Tottie Talks Crafts Blog

November 13, 2010 · 1:03 pm

A little woodworking with my tapestry weaving

Weaving and woodwork are completely interwoven at our house.

I am working on an ongoing series of woven tapestries.

(In amongst working on a new book and a million other things… never a dull moment!) 🙂

I love weaving on frame looms, and find them to be a joy for tapestry weaving.

One problem with frame looms – especially a BIG one like my Goodwood (no profit in saying how much I like their work, just a happy customer) 13 inch frame loom (actual dimensions are close to 16 inches wide by about 32 inches tall) is that it’s waaaaaaaaaay too big for working in my lap.

So, I went out to the workshop and made an easel for it.

I get the heeby jeebies at the thought of drilling holes into a gorgeous loom.

But, it was essential to have holes in the sides for attaching the folding stand.

So I got Jim to drill the holes! LOL 🙂

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

While I was out in the workshop, I couldn’t resist making myself a couple of small tapestry beaters and some funky tapestry flat bobbins.

Why do tapestry bobbins need to be round and turned on the lathe?

They don’t.

I saw a photo of a flat tapestry bobbin somewhere on the net, and had a huge ‘aha’ moment!

And have discovered that I really quite like the little one of a kind carved ones.

They are slow to make (which is why machines are used to whip out the commercial ones) but are a treat to use.

And, will I be selling them? Nope…. too much work to make them.

Will I continue to make more for myself?

Intermittently…. I am deep into working on my new book, and there aren’t enough hours in the day…..

I have a tiny beater that I use for the miniature tapestries that I have been working on, but haven’t been able to find my full size beater.

So, it was a good excuse to play with some lovely walnut wood that we were given years ago, and make myself some Goddess shaped tapestry beaters.

The new beaters and bobbins are a treat to work with.

The tapestry is moving along nicely, although the ‘hours in the day’ issue is a hard one to get around!

One of the other tapestries that I am working on is on ‘wait’ mode…. but I hope to get back to it soon.

But, the new book is first and foremost, so that’s my focus right now.

As I make progress on it, and as we get the technical problems we’re having resolved, I’ll post more about it.

🙂

I have been having a very frustrating time with technical problems on my blog lately, and we have spent a ton of time trouble shooting. I haven’t been able to upload pics, so have spent hours and hours fiddling around with deleting old posts, in case that is the issue…. hopefully, we’ll get to the root of the issue soon!

All material on this blog is copyright protected and may not be used without permission from Noreen Crone-Findlay

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

Tagged as frame loom weaving, handmade tapestry bobbins, tapestry, tapestry loom, tapestry loom beater, tapestry loom easel, tapestry loom stand, tapestry weaving

October 23, 2010 · 12:39 pm

October just pranced away on us!

Whoops… October has shot by without a single blog entry from me…. which has been brought to my notice by getting emails from friends and relations asking, ‘Why?’

One of the reasons is that I am having trouble with uploading photos and I get so fed up that I just stomp off and go humph.

Oho! I just discovered that I am too close to having used up all my allotted space on this blog- so that’s why it didn’t want to accept the photos! I went and did some ‘housecleaning’ and will delete some more stuff so that I can carry on.

The photo that I ~finally~ figured out how to upload is of one of my new looms.

It’s a lovely little loom from Goodwood Looms – one of their mini inkles. (No profit in me telling you that I love their looms, just a satisfied customer. And, I did use one of their frame looms in my book: The Woven Bag. I always feel odd saying “No affiliations”, as I do get very fond of my looms, and so I do feel ‘affiliation’ – so it’s more honest to just let you know that I don’t make profit by singing praises of the things I love).

I ordered another frame loom, too, as I love the one I already have, but it appears to have gotten stuck to the desk of some bloke in Customs.

Aw, c’mon! I want my loom! Puhleeeeeeeeeeeeeze release it!

I have been weaving up a storm…. I am working on some new pieces that I will be making a gallery page for on my new website (which I haven’t managed to get done, oh my…. oh my)

I also have just bought a couple of wonderful new weaving books- I am now working my way through Laverne Waddington’s ‘Andean Pebble Weave’ book (Link)

It’s awesome. I had done pebble weave on my Inkle loom, based on Helene Bress’s book, and it’s a very different kettle of fish than the way Ms Waddington presents it. I am soooooooooo excited by the possibilities of working with the Andean Pebble weave.

As a dyed in the wool small loom aficianado, I love the potential for creating intensely complex patterning using this technique on small looms.

I am so grateful to Laverne Waddington for the years of exploration and study that she has immersed herself in and for her generous sharing of her scholarship and expertise.

One other thing that I just have to comment on is that she has such a lovely presence in her videos- she seems like a total sweetheart, and that comes through so beautifully in all that she does. I hope that she will be doing more books.

I chose to go with the paper copy and I am glad that I did, as I like to be able to work at different places in the studio, and this way, I am not tied to the computer desk.

AND… a big thank you to Syne Mitchell for all the hard work that she does in bringing such deliciousness to the weaving world! Yay!

The other book that I’ve just bought is Jane Patrick’s new book: The weaver’s idea book:creative cloth on a rigid heddle loom.

LINK (and I just noticed that they also have 2 of my other all time most favorite books ever at this link: Helene Bress’s Inkle Weaving and Betty Davenport’s Hands on Rigid Heddle weaving. They are MUST HAVES).

The Weaver’s Idea Book is also destined to become one of my treasured books. It is stuffed full of really useful information. It’s beautifully presented, and the book itself is a sturdy piece of technology that I love: a hardcover that opens up to be coil bound inside.

Again: No affiliations, just loving both books.

What else have I been doing instead of blogging? Well, I’ve been busily designing crochet and knitted projects for yarn companies and magazines, so that has cut into my weaving time!

And, working on new book proposals… we shall see how those go….

And, a million and one other things that leave me wondering at the end of the day- ‘Who pushed the fast forward button?’

🙂

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Filed under book review/book/books, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as weaving books

September 11, 2010 · 12:57 pm

Travelling Bear settles in- part 3

Well, September has been challenging so far… I am playing unwilling host to a nasty flu thingie that has me feeling like a squashed bug, so I have been spending a lot of time curled up in fetal position wishing that the virus or whatever it is would just go away and let me return to my normal happy, healthy self!!!

Needless to say, I haven’t felt like blogging – who wants to hear moaning and groaning?

Anyhow, I thought I would FINALLY tie up the adventures of the tiny traveling bears (see part one and part two)

Earlier in the summer, my son and his wife and one of their closest friends moved one of their other near and dear friends to Vancouver, BC.

I gave them wee teddies to keep them safe on their journey, and my son took photos of the bears on the trip.

He also took pictures of Paul and his teddy as they settled into their new home:

Teddy decided that he quite liked hanging out with the prayer flags. He sent lots of good wishes out with them, too….

He’s mostly hanging out around Paul’s computer, helping with editing school work and stuff like that.

He needs to give Paul a little nudge to send us a note… ahem….

Because we are all sending Paul and Teddy tons of love and hopes for great happiness in their new home and school and city!!!

2 Comments

Filed under crochet

Tagged as crochet teddies, crocheted teddy, teddy bears, travelling teddy bears

September 6, 2010 · 7:08 pm

Adventures of 2 travelling bears part 2

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! sometimes, technology is BEYOND frustrating!

I have spent the last 2 hours, trying to get this post to ‘take’…. but even though I have edited it a dozen or more times, and even deleted, and started over …. the photos just WON’T show up….. I’ll try again tomorrow…. 😦

In part one of the adventures of the traveling bears ‘ Link ,

the bears and their humans set out for Vancouver to get Paul moved and settled in for his new school year.

photo copyright Angus Findlay

The bears loved sunbathing on the dashboard of the van, and agreed that they had the very best view of the scenery.

photo copyright Angus Findlay

They quite enjoyed exploring the sand dunes in the Rocky Mountains.

…

Secretly, they were relieved that they didn’t meet any of their large Grizzly cousins.

Although, they assured everyone that they would be very brave and speak politely to any enormous bears who ambled past….

Paul and Little Bear took a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry deep breath when they arrived on his new doorstep.

photo copyright Angus Findlay

It was a fine road trip…. next ….. settling in……

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Filed under crochet

Tagged as crocheted teddy bears, teddies, teddy bears, travelling bears

September 4, 2010 · 6:22 pm

The adventures of 2 travelling bears-1

One of our son’s closest friends, Paul, decided to move to another city to go to school.

So, our son and his wife and another of their dear friends, (Mike), decided to drive Paul to his new city.

They loaded up their van with Paul’s possesions and came out to the farm to spend the night before ‘take off’.

As I watched them preparing for the journey, I had the sudden impulse to ask Paul if he would like a travelling comfort bear to keep him company on his great adventure.

He said- Yes, please!

Luckily, I have a stash of them, crocheted from the designs in my book: Crocheted Teddy Bears (link)

Mike was also open to adopting a teddy, so he chose one, too….

Soon, the Intrepid Travellers were all packed and ready to head out down the road, over the mountains to the Coast…..

The van was loaded right to the gills, so the bears decided to check the air pressure on the tires….

They declared it to be acceptable.

All hatches battened… and the team prepared for a good night’s sleep and an early morning departure….

Further adventures of Team Paul and The Amazing Travelling Bears to be continued….

5 Comments

Filed under crochet

Tagged as bears, crocheted teddy bear, friendship, teddies, teddy

August 20, 2010 · 11:36 am

Staycation in the studio

Oops… I guess I should have posted a note… people have asked if everything’s okay… yes, indeed!

We are not going to make our usual holiday jaunt this year, so I have declared that I am having a staycation in the studio.

I am taking a break from blogging.

Instead, I am spending that time at my looms, and with my hooks and needles and sketchbook, re-invigorating myself and re-charging my batteries.

Hope you’re enjoying August- I am! (except for the killer mosquitoes and heavy smoke from the forest fires- ugh)

See you in September!

Big hugs all round!

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Tagged as staycation

July 29, 2010 · 8:22 pm

Ms Kitty- leave that loom alone!

Ms Kitty, the feline Queen of the Studio is convinced that anything new in the studio is there for one reason.

To amuse her, of course.

So, last week, when a loom suddenly appeared in the studio, without her fore-knowledge (I forgot to warn Ms Kitty that I had indulged myself and adopted a rather large loom- oops) she assumed that I must have brought it home for her!

She took great delight in using the baby blanket that magically grew on the loom as her personal nest.

Ms Kitty refused to stay off the weaving…. so, I had to cover the baby blanket and the warp with cloths and hope for the best. Silly old cat!

I think that I will cut cardboard panels to try to protect the warp and the weaving from Ms Kitty’s explorations from now on. We shall see…..

In spite of Ms Kitty’s assistance, I have finished the first project from the new loom… a baby blanket for my niece’s almost here baby:

Old Bears quite like it for their tea parties, so if my niece doesn’t, then Old Bears will happily give it a home…. and perhaps they can convince Ms Kitty to leave the loom and join them in a cup of tea….

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Filed under weaving & handwoven

Tagged as cats and looms, handwoven baby blanket

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.

14 Comments

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!)