Tag Archives: hand woven

April 7, 2014 · 11:07 am

Tapestry Diary – 4

I’ve been working on a series of little woven ‘dancing ladies’ for my Woven Women show.

And, I am participating in a tapestry weave along on Ravelry.

This week, I finished one of my Dancing Ladies- “Snowy Spring”.

I have a thing about red shoes, so, I just had to make red patent leather shoes for her….

And I even made heels for them (the soles and heels are heavy leather, the uppers are very thin patent leather)

She’s about 13 inches tall/33 cm tall.

I wove her on the Schacht Mini loom, which is a small plastic loom that I quite like.

I was surprised by how well it worked for tapestry weaving- I wasn’t sure about tensioning on it, but that was not a problem. (I wove in a tiny thin dowel at the top, which worked beautifully as a shed stick, and provided some tension).

She delights me.

I love how the tapestry diary is leading me in unexpected directions.

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as 'Woven Women' by Noreen Crone-Findlay, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Schacht Mini Loom, Tapestry Diary, tapestry weaving

March 21, 2014 · 3:49 pm

Tapestry Diary for Woven Women show – 2

This week, I began a series of small woven figures for my Woven Women show (see previous post LINK).

I joined the Tapestry Diary Weave Along on Ravelry, and I am so pleased that I did.

This is the progression of the first piece, so far:

I warped up my 8 inch Mirrix so I can weave one diary entry on the front of the loom and one on the back.

A Tapestry Diary is a kind of daily journal that, of course, reflects what is happening what is happening in the weaver’s life at that moment….

I’ve been longing for springtime, so it was natural that flowers would appear immediately.

Using my mother’s stash of embroidery floss and yarn has been powerful for me.

Even though she is no longer with us, it is very tender to be working with something that she loved so much.

Each day, I’ve been uploading a pic of my progress in my diary- I find this rather daunting, as the ‘not good enough’ gremlins leap up and bite so uncomfortably! ugh….

I had some concerns about weaving with super slippery rayon embroidery floss, but it was fine…. although, I’ll need to do some serious sewing in on the wrong side.

That’s a bit of tatting that I stitched to the hem of the dress.

I always have a tatting shuttle in my pocket for ‘incidental moments’- it’s wonderfully contemplative, meditative and also so portable that I can take it with me everywhere.

I tat long strips of edging that I then include in my tapestries.

The face is applique’d on – I designed and wove a series of faces in a narrow band, using my double hole rigid heddle loom.

The arms are wrapped wires- I haven’t quite finished the wrapping, which is okay, as I won’t get to finish this piece until I weave the next one that is on the other side of the loom.

Being part of the Weave Along is such a pleasure- the international community of weavers that has formed around this weave along is a generous and supportive group.

I have no way of knowing how the Tapestry Diaries will unfold, but I will be posting as they do.

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tapestry, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Ravelry, Tapestry Diary, tapestry diary weave along, weave, Weave along

March 17, 2014 · 1:05 pm

Tapestry Diary for Woven Women show- 1

Even though I haven’t been posting about my solo show of tapestries and woven works (Woven Women) that is opening in August 2014 (eep…. tick tock, tick tock…. eep), I have been working away on new pieces for it.

I noticed that the Tapestry weaving group on Ravelry (the facebook of the fibre arts world) is having a weave along in which people are weaving ‘Tapestry Diaries’.

That means that they are weaving daily, weekly or monthly, on pieces that reflect their lives in those given moments.

I have wanted to do this for several years, but just have never started one…. until, the other day, I had an ‘Aha!’ moment.

I have been contemplating a series of small woven figures- I’ve woven the faces for them, but haven’t started the bodies.

It struck me that weaving the bodies for these figures would work beautifully as a Tapestry Diary.

I got all excited about doing this, and then took the plunge and asked the moderator if I could join, even if I am late to the party.

She graciously said that I could, and so I am!

I love that the online community creates ‘Virtual Guilds’ with members from all over the planet inspiring and encouraging each other. It’s just awesome.

I decided to warp up my 8 inch Mirrix tapestry loom to get started, but I can see that I may want to warp up my 16 inch Mirrix for this, too.

Some people choose to weave very specific shapes in their tapestry diaries, like little squares or rectangles, that are quite uniform in size.

I have decided that my shape is going to be one that I have loved working with over the decades.

It’s an hourglass motif that has shown up in embroidery, weaving, stitchery, stone and metal work for thousands of years.

It’s sometimes called. ‘The Shepherdess’ motif.

I did a bunch of drawings, until I was happy with a very simple, basic shape that I think will give me lots of options for experimenting with color and pattern. Of course, I have no idea how they will turn out. 🙂

I chose to weave these figures in a fairly narrow configuration- only 3 inches wide, set at 8 ends per inch.

Here’s my loom warped up, heddled, and with the first little bit woven.

I inherited my mother’s stash of embroidery floss and threads, and will be using them in this series.

Thanks, Mom….. hope you like what I am doing with your treasures……

Another new friend for Tottie Tomato

Tottie Tomato looked outside the studio window and saw someone tobogganing on the snowbanks….

She astonished Tottie by fluttering up into the tree….. and Tottie realized that the fluttery little person was a fairy!

The fairy looked awfully familiar…..

Tottie Tomato saw that she was shivering- it was so cold!

So, she invited the Winter Fairy in for a cup of tea….

Tottie Tomato had been watching the progress of the Winter Fairy coming to life, so she was surprised to see her outside!

Winter Fairy said that she felt that, once she had her wings, she really ought to see what Winter was all about.

Sledding was fun – but chilly.

The Winter Fairy told Tottie Tomato that she prefers to experience winter from the warm side of the window, so she has decided to take up permanent residence in the studio and perhaps wait until springtime before venturing outside again.

Tottie Tomato is looking forward to many pleasant cups of tea with the Winter Fairy.

She plans on showing her around the studio and introducing her to all manner of lovely folks.

Tottie Tomato is very happy that I took part in the Zoom Loom Doll Weave Along on Ravelry- otherwise, the Winter Fairy would never have joined us here in the studio!

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Tottie Tomato Loves, weaving & handwoven

Tagged as doll making, hand weaving, hand woven, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Ravelry, Tottie Tomato, Weave along, woven doll, woven fairy doll, Zoom Loom

March 5, 2014 · 5:50 pm

Pivoting clamp for pipe style tapestry loom

The Archie Brennan copper pipe looms are easy-ish to build and wonderful to weave on.

Here’s a link to the instructions that we used to build mine: LINK

It struck me that warping the pipe loom would be so much easier if I could pivot and spin the loom.

I saw a video on Youtube that showed a woman rotating her loom to warp it and that got my gears clicking.

And, so, I designed a set of pivoting clamps for the pipe loom, and now warping the pipe loom is just BLISS!!!!!

Here’s the video tutorial for them in action:

By the way, the finished size of my clamps is:

I am pleased as can be with them!

Note: The clamps can easily be moved on or off looms that are already warped, so switching looms on and off a stand is easy peasy.

To see the stand that we built, please go to

https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2014/03/17/copper-pipe-stand-for-copper-pipe-tapestry-loom/

Happy weaving!

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Tagged as #noreencrone-findlay, #tapestryweaving, Archie Brennan copper pipe, Archie Brennan Pipe loom, frame loom, hand woven, handwoven, hints and tips for weaving, Noreen Crone-Findlay, pipe loom clamps, pivot clamps for tapestry loom, tapestry loom, video tutorial, weaving

March 1, 2014 · 12:20 pm

Zoom Loom Weave Along Winter Doll in progress

Tottie Tomato is getting anxious….

When are all these piles of little squares and rectangles and triangles going to turn into a doll?

Soon!

There’s another week in the Winter Weave Along on Ravelry, so there’s lots of time….

I hope! 😀

How to weave a triangle on the Zoom Loom

I have been experimenting with the Schacht Zoom Loom, and figuring out how to weave more shapes with it than just the square it was designed to weave.

In previous blog posts, I’ve shown how to weave small squares Link and rectangles Link.

I also posted some hints about how to embroider on the squares that you weave on the Zoom loom: Link

One of the most important shapes to be able to weave when designing with small looms is the the triangle.

And, so, I’ve figured out how to weave perfect triangles on the Zoom Loom.

It was actually quite tricky to do that figuring, but it was worth it, and I made a video tutorial on how to do it:

Happy Weaving!

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Tagged as hand woven, how to weave a triangle on the Zoom Loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Schacht Zoom Loom, small loom weaving, triangle, weaving techniques, Zoom Loom

February 19, 2014 · 10:49 am

How to weave a rectangle on the Zoom Loom

I am always intrigued by figuring out ways of maximizing the potential of small looms.

Just because a loom is square, why should it be limited to weaving just squares?

Rectangles are important in the design process, too!

And, so, I figured it out… and here’s a new video tutorial showing how to weave a rectangle on the Zoom Loom.

There are times when you need to have rectangles and narrow strips to finish a design, and now, you can weave them on your Zoom loom.

This makes the loom even more versatile :o)

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

Tagged as hand woven, how to weave a rectangle, Noreen Crone-Findlay, small loom weaving, video tutorial, weave a rectangle on the Zoom loom, weaving techniques, woven, Zoom Loom

February 12, 2014 · 3:27 pm

How to weave a tiny square on the Zoom Loom

There is an ongoing Weave Along on the Zoom Loom group on Ravelry.

Here’s the link:
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/zoom-loom-club/2841435/1-25#13

I love weaving dolls, so I was hooked on the idea of weaving one doll for each of the seasons, using the Zoom Loom from Schacht.

I sketched my thoughts about the ‘Winter’ doll, and always in all the sketches- pockets showed up.

It was essential that my Zoomie doll have pockets. After all… Winter= Cold= Gotta have pockets!

So, I had to figure out a way of weaving tiny squares on the Zoom Loom (it’s the Zoom Loom weave along, so no cheating by crocheting or knitting the pockets).

I figured out a nifty way of weaving wee little squares on the Zoom Loom and have made this video showing how to do it.

I think that the 4 seasons Zoom Loom Doll Weave Along is going to be great fun.

By the way- I love the little Zoom loom and I don’t profit by singing it’s praises.

The weave along is going to continue all through out 2014, so do join in.

I am just a member of the Ravelry group, and not a moderator or anything, so if you have questions, join the group, and hop right in.

I’ll be posting more tutorials as I make them, showing the unusual ways that I am using the Zoom Loom.

Happy Weaving!

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, tutorial & how to, video tutorial

Tagged as 4 seasons doll weave along, hand weaving, hand woven, how to weave a doll, how to weave a tiny square on the Zoom Loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Weave along, woven doll, woven toys, Zoom Loom

February 5, 2014 · 2:55 pm

New woven vests February 2014

Vests are one of my most favorite garments to design, weave and wear.

I have just finished two new vests that both have something that I believe to be essential: Pockets 🙂

I didn’t use a pattern to make the vests, but I was inspired by design #51 for a jacket, in the Saori weaving book that has a black cover.

I don’t know the actual name of the book, as it’s all in Japanese, but if you contact your local Saori dealer, I am sure that they will be able to sell you the book. The Saori books are all fabulous beyond words, and are all treasures!

I wove the fabric for the red vest on my Saori Piccolo loom, which is a joy to weave on. The fabric for the turquoise vest was woven on my 4 harness table loom.

The warp for the red vest was 10 inches wide and the warp for the turquoise vest was 17 inches wide.

They were both woven at 10 epi.

They both work well worn open, or pinned shut with a brooch, or tied with a belt or sash.

When I was weaving the fabric for this vest, I was playing with the fibonacci sequence, and also playing with numbers in other ways… in a way, I was coding messages of love, good health, happiness and abundance into the fabric as I wove it!

Weaving is so meditative, and it’s fun to deliberately figure out ways of ‘weaving happiness’ into my fabric 🙂

I love shawl collars, as they make me feel so cozy:

And those oh so important pockets! I wove the fabric for the pockets on my 4 harness loom.

I used a wool cotton blend for the weft when I wove the band at the top of the pocket so it would shrink and pull in to shape the pocket.

There are so many neat ways to shape garments, and using threads that you know will shrink is a ‘secret tip’ that works well for getting sections of your weaving to pull in and gather after the fabric is washed.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.crone-findlay.com

I’m trying very hard to not get too attached to these vests, as I am going to be offering them for sale at the maker’s faire that I am participating in this weekend… (On the Spot Maker’s Faire at the Boyle St Plaza in Edmonton AB on Feb 8 & 9).

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

Tagged as hand weaving, hand woven, hand woven garment, hand woven vest, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Saori, Saori Piccolo, Saori weaving, textiles, vests, woven clothing, woven vests