutorial on how to make a spool knitted cord on just 3 of your fingers.
It works great!
🙂

Here’s the video tutorial:

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, spool knitter & spoolknitter & spool knitting & spool knitting, tutorial & how to

Tagged as corker, corking, crone, findlay, finger spool knitting, fingers, how to make a cord, how to spool knit with your fingers, icord, spool knitting techniques, spool knitting without a spool knitter, strands of yarn

February 15, 2012 · 4:27 pm

Edward and Anastasia Bear announce

I am so delighted to be able to announce that Edward and Anastasia Bear have some thrilling news!

The stork has made a delivery!

The Stork prepares to fly to California with baby Brownie copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Baby Brownie Bear has arrived, safe and sound and you can see for yourself that baby is truly adorable!

Hope Brownie isn’t keeping Edward and Anastasia up all night…

here’s a sneak preview: -previews/stork-bear-mobile

Edward and Anastasia with baby Brownie copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

BTW, if you don’t know what I am talking about, Edward and Anastasia Bear are tiny knitted teddy bears that I designed for the magazine, ‘Your Knitting Life’, back when it was called, ‘Knitting Today’.
Every issue has a different set of outfits for Edward and Anastasia, including their wedding outfits.

My sister likes them best of anything that I have designed in the more than 40 years that I have been a professional designer. 🙂

So, that makes them extra special to me!
🙂

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Filed under knitting

Tagged as baby teddy bear, designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay, knitted teddy bears, knitted toy, knitting teddy bears, miniature teddy bear, Noreen Crone-Findlay, preview previews, teddy bears

February 8, 2012 · 8:44 pm

Video tutorial on how to pick up knitting stitches with crochet hook

Today, I was working on a new design for knitted clothes for Edward and Anastasia teddy bear.

It struck me that it might be a good idea to get a little bit more specific when I say: ‘pick up x number of stitches along this edge’.

So, I wrote out how I like to pick up stitches – which is with a crochet hook.

And, then it struck me that showing how to do this is probably even better than just writing about it.

So, I made a video tutorial, demonstrating on how I use a crochet hook to pick up the required stitches.

This technique works equally well for knitting flat or knitting in the round.

And, here’s the video tutorial:

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Filed under knitting, tutorial & how to

Tagged as knitting techniques, knitting tutorial, video tutorial

February 7, 2012 · 5:41 pm

Delightful dolls woven with 4 weaving sticks

Stick weaving looms are probably the easiest loom on earth to work with.

They are just little dowels with points on one end and holes in the other.
BUT this does NOT limit the incredible creative possibilities that they have!

See my Stick Weaving page on my website to order this pattern: LINK

I have designed 13 enchanting little dolls (they are about 5 inches tall) to weave with only 4 of the weaving sticks. They are adorable!
In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to carve the neatest faces from avocado pits (really!) in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to make Cornstarch clay and carve simple but effective faces with it.

Avocado faces end up looking like carved wood, and both they, and the cornstarch clay faces are remarkably sturdy and durable.

There are also how to photos for faces made in unusual ways: using buttons, paper, wood veneer, found objects, stones and twig slices.

There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and as always, with Noreen’s patterns, the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to use fabric strips, handspun paper, jute, and even sewing machine thread to weave these dolls.
They are delightful!!!!
This pattern is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the dolls woven with the 6 stick technique.

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as doll pattern, doll pdf, hand woven dolls, handmade dolls, stick weaving, weaving sticks, woven dolls

February 7, 2012 · 4:45 pm

Wonderful woven dolls with 6 weaving sticks

I have fallen in love with weaving sticks (aka stick weaving looms), and am just releasing two new patterns for wonderful woven dolls that are made with weaving sticks. You can order them from my website: LINK

There are 2 NEW patterns. They are each quite different from each other.

The pattern that I am featuring in this post is for weaving dolls with 6 weaving sticks.

I have designed 7 marvelous dolls to weave with all 6 of the weaving sticks.

They are about 8 or 9 inches tall.

In this PDF pattern, (16 pages), you will also learn how to weave the circular skirts worn by some of the dolls in a tutorial with step by step photos.
Another step by step photo tutorial shows how to use the weaving sticks as a flower loom!

And there are photo instructions on how to make wire glasses.
There are also how to photos for faces that are woven and for dolls that have faces made from other things: paper, wood, walnut shells and twig slices.
There are many different methods shown for how to finish the heads, and the step by step photos showing exactly how to do each step are comprehensive and clear.

These little woven dolls are delightful on their own, but are also great to use as embellishments on bags, pillows, throws and wall hangings.
They are a great way to use small amounts of treasured yarn, whether it’s handspun or not.
The pattern shows how to weave with yarn, fabric strips and roving to weave these dolls, and how to make each doll unique with nifty hair style techniques.

In January, I released my first pattern in my new series of weaving stick patterns, the Mermaid: Link

It’s a treat to finally have finished these new patterns- Happy Weaving! 😀

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as how to weave dolls, small loom weaving, stick weaving, weaving sticks, woven dolls

January 31, 2012 · 4:04 pm

Can Edward and Anastasia Bear be knitted with thicker yarn and larger needles?

Yes! They can!

Edward and Anastasia Bear are 2 little bears that I have designed for ‘Your Knitting Life’ magazine (formerly known as ‘Knitting Today’), and they’ve been in each issue of the magazine since it started.

They are small… they’re 6 inches tall, and are knitted on 2.75 mm needles using Regia sock yarn.

Recently, on Ravelry, someone asked if Edward and Anastasia could be made larger, and the answer is, ‘You betcha’!

The humungous Edward Bear in the photo is 18 inches tall. If you knit with 8 or 9 mm needles and super bulky yarn or 2 strands of medium weight yarn held together, you will get one very large Edward Bear! Stitch through the hips to make them bendable.

I am so sorry, but the Edward and Anastasia patterns are no longer being made available by the publisher, and since I don’t own the copyright on them, I can’t give the pattern out. 😦

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Filed under knitting, tutorial & how to

Tagged as Edward and Anastasia bears, Edward Bear, free pattern, knitted teddy bear, knitted toys, knitting pattern, Knitting Today, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Your Knitting Life

January 26, 2012 · 4:32 pm

Can you weave tapestry on potholder loom? why, yes!

One of my Ravelry buddies just shared photos of a lovely little tapestry loom that he’s built.

He then commented that Noreen would probably say that you can weave tapestries on her beloved potholder looms.

And, of course, I chirrupped up: “Funny you should mention that, but Y E S you can! ”

Last year, after the devastation of the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, I was very upset, and sat down with my sketchbook.

I did a little drawing that made me sit up and say: “I could weave that!”

So, I whipped out my Harrisville potholder loom (Link to Harrisville) and cut a square of cardboard to fit inside it.

I made a cartoon of the basic elements of the drawing: A circle inside a square, and taped it to the cardboard.

I decided to use all Harrisville yarns and fibers in this piece, so I warped up with warp yarn from Harrisville.

I used a table fork to beat the weft strands:

When I was finished, I wove an inkle border on my Schacht Inkle loom

I saw how the circle could become a face, so I warped up, again, and wove this:

And, this face made me think of the sun, so of course, I had to weave a companion,

‘Song to the Moon’: woven with yarn from my stash

Normally, I dislike fringes, but this piece demanded them, so I faithfully added them.

I was intrigued by weaving the expressive little faces (remember, the potholder loom yields a woven piece that is 6 inches square)

so…. with handspun yarn and stash yarn, I wove this little tapestry:

I have been meaning to block these little tapestries, but have been busy with so many other things that I haven’t gotten around to it.

But, when Misha joked about me weaving tapestries on the potholder loom, I thought…

“Well, they’re not blocked, but so what! I’ll post a note about them anyhow!”

So, when my ‘to do’ list calms down a little, I ~~will~~, um…. I might get them blocked!

Until then, keep on weaving! I am…. 😀

Please remember that this post is copyright protected, so please don’t copy the images etc! Thanks so much~!

28 Comments

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

Tagged as how to weave a tapestry on the potholder loom, how to weave small tapestries, how to weave tapestry, Noreen Crone-Findlay, potholder loom weaving, small loom, tapestry

January 19, 2012 · 3:34 pm

etsy love

I love etsy.

Oh the goodies you can find there! Oh my!

Look what just arrived in my mailbox:

Isn’t this a gorgeous shawl pin? I bought it in Kate Heck’s etsy shop. LINK

Kate and I found out about each other’s work when we were chatting about looms and weaving, courtesy of one of the online weaving groups we both belong to.

Ah, the wonders of the internet! We looked at each other’s links, and ahem, pretty quickly, some shopping ensued! LOL!

She made it from Cocobolo wood, which I love.

It’s beautifully made and the craftsmanship is just superb.

Here it is on my pink stole that I made for my Lily Speed-O-Weave loom book: LINK Poifeck!

By the way, I have an etsy shop, too…. Link

etsy is amazing and wonderful…. and sooooooooo much fun, especially when you find gorgeous handmade treasures that you just would not find anywhere else!