Tottie Talks Crafts Blog

July 15, 2010 · 7:17 pm

Weaving with my grandson

The apple does not fall far from the tree. My daughter has been teaching workshops this week. (ahem… like mother, like daughter… yay!)

Yesterday, she taught 15 children how to weave- can you hear the happy dance I am doing? and can you feel the waves of delight pouring out of me? 😀

(Two of the little girls are so excited about weaving and so in love with it, that they are asking their moms to buy them looms!)

HURRAH!

While Chloë has been teaching other munchkins, I have been having a blissful time with her son…. and guess what we have been doing?

Yup. I’ve been weaving with my grandbaby.

I figure that it is never too early to start children weaving. When our kids were little, I had looms warped for them and set up so that they could weave whenever they wanted. And, weave they did.

And, even though my son weaves his art through film making nowadays, my daughter is still a weaver…. and now we have the next generation merrily enjoying time at the loom….

He’s helping me to weave some narrow warp face bands on my Saori floor loom. The bands will be embellishments for some other pieces that I am working on.

And, whenever I look at them, I will have such happy memories of weaving at the loom with our wee boy.

Pure delight!

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Filed under weaving & handwoven

Tagged as narrow band weaving, Saori loom, weaving with children

June 23, 2010 · 10:15 pm

Handmade-chunky-bead-teething-necklace-part-2

In my previous post, LINK, I shared my mis-adventure when I sliced the top of my knuckle off with the edge of the belt sander. Ouch.

So, that posting was more of a ‘how NOT to’ than a ‘how to’…..

Luckily, my finger is growing back 🙂 and I have finished the chunky 3 bead necklace….

I left the beads to soak in a bowl of vegetable oil for a few days. Because grandbaby is going to be chewing them, I don’t want to use anything that could be dangerous to him on the beads.

And, that is why I am using organic cotton to spool knit the cords that hold the beads together. (Lion Brand Organic cotton).

I spool knitted 2 short cords and stitched them into the spaces between 2 of the beads, and one long one for the neck cord.

NOTE: The neck cord NEVER goes around the baby’s neck!!!

It goes around the neck of his grown ups, or is looped through the tie of the sling , so he can retrieve it when he drops it.

He only has access to it when he is being held and supervised, and not when he’s sitting in the car seat.

The big holes are great for chubby little fingers to hold onto…..

And those big beads are just so satisfying for a little guy to gum away on! (Well… to bite with his TWO new teeth!!!)

He absolutely loves the necklaces, and so do we.

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

Tagged as baby teething necklace, handmade wooden beads, spool knitted cords, spool knitting, what to make with spool knitted cords

June 23, 2010 · 9:55 pm

Handmade chunky bead teething necklace part 1

Our gorgeous grandbaby is teething and is chomping everything in sight as he tries to ease the pain of those pesky teeth pushing on his gums.

My daughter asked me to make her a necklace with large wooden beads so our wee fella could play with it and use it for teething.

I made her one necklace that was a great success: Minoan Goddess of the Bees necklace

So, I decided to make her another one- this time with several big chunky beads to keep him interested.

I cut a length of my favorite wood: Arbutus (also known as Madrona) that my sister in law had trimmed from a tree in her yard. (She saves me all their arbutus twigs and branches, bless her heart!)

Then, I split my mini log into 2 sections on the bandsaw, and did some preliminary shaping with the saw.

Over to the drillpress to drill holes for the beads.

And, back to the bandsaw for more shaping…..

Then, over to the belt sander for more shaping…..

and then to the bathroom to staunch the flow of blood, when I sanded the first knuckle off, and sliced the top off the second one.

Well… that was a surprise! I have never done that before! And not something I would like to repeat! erg….

it’s been 3 weeks, and my knuckle is finally healing… wowsa that hurt!

10 Comments

Filed under eco crafts & green projects, jewelry, tutorial & how to

Tagged as baby teething necklace, chunky beads, handmade wooden beads, nursing necklace, one of a kind jewelry

June 17, 2010 · 3:31 pm

Upcycled tunic new life for old clothes

Last summer, I bought a really frumpy skirt and a too small dress at the thrift shop.

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind do that?

Because I intended to ‘harvest’ the fabric

from both the garments and

upcycle them into something new and oh so much fun for myself.

The skirt was long enough,

and full enough

to be able to provide the body for this fun tunic.

And, the skimpy dress provided the pockets,

lower bands, and upper neck band-

and I just love it!

I wear it with leggings, and a t shirt

underneath, because my days of wearing

shortish dresses with bare legs are long gone.

As I was taking the pic of the tunic,

I remembered another upcycling

project that I did recently:

I took a favorite old dress and cut it up

and turned it into a fun and floatie

overshirt…..

it just hit me that they would work well together!!!

Hurrah!

So, think twice before you toss old clothes,

and don’t let the frumpiness or too smallish-ness

of a garment put you off…

cut them up and re-configure them into something

that you will enjoy!

Hurrah for re-purposing, reclaiming, recycling, re-fashioning, re-using, re-creating, restoring, renewing and upcycling!

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Tagged as re-creating, re-fashioning, re-purposing, re-using, reclaiming, recycling, renewing, restoring, sewing, upcycling

June 9, 2010 · 2:44 pm

My mother’s pincushion

My mother has unwillingly had to let go of her lifelong passion for needlework.

Because of health challenges, she is not able to handle independent living anymore. Reluctantly, she has moved out of her condo and into a different living situation where she gets the support and assistance that she now needs.

Most of her possessions are now being lovingly shared out among her kids and grandkids and nieces and other kith and kin.

There were a couple of things that I really really wanted to have…..

She was a spectacularly gifted embroiderer, and so I really wanted to have some of her threads.

The other thing that I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly wanted was a pincushion doll that I had given her when I was a child.

When I was a little girl, I saw the most beautiful thing I could have ever imagined…. it was a pincushion of an Elizabethan Lady….

I would go into the shop, and visit the Lady, and stroke the velvet skirt, and be filled with longing.

I decided that I HAD to buy it for my mother to show her how much I loved her.

So, I asked the lady in the store if I could pay for the Lady in stages, and she agreed to that. I don’t know if she had ever had a child make such a request, but she was so kind about it!

Every week, for weeks, and weeks, I would take my allowance in, and give it to the shopkeeper. She would then bring ‘The Lady’ out, and I would cradle her in my hands… and then sigh, and hand her back….

Eventually… the little bits of allowance added up and up, and – ‘The Lady’ was mine!!!

She was swathed in tissue, and placed carefully in a box, and I secreted her away until Mother’s Day.

I don’t know if my mother knew how much effort went into buying her ‘The Lady’, but I think she felt the love and excitement that I had in presenting her with my treasure.

And now, ‘The Lady’ has come home to me…. and some day, she will be gifted to my daughter…. with love…. always with love….

20 Comments

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents

Tagged as family treasure, pincushion

June 1, 2010 · 10:31 pm

Video tutorial on how to make tarn or t shirt yarn

I absolutely love working with tarn, which is yarn made by cutting t shirts into a continuous length of fabric strips. You then use the fabric strips as stretchie, wonderful yarn.

Tarn is a terrific way to upcycle, recycle, re-fashion, re-purpose, re-use and reclaim old t shirts that are no longer wearable. Perhaps they are stained or have little holes in them, or the neck has gone all wonky, or they have a logo on them that you just don’t want to wear anymore.

In that case, turning the t shirt into tarn is a fabulous option.

I showed how to make a ‘buttonhole join’ in tarn here:

How to do the buttonhole join link

and in this video, I showed how to weave it on the potholder loom:

Potholder loom weaving with tarn

Normally, I use a swift to hold the t shirt when I cut my tarn. I decided that that wouldn’t be the best choice for making a video, as most people don’t have swifts, so I used a little stepladder to stretch the t shirt.

It’s kind of clunky, so you have to forgive me for the fumbly bits.

Here’s the video on how to cut tarn: LINK

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Tagged as re-fashion, re-purpose, re-use, recycle, reduce, t shirt yarn, t shirts, Tarn, upcycle, video tutorial on how to make tarn

May 17, 2010 · 3:24 pm

Garage sale treasures

I have to admit, blush, that I am rather hooked on garage sales. ( I should amend that to make it clear that I am hooked on ~going to~ garage sales, not actually having one myself. :P)

Why?

Well… I love finding old things that are useful, and even better, if they feel like they have a story to tell.

On the weekend, we went to 2 garage sales that were just great.

At the first one, I found a shelf thingie that is perfect for holding my husband’s sheet music. He has been questing for this for ages, and I was convinced that one was out there for him.

And, hurrah…. I found it! Yay! (sorry… didn’t take a pic of it)

At the second garage sale, I was ecstatic to find the table top display manequin for jewelry and the wonderful ‘shabby chic’ vintage table that it is sitting on.

There is a circle in the base of the table that just invites baskets and bowls and boxes to perch on it. (Nope… the basket didn’t come with it…. that’s one of my designs)

And, it’s sturdy enough to support my swift, even when it is whirling madly.

I have been hoping to find a jewelry display mannequin to help with photographs. It was serious happy dancing time when this one was sitting in the sunshine waiting for me to bargain a wee bit and then to whisk it off home and start dressing it up.

The neck was hollow, which wasn’t good, as it showed off the frayed bits inside. It was a little too ‘Sweenie Todd’, so I cut some circles of grey foam and popped them in to fill that gap.

Ms Mannequin wasn’t wearing the amber necklace when I bought her…. that’s one of my pieces that I made a couple of years ago. It’s crocheted copper wire with a huge hunk of ambler. I’ll be putting the necklace up on etsy and was in need of a way of photographing it, so the timing on this was just poifeck!

Yay!

So, that’s why I can’t resist the siren call of the garage sale…. treasures await!

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Tagged as garage sale treasures, jewelry display, shabby chic, vintage table

May 14, 2010 · 8:48 pm

How to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom

For weeks and weeks, I have been meaning to get my video tutorial of how to weave bias squares on the potholder loom posted to YouTube.

What with one thing and another, I haven’t gotten around to it.

One thing that was odd, was that I simply couldn’t upload videos for awhile. I just gave up on YouTube. Anyone else having trouble with uploads? Weird.

And, since it took me so long to get the video uploaded,

I decided to re-shoot it, using ‘Tarn’, since I am working with Tarn so much, lately.

Fun!

Here’s a link for how to do one kind of join with Tarn:

Tarn Join

I didn’t have a potholder loom when I was a child, so when I was introduced to it when I was a grownup, I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what it could or could not do. So… I have been designing all kinds of magical and wonderful things for it ever since (for decades, in fact- my love for the potholder loom is a long standing one!!!)

You can see some of the things I have designed for it here: Potholder loom.

Over the years, when I was designing for the Potholder loom, I realized that I needed to be able to weave different shapes and in unusual ways with the looms. So, I have done a lot of experimenting with it.
I have worked out a bunch of ways of weaving triangles on it, and this is how I twigged to how I could weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom…. after all, a square is just 2 triangles that happen to be in love.

The pesky gaps on the potholder loom were a challenge – but I have solved the mystery of how to deal with them!

How? Well.. check out the video!

Here is the YouTube video tutorial on how to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom : LINK

Happy Weaving!

9 Comments

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

Tagged as how to weave a square on the bias on the potholder loom, re-purposing, reclaiming fabric, recycling, t shirt yarn, Tarn, upcycling

May 13, 2010 · 10:57 pm

How to make a join in fabric strip yarn or tarn

I’ve been working with Tarn (T shirt fabric strip yarn) a lot lately.

I remembered this afternoon that I had been asked how to make a smooth join in fabric strip yarn…. so I thought that I would post a quick tutorial on how to do that.

Everyone has their own system of cutting t shirts into fabric strips (tarn).

My favorite way is to stretch the t shirt over my swift and open it up until it stretches the t shirt taut.

I then cut a narrow strip, starting at the hem of the t shirt, spiralling up to the sleeves.

Then I stop and cut away the neckband, and cut strips around and around until I reach the sleeves.

I cut them off, and cut them into strips.

And then I wind them up into yarncakes on my nostepinnes.

This pic has a touch of oddness, doesn’t it?

The scissors floating in mid air are posing politely while my cutting hand is busily taking the picture.

You can see the loops of Tarn pooling up in my lap.

So, what do you do if you need to join one length of fabric strip to another?

Cut a small slit into each end of the 2 fabric strips.

Take the shorter piece through the slit of the longer piece.

Now, take the tail end of the shorter piece through the opening of the shorter piece.

Tug on it to pull it up tight, and Voila! the 2 strips of fabric are magically joined!

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, tutorial & how to

Tagged as how to join 2 fabric strips, t shirt yarn, Tarn

May 7, 2010 · 7:43 pm

Yes that is my necklace design on the Lion Brand site

A new design went live on the Lion Brand website today. It’s for a spool knitted Celtic Interlace medallion necklace.

A very beautiful Celtic Interlace necklace, even if I say so myself….

😀

Since the pattern went live,

people have been saying:

‘Hey… Noreen!

Have you seen this? It looks just like one of your designs!’

And, with a grin that

reaches all the way round…

I have been responding:

‘Why yes! I have seen it…. and yeppers… it IS one of mine!’ LOL!

Here’s the link: Celtic Interlace Medallion Necklace pattern on the Lion Brand site

Spool knitting works beautifully for making jewelry, and I have designed lots of wearable pieces in spool knitting.

It was a pleasure to design these necklaces for Lion Brand. I used their ‘Vanna’s Glamour’ yarn, which is very springy and stretchy, so it works well for making lightweight, very comfortable jewelry. The touch of glitter in them is great, and I like that it is really soft, and not scratchy, like some metallic yarns.

Because of the flexibility of spool knitting, you don’t need fittings or closures for the necklace.

If you want to add beads, you can certainly do that, too…

I also wrote an article for Lion Brand about spool knitting, too:

Article about Spool knitting on Lion Brand Site

One lady wrote to me, after reading the article and asked exactly what spool knitting is, and how is it done.

To see what you can do with it, and to see some video tutorials on how to do it, click on

Spool knitting on Crone-Findlay Creations (the video links are at the bottom of the page)

Happy Spool Knitting!

12 Comments

Filed under jewelry, spool knitter & spoolknitter & spool knitting & spool knitting

Tagged as Celtic Interlace spool knitted necklace, Lion Brand