December 16, 2008 · 6:20 am

What’s on your loom for Christmas?

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It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas without at least a little weaving!

My daughter and I are co-creating a present for her husband.

I warped up my Cricket (love that loom!) and am weaving up the bands that she is going to use to make him a pair of suspenders.

I wove about 20 feet of really nice bands…. I’ll show you pics when she’s got the suspenders done….

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By the way, my husband made me that shuttle one year for my birthday. Isn’t it gorgeous?

He also built me my inkle loom, which I am working with to weave bands that say different things for different members of the family:

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That’s for my son’s camera bag…. hope he likes it.

I love doing pickup techniques on the inkle. It’s slow, but satisfying!

So, what’s on your loom for Christmas?

Happy Weaving!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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December 11, 2008 · 4:36 am

Christmas ornament

One of our favorite holiday traditions is to make a Christmas ornament for our friends and family.

For this year’s ornament, I decided that I would make an Angel of Gratitude…

so I drew and colored her, and then scanned and printed a flutter of angels.christmas-ornament-2008-1qs

I glued them to wood,varnished them and then cut them out.

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I sanded and painted the edges, glued the loops on, cut out the backs and glued them together….

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and Voila! This year’s ornament!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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November 27, 2008 · 4:33 am

Woven and Spool knitted Heart

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I designed this spool knitted and woven heart a year or so ago.

I’ve just re-worked the instructions and have them available as a pdf tutorial.

Click on my website for the contact info for the download.

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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November 19, 2008 · 5:10 am

Another healing/prayer shawl made with the mitered loop method

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Last week, I wrote about weaving healing and prayer shawls on my Cricket Loom, using a method that I have developed (the mitered loop shawl). Here’s the link to the tutorial

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This is one of the shawls that I have just woven for my daughter. The colors didn’t show up at all well… sigh. It’s much prettier in person! Much more turquoise-y.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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November 14, 2008 · 9:11 pm

Green crafts- hand made book with spool knitted binding cords

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Oh my.

This week….. winter arrived…..

So, it’s time to get to work on Christmas presents.

I love green and eco crafts –  recycling and re-using things to up-cycle new treasures…

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I am making my sister-in-law a hand made book with wooden covers.

The wood has been hanging around our barn for more than 20 years.

It was part of an old stage set from my days as a theater set designer.

I cut out the covers and and sanded the edges and scuffed up some layers of the paint.

I then painted  gold around the edges.

I drew a Celtic Interlace then drew a tree over top of that.  I connected the tree into the interlace and erased the bits I didn’t want.  I painted and etched and drew, until I was satisfied with my version of the Celtic Tree of Life.

I tatted 2 butterflies and a dragonfly, and glued them to the inside cover.

Then I spool knitted 3 cords for the binding.

I folded some recycled/reclaimed pages that had been used on one side and punched 3 holes in them.

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I put them all together…..

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And all in all…. I am very pleased with it….

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Hopefully, my sister-in-law will enjoy her book. She’ll be able to put more pages in when she fills these ones up.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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November 11, 2008 · 7:38 pm

Weaving a healing or prayer shawl on the Cricket loom

Recently, my sister-in-law had an abscess in her brain, which is devastating and life threatening.

Her friends and family rallied around her and have formed a loving caregiving team.

I decided that as part of my caregiving, I would weave healing and prayer shawls for her and some of her closest friends.

So, I warped up the Cricket Loom from Schacht (I love this loom…. it’s beautifully engineered and weaves like a dream. It’s small enough to be portable – you can weave in the car, and big enough to handle full size projects.)

Here’s the Cricket warped up for one of the healing / prayer shawls:

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I put approximately 150 inches of warp onto the loom, which is pushing the limit, but there’s a reason for that.

I used Caron Simply Soft combined with some tweed weaving thread from my stash for the warp, and the tweed thread for the weft.

I used 2 strands of yarn in each of the slots and holes. I put the tweed yarn only in the holes and the mixture of yarns in the slots.

After I wove the long strip of fabric, I folded it, and stitched the ends together like this:

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This forms a long loop. Trim the excess warp strands to a few inches. If you use a sewing machine, use a zig zag stitch. If you do it by hand, work a Philipine edge first to secure the warp strands

Now, fold the ends into points:

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Pin the folds in place, and sew the center seam. Stitch the ends in place, and steam and press.

Voila! a beautiful  healing or prayer shawl:

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Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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November 10, 2008 · 6:06 pm

Green crafts -Twig buttons with spool knitted cords

I was given a leather coat about a year or so ago.  I was delighted, as I have always wanted one.

But…..

I ended up leaving it in the closet…. it just felt frumpy.

I thought that perhaps I might turn it into a leather skirt, as I have always wanted one of those, too.

But then, my daughter showed up wearing a great leather jacket that she had just bought at the second hand store. She looks fabulous in it, and it made me think….. hmmmmm…..

maybe I should look again at the leather coat.

I realized that it was the buttons! Boring, boring boring….

So, I decided to get adventurous.

I consulted Tottie Tomato, who suggested:

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that I use some of my stash of treasured arbutus wood (aka madrona) twigs.

I LOVE arbutus, and when we make our yearly visit to the west coast, I always bring home twigs that my sister in law saves for me when she prunes their arbutus tree. (Arbutus don’t grow where we live, sigh.)

So, I cut up one of the arbutus twigs, drilled holes and sanded the ends.

Voila!

a box of fine buttons!

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Next step: Spool knit 4 or 5 inch long cords for the buttons:

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and sew the ends together to make a loop

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and choose flat buttons to be the anchors on the inside of the coat.

Then, sew the buttons on:

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and now the coat is REALLY fun to wear!

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I am just loving it.

The arbutus twig buttons remind me of one of my most favorite places on earth, and an old coat that was languishing in the back of the closet has a whole new life.

By the way, the wire pin doll on the lapel is one that I made with wire from a yard sale.

I’ve been making wire dollies since I was a little kid. My dad used to bring home scrap wire from work for me.  I was a dollmaker even then, and designed the little wire people and gave them to all my friends and relations. And, here I am , a million years later, still making little wire people from left over wire…..

I was born to be an eco crafter.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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October 21, 2008 · 3:41 am

Save the Children Baby Cap by Noreen Crone-Findlay

In Sept of 2008, I was teaching workshops in Portland OR at the Knit and Crochet Show.

I met Trish and Christen, who are working hard on the Save the Children campaign.

I was really impressed with what they are doing, so I designed this baby cap for them:

and Tottie Tomato approves!

So, without further ado, here is the pattern:


Crocheted Baby Earflap Style Cap

by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Size: To fit a small newborn head, 10 inches (25 cm) in circumference

Materials: 3/4 oz (25 gm) of 1 ball Caron Simply Soft Paints ( 100% acrylic, 200 yd/ 182 m, 4 oz/113 gm)

(Cap in photo was crocheted with # 002′Rose Garden’)

Equipment: Crochet hook, size ‘H’/5 mm, a darning needle or tapestry needle, scissors

Gauge: 7 dc = 2 inches/5 cm

Instructions:

Ch 3, join to form ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 6 sc in ring, cut a short length of contrasting yarn to use as a row marker, and place it against the last stitch.

Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc of previous rdn. Pull row marker out and place it against the last stitch. (12 sc)

Rnd 3: (2 sc in 1st sc, 1 sc in next) 6 times. Move row marker. (18 st)

Rnd 4: (2 sc in 1st sc, 1 sc in next 2 st) 6 times. Move row marker. (24 st)

Rnd 5: (2 sc in 1st sc, 1 sc in next 3 st) 6 times. Move row marker. (30 st)

Rnd 6: (2 sc in 1st sc, 1 sc in next 4 st) 6 times. Move row marker. (36 st)

Rnd 7 -9: 36 hdc. Move row marker.

Row 10: Ch 3, 26 dc.

Rows 11 and 12: Turn, ch 3, 26 dc.

Row 13: Turn, ch 3, 3 dc, 4 hdc, 3sc, 6 sl st, 3sc, 4 hdc, 3 dc.

Edging: Ch 1, 1 sc in each st of lower edge, ch 1 at corner, work sc up side of flap, across forehead and down 2nd flap. Cut yarn, finish, weave in ends.

Now, write a note or make a small tag and attach it to the cap and mail it, and a letter to the new president of the USA, telling him that you are helping the babies of the world and asking him what he will do for them, to:

Save the Children, Knit One, Save One

c/o The Doe Fund

173 Cook Street

Brooklyn, NY 11206

Noreen Crone-Findlay designed this cap with love, for the Save the Children, Knit One, Save One campaign. Please DO NOT copy the pattern, pictures or text of this blog entry to post on your blog or other places.

Please send people the url, not the content. Thanks so much!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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October 21, 2008 · 3:10 am

Introducing Tottie Tomato

Tottie Tomato began her life on another blog that I used to write, in September 2007.

Tottie has had many adventures, and has undergone several transformations.

She’s just had another one!

Yes…. my spool knitters have been oh so busy! and

TADAH!

here SHE IS!

Tottie Tomato has emerged once again from the Story Door and she is delighted with her new body!

Tottie Tomato and I look forward to talking about all the crafts we love –  spool knitting, small loom weaving, doll making, puppets, crochet, sewing, knitting, tatting, recycling and refashioning…. to name just a few.

Tottie and I will be sharing all manner of tutorials and look forward to visiting with you often – and, oh yes, Tottie loves contests, so there will be contests!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Please note that all text and images are copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay, and are her original work. They are not to be copied or used in any way without Noreen Crone-Findlay’s consent.

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