We have a tradition in our family of making little Christmas ornaments for our circle of family and friends.
The Laughing Stars in my book, Crochet Stars (available at all online booksellers) are perfect for ornaments.
You can make other stars from the book to slip in with holiday cards as a sweet little gift when you send cards to friends and family, too….
I wish you joy in the making! ❤
Last week, we went to a baby shower for friends who are soon to be parents.
I was so delighted to see how many handmade gifts were given to this soon to be among us little sweet person!
Quilting, sewing knitting and crochet were all beautifully shared by the extended family. Delightful!
What did we give to the new baby?
Well, since his parents love space and planets, and have decorated the nursery with all many of space and planet images, it seemed like a good idea to me to give Lil Baby a Star Mobile…. yup… from my book: Crochet Stars. With love, of course! ❤
I was so touched and grateful to my friend, Gwen Blakley Kinsler for her lovely review of my book, Crochet Stars ❤
Thank you, Gwen!
Here’s the link to it: https://crochetqueen-royalramblings.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-crochet-stars-by-noreen.html
Filed under book review/book/books, crochet, crochet stars
I have worked with my dreams all my adult life. I use the images, stories, and themes that happen in my dreams to shape my art and artisanship.
After my beloved son in law died suddenly from a heart catastrophe brought on by Covid, I had incredibly powerful dreams in which I was able to talk with him and listen to his new stories about his journey after this death.
He told me that I absolutely HAD to write a book about finding my way to hope and grace in living with the all encompassing grief unleashed by his passing…..
I was also having many dreams about Star Babies….. I have been dreaming about Star Babies for more than 30 years… I dreamt, over and over, about how the Star Babies were the most amazing experience of joyous, innocent, contagious and delicious laughter. Dreaming about them and their new adventures was incredibly healing. They lead me to keep finding references to how the stars offer us laughter and connection and hope, which I felt was synchronicity working it’s finest magic.
I was finding so much comfort and solace in my crochet, and talked with my wonderful editor at Stackpole, Candi Derr. We agreed that we can heal our broken hearts with lovingly creating small, but significant things that wrap up our love. And as we talked and I designed, and crocheted, crocheted, crocheted, it became clear that stars were meant to be the metaphor, and pardon the pun, but the STARS of this book.
Of course, I had to begin with the Laughing Stars that evolved from the Star Babies, and that seeded this book, Crochet Stars-
And then, I found all kinds of ways of creating more and more stars….
Some of which act as frames to embrace the memories of those we love, but who now dance among the stars-
And some of whom crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but still live on in our hearts….
I added a little lace to the pupster’s pics, and played with colors on the back of the stars:
It’s lovely to think of them all playing and laughing in amongst and with the stars, and the Star Babies, too!
Crochet Stars is now available from all the online book sellers! Yay! Happy Crochet! ❤
Filed under book review/book/books, crochet, crochet stars, grief, personal stuff
I love making my own jewelry.
Earrings and shawl pins are 2 of my most favorite things, so of course, I had to make them for the Crochet Star book. I wear them all the time!
‘Crochet Stars’ is now available to order online.
Happy Crocheting and may Crochet Stars bring delight to you!
Filed under book review/book/books, crochet, crochet stars
It’s such a joyful moment when a box appears on the porch and it’s my new book!
I was thrilled last week to see Crochet Stars up on the online book sellers, but, to have the book in my hands is pure joy!
Crochet Stars is so dear to my heart- it is a small book – a new format with my wonderful publisher, Stackpole, which feels just so right on so many levels.
Writing this book was a journey of healing on the path of grief. It is full of so much love and is all about finding healing and laughter and hope through the joy of making small but sweet and precious things with our hearts fully infusing our hands as they create gifts of connection and love!
This little Laughing Star is based on a series of delightful dreams that I had over many many years, and it is, in a lot of ways, for me, the ‘Star’ of the book…. but then, I LOVE all the stars that I designed for the book!
Stars are such a powerful metaphor for the light of love, laughter and healing that flows through our lives.
I deliberately designed several very small stars so that people can give them freely and happily as gifts to say to people: Thank you for being here, and I appreciate you and oh my goodness! You matter! ❤
Joni Mitchell had it so right when she sang that we are stardust and we are golden.
I hope that this book, Crochet Stars, will bring golden stardust to life in so many ways! ❤
I’m no longer carving wood, which of course means that I am not carving crochet hooks anymore.
I’m doing a big downsize, so am offering the last of my One of a Kind crochet hooks for sale.
I’ve made a video so you can see them in my hands. The video is posted below the list of the hooks. If you would like to buy any of the hooks, please send me a message or post a note in the comments, which I will pick up and respond to.
NOTE: Because the crochet hooks are hand carved from wood, you need to be gentle with them. Wood has grain, which can cause breakage if you are rough with the hook.
The hooks are varnished to preserve the finish.
All of the hooks have sold except for:
Star Babies approximately 8 inches (20 cm) tall. Approximately hook size 6 mm (size J) Price: $85 +shipping
Sweet Girl with book or box in her hands approximately 8 3/4 inches (22 cm) tall. Approximately hook size 8 mm (size L) Price: $125 +shipping
Filed under crochet, teddy bear
Knitting, crocheting and weaving Comfort/Compassion/Kindness/Pocket/Prayer Bears is really important to me.
I have crocheted, knitted and woven thousands of them over the last 20 or so years, and have given them all away.
I designed my first Comfort Bear in response to 9/11 in the hopes of soothing frightened, grieving hearts.
The first version was a crocheted Comfort bear, and was the front page of the Craft Yarn Council of America website for a couple of years. The link is still there: LINK
And, here’s the link to the Crocheted Comfort Bear that I tweaked slightly for my blog: LINK
A few years ago, I designed a knitted Comfort/Blessing Bear that has a ‘hugging’ single loop for the arms so it can hug you back: LINK
I’ve also designed a very simple little knitted Pocket Bear with Stitched Arms: Here’s the Link to the video:
https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2018/12/25/easy-to-knit-comfort-or-pocket-teddy-bears/
In memory of my beloved son in law, Clancy, who died of a Covid caused heart catastrophe, I designed this bear: LINK
The most recent Crocheted member of the Comfort/Kindness/Compassion/Blessing/Prayer bear family is a crocheted Panda:
Note that you don’t have to make it as a Panda…. crochet it in blue yarn to make a Blue Bear of Happiness, or in more traditional brown yarn…..
Another kind of Blessing Bear or Compassion bear is to make them for people who are grieving the death of someone they loved.
Use garments that the person used to wear and either cut the garment into fabric strips and knit, crochet or weave a Memory Bear, or unravel one of the person’s sweaters and knit, crochet or weave a Blessing/Memory Bear with that.
Here are some links for Memory Bears: LINK and LINK
I did mention that I have woven Comfort/Blessing bears didn’t I?
One of my favorite projects in my new Potholder Loom Weaving book is a Blessing Bear woven on the potholder loom:
Here it is, peeking out of a little pocket on one of the baskets that is in the book:
Here’s a link to order it online, but you can also order it from your local bookstore worldwide: LINK
It’s been a wildly busy summer, as my daughter and daughter-in-law and I have been doing a TON of maker’s faires and craft shows.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
I have built and re-built, and re-built again, my booth…. and now I am happy with it.
I’ve been working my chops off, producing new and delicious things for the booth, and my designer mode has been in overdrive.
One of the things that has become very clear to me this summer, is how much I love designing and making finger puppets:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
One of the lovely serendipitous things that came together for me was when I was thinking about my grandmother and her pleasure in making sock monkeys- she made hundreds of them throughout my childhood, and I loved helping her with them- and then twigging that I should design Sock Monkey Finger Puppets in homage to her.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
It has taken a lot of figuring, tweaking, refining and crochet, crochet, crochet to get to the place that is just right with them.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
And, now that I have got the pattern all polished up, and edited and in a very happy place, I have put it up on my etsy shop: LINK
and on my website: LINK
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
Because they are so little, they are great for using up bits of precious yarn like handspun or even silk.
And, you don’t have to stick with browns:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
They make me smile…. and I hope that you will enjoy them, too! 😀
Filed under crochet, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Uncategorized
I am working on a large series of woven and mixed fiber media pieces that I am calling: Woven Women.
I am almost done a fairly large piece, called: Mermaid’s Song:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
She’s large- 6 ft by 2ft, and hard to photograph in my studio, so I figured that I would show a video of her.
I used small looms, knitting, crochet, tatting, spoolknitting and flower looms to make her, along with copper foil work.
Some of the looms were: 2 inch square vintage weave it loom, potholder loom, pinboard looms, Martha Stewart loom and flower looms.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
http://www.crone-findlay.com copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
And, here’s the video:
Remember: The size of your loom doesn’t limit the size of your finished piece!
Happy weaving! 🙂
Noreen Crone-Findlay, designer and author
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 