Tag Archives: doll making

February 19, 2024 · 3:19 pm

A Cozy Cape to weave for the Lily Doll

The days are getting longer, and certainly are warmer than a month ago!

But it’s still winter here. Which inspired me to design and weave a cape for Lily Doll:

The kit and pdf are available at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily

I just noticed that the background screen has a white loop that looks like it’s part of the cape sticking out of Lily Doll’s ear. Sigh…. not at all. I could go and re-shoot the photo or I could tell you that I didn’t notice it until now, which is what I have opted to do instead of the sensible solution of re-shooting the photo. Ah well…. and, perhaps you didn’t notice, but now you have.

And, if you did notice and thought that I did something odd, well you were right… I placed Lily Doll in just the wrong spot. Haven’t you ever placed yourself or something in an odd place? It happens.

Mercy on us all!

I weave all the dolls and bears and toys and clothes for the Lily Doll Project on the 5 inch wide Mirrix Chloe loom, which I am madly in love with. It’s a wonderful little sturdy, delightfully adjustable little miracle of excellent design.

Yup. Love it and highly recommend it. I keep having ‘Aha’ and ‘Oh Wow’ moments with it.

My apologies to the 8 inch Chloe loom, which is also a lovely loom, but I am totally smitten by the 5 inch Chloe.

Yes, I am lucky enough to have both, but it is the 5 inch Chloe that is my ‘go to’ loom).

Happy weaving! ❤

Leave a comment

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, doll clothes, frame loom weaving, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as doll making, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, Mirrix, Mirrix Chloe loom, Mirrix loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, weaving

January 15, 2024 · 10:56 am

It’s the little things- A tiny woven dog, cat and bunny

I love designing and weaving little things. And, today, we are releasing the pdf pattern and kits for 3 dear small woven critters-

I love cats, dogs and bunnies, so I couldn’t resist weaving these three friends as part of the Lily Doll project.

The puppy and kitty were based on ‘real life’ critters, but feel free to adapt the colorways to match your own personal favorite pets.

The kit for weaving these 3 wee charmers is available at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily

By the way, on the 15th of each month through 2024, we will be releasing a new kit for a design that I have made for the Lily Doll project. They’re all available at the mirrix website.

We’re planning some other fun things, too. I’ll post about them as they come up.

Hope 2024 is full of good things for you and yours: Blessings and hugs ❤ and happy weaving!

2 Comments

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as doll making, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven toys, Lily Doll Project, Mirrix Chloe loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, weaving, woven bunny, woven kitty, woven puppy, woven toys

December 20, 2023 · 2:01 pm

I made a little video about the Pixel People

The Pixel People are quirky little woven wonderfuls that I designed for the Lily Doll Project.

They began as doodles on graph paper and were so delightful that I had to weave them right away! They are very small, so they are quick to weave and are great little stash busters. (they’re 1 1/2 inch or 3.75 cm square). I always put a ‘Lucky Penny’ and a paper heart inside to make them even more good natured.

They should probably come with a warning that they are so much fun to weave that it becomes quite addictive to weave them. This is really okay, as people love them so much that the Pixel People jump merrily into other people’s hands and hearts and pockets, too.

There’s more information about the Lily Doll Project at www.tottietalkscrafts.com and the kits and pdf’s are available at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily

Happy happy weaving!

Here’s a link to a little slide show that I made when I was playing with some of the Pixel People that have flown away from the studio:

https://youtube.com/shorts/zLK585kU68s?si=raKLc_i29TNe200o

Leave a comment

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Simple Little Things That Make Me Happy, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as doll making, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, Lily doll, Noreen Crone-Findlay, pixel people dolls, pixel people toys, small loom weaving, weaving, woven pixel people

December 19, 2023 · 2:52 pm

Pixel People

I find simple little things to be endearing. That’s how I feel about the woven Pixel People that are part of the Lily Doll Project.

I was inspired to design and weave the whimsical little Pixel People when I was sketching on graph paper (one of my most favorite design tools). I was doodling ‘inside the squares’ and started drawing cheerful little faces in the squares. I was captivated by their sweetness so one thing lead to another.

I warped up my Chloe loom and these quirky little darlings evolved from those simple sketches. I love them with their little circle hands and feet, but you can also play with other options, too. They have lucky pennies and good wishes hearts inside, so they have very good energy.

They are fun to carry in your pocket or attach jewelry findings and click them onto a zipper, bag or as a charm on a pouch, phone or other device.

Stitch a pin back on them to wear them as a pin. Glue a magnet to the back and they can live on the fridge or a lamp or other metal surface. These quirky little Pixel People are fun, easy and a delight to make!

The Pixel People Kits are available at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily

Leave a comment

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as doll making, dolls, hand weaving, hand woven, Mirrix Chloe loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, pixel people dolls, pixel people toys, small loom weaving, weaving, woven pixel people

December 4, 2023 · 11:38 am

Lily Doll has 2 new dresses and a new friend, too

It’ s the festive season, so I designed a party dress for Lily Doll:

And, then I discovered that there is enough yarn in the Party Doll kit to be able to weave the Pinafore Dress (with a pocket!), so, I asked Elena and Claudia at Mirrix if we could add the Pinafore Dress to the Party Dress kit. They thought that that was a great idea. 😀

It struck me that people might want to weave the Lily Doll in a way that is unique to them. I love exploring creative and imaginative options, so I decided to weave a doll using the Lily Doll Pattern, but to change things up a little.

Well, LOL…. I ended up having to weave her arms twice, because I managed to (HUH?!?!) mess them up on the first go. Okay, so I un-picked them and wove them again. Got it right this time. Whew.

Then, I was weaving too late at night, when, thanks to Long Covid, my cognitive function isn’t always at the top of the loop- oops… and I wove the body in plain white, which I hadn’t meant to do. Went to bed shaking my head. Got up the next morning and wove the body using Herringbone technique. (I’ll do another post about weaving Herringbone on the Chloe loom). YAY! Got it right!

Next, I merrily wove her legs using pick and pick in tapestry technique which mysteriously gave her very out of proportion legs. Sigh. Un-wove them and wove them in pick and pick, but THIS time, I used the tabby technique. AND YAY! The legs are totally tickety boo…. whew…..

And, luckily, her dear little head (using the pink and purple yarn and hand dyed silk left over from the Party and Pinafore Dresses kit) turned out perfect the first time round…. so…. here she is!

Lily Doll would like to introduce her cousin, Lally Doll!

and here they are, wearing the Party Dress and the Pinafore with a Pocket Dress:

Ooh, I am so delighted with them! Even though I seemed to get so much wrong on the way to getting Lally Doll right, she was totally worth the effort.

The Herringbone technique is explained in step by step photos in my book: Innovative Weaving on the Frame loom. It, and the kits and patterns for the Lily doll project are all available at: LINK

Happy Weaving! ❤

Leave a comment

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, doll clothes, frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as #dollclothes, #dollmaker, #dollmaking, #dolls, #handweaving, #handwoven, #wovendoll, #wovendollclothes, doll, doll making, dolls, hand made doll, hand weaving, Lily Doll Project, small loom weaving, weaving

December 2, 2023 · 11:22 am

Vintage Hankie Skirts for Wooden Dolls

I am no longer carving wooden dolls, (health issues).

These One of a Kind Wooden Dolls are all for sale. They are $100 each + shipping.

I spent hours making little fitted shimmery vests, and spent more hours messing around with lace for skirts. Sadly, the lace skirts just didn’t cut it.

So, when a dear friend gave me some vintage hankies, I had an ‘aha!’ moment…. and the skirt dilemma was resolved: Tie the hankies on with ribbons. This is a super simple non-sew skirt option that I came up with decades ago for dolls in my book: Soul Mate Dolls: Dollmaking as a Healing Art. It works so well! And, now, I am happy!

3 Comments

Filed under carved wooden dolls, carving wood, doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, doll clothes, eco crafts & green projects, personal stuff, Simple Little Things That Make Me Happy, wooden dolls

Tagged as #doll, #dollclothes, #dollmaking, #harcourthouse, #woodendolls, christmas, doll, doll clothes, doll making, dolls, grateful, Harcourt House

November 29, 2023 · 5:15 pm

Lily Doll Says- Weave Me Some Dresses

Lily Doll says that it is chilly, and even though she likes her upcycled lace dress, some woven dresses would be nice….. so she even offered to help with the weaving…..

Be patient, Lilly Doll! Dresses are on the way…. soon, Little One! Soon…..

The Lily Doll Project can be found at https://mirrixlooms.com/lily

Leave a comment

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as doll, doll making, hand weaving, hand woven, handwoven doll, Lily doll, Lily Doll Project, Mirrix Chloe loom, small dolls, small loom weaving, woven doll

November 26, 2023 · 3:37 am

A Dress for Lily Doll Made from a Scrap of Lace

This little lace dress for the Lily Doll LINK is a fun bit of upcycling.

It’s the easiest dolly dress to make, ever!

I found this scrap of lace trim – 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) wide, in a bag of sewing bits and pieces at the Thrift Shop.

I cut it to 11 1/2 inches (29 cm) then threaded 12 inches (30 cm) of 1/8 inch (3 mm) ribbon into a craft needle.

Stitch in and out along the top edge of the lace.

Pull up a loop of the ribbon 3 inches (7.5 cm) from each end. Pinch the ribbon to the edge to keep the end of the ribbon at the edge.

The loops make the shoulder straps.

Put the dress onto Lily Doll and pull up on the ribbon ends to gather it up.

Tie a bow.

You can leave the dress like this or wrap a ribbon around her waist and tie a bow at the front or the back.

A sweet dress for Lily Doll to wear while she waits for you to weave her wardrobe!

Leave a comment

Filed under eco crafts & green projects, frame loom weaving, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, upcycling, weaving & handwoven, Woven Dolls and Toys

Tagged as #dollclothes, #lily doll project, #wovendoll, #wovenlilydoll, doll clothes, doll making, dolls, easy to make doll clothes, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, weaving

May 3, 2022 · 9:32 pm

A Wooden Teddy Bear Carved in Response to Grief

The death of our beloved 15 year old small dog has been really hard on both my husband and me.

I wrote in my previous post about the Comfort Doll that I carved from a fallen branch- LINK

When I was carving her, I was inspired to carve a Teddy Bear that would have an open space in it’s heart…..

I used amber color shellac to paint the Teddy Bear to look like our little dog, and then…

My husband and I each placed a tiny scoop of our little dog’s ashes in the open circle.

Then I glued a gold heart over it to seal it….

The glue seals it completely.

It took a while to dry and turn clear.

We both held the little teddy bear and found it to be very comforting….

We sat Teddy Bear and Pollydolly in front of the box of our little guy’s ashes, but when I finished weaving her outfit and knitting a red sweater and blue jeans for him, we sat them on top of the box:

My husband loves working with metal, so he made a little steel doggie: Edward Alloy in tribute to our wee fellow, and it has joined them on the box…..

We have found this tender making of small things in celebration of our wee dog to be very comforting!

5 Comments

Filed under carved wooden dolls, carved wooden teddy bears, carving wood, doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, grief, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, personal stuff, teddy bear, weaving & handwoven, wooden dolls

Tagged as carved wooden dolls, carved wooden teddy bears, doll making, dollmaking as a healing art, grief, grieving, teddy bears

March 29, 2022 · 7:39 am

Larger Vasilisa Comfort Dolls

I have been carving a series of dolls that are intended to bring comfort, inspiration and delight.

I call them, Vasilisa Comfort Dolls. They began as very small dolls but the series has branched out in several directions:

Small Vasillisa Comfort Dolls LINK

Vasilisa Comfort Dolls: Great Mother Series: LINK

Vasilisa Comfort Dolls that are Lucet Cord makers: LINK

These Vasilisa Comfort dolls are larger than the original ones….

This photo gives a sense of the size difference:

ARCH SHAPE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS

HELPING HANDS:

In gratitude for all ways that people help one another. 3 1/2 inches/9 cm tall

THE BLESSING CUP: SOLD

“Being a Mother and Being a Daughter”

SWEET DREAMS:

A BLESSING FOR THE CHILD

AND THIS GROUP OF LARGE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS HAVE JOINTED ARMS:

“Sunflower Song” We’ll never see Sunflowers in the same way again, will we? Praying for Peace in Ukraine and an end to the invasion

ROSIE:

BUTTERFLY DREAMS

I did the tatting, using shuttles that I carved myself. She’s about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall

DREAM CHILD

about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall (GLASS BACKGROUND NOT INCLUDED)

SURPRISE and her BABY

Surprise was a fascinating doll to create…. she kept taking me in new directions…. including wanting a baby…..

With her hat, Surprise is almost 8 inches/20 cm tall

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING ONE OR MORE OF THESE DOLLS, PLEASE LEAVE ME A NOTE IN THE COMMENTS (IT WON’T BE PUBLISHED) AND I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP

5 Comments

Filed under carved wooden dolls, carving wood, doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Uncategorized, Vasilisa dolls, wooden dolls

Tagged as doll making, dolls, Vasilisa Comfort dolls, Vasilisa dolls, wooden dolls