Yesterday, a dear friend helped me to hang some of my ‘Woven Women’ tapestries at the Blue Chair Cafe in Edmonton AB.
They will be hanging at the Blue Chair for the months of September and October 2014.
I took a small video after the show was hung….
One of my most favorite prayers is Dame Julian of Norwich’s …
“And All Shall Be Well, and All Shall Be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well….”
This prayer is a mantra that I repeat to myself through thick and thin, through the darkest nights and hardest moments- we all have them, and they are transformed into a wellspring of compassion, but, oh my, how incredibly challenging it can be at times to navigate them.
Thank you, Dame Julian, for these words to live by…..
I love weaving words, and have done many woven homages to Dame Julian.
But, this is the first time I have woven her prayer in tapestry-
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
She is approximately 36 inches tall.
I wove the central tapestry panel on my Mirrix 8 inch tapestry loom at 6 epi.
The side and back panels were woven on my 4 harness floor loom at 12 epi.
On her face, there are bits of sea glass, fragments of pottery and seashells, as well as driftwood.
Night and day for the last couple of weeks, I have been weaving up a storm, finishing Part 3 of Rebecca Mezoff’s online tapestry workshop.
And, I have just finished: Woven Women- Asking For Miracles, which is built around the sampler that I wove for Part 3:
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The dragon ship on her chest is based on images in the Bayeux tapestries, and the tree of life is based on a fragment of the Overhogdal tapestry fragments that I saw in the Viking exhibition at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, BC in July.
The Overhogdal tapestry was woven with a linen background, with the figures outlined in soumak and the colors filled in with colored weft in a kind of brocade technique.
The imagery in these tapestries is just so marvelous that I find them really inspiring and love sketching elements from them.
For her head dress, bodice construction, cuffs and hem, I used narrow bands that I wove on my double slotted Swedish rigid heddle loom.
Her head, hands, shoulder medalions, and feet are plywood.
I drew, cut out and burned and painted all the wooden elements.
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Her earrings are made from beads, vintage buttons and reproductions of Viking coins that I bought in the Museum gift shop.
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copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com
‘Asking for Miracles’ was woven on my 16 inch Mirrix tapestry loom and is about 36 inches tall.
And, that title?
Well…. there are a lot of things happening these days that could use some miraculous energy to set them to rights…
you know, the wars, the devastations that are being wrought on so many levels and in so many ways on our precious little planet.
As I weave, I often meditate on sending out peaceful, healing energy…. the stuff that miracles are made of, after all, so to be honest, I think that when I am doing this, I am asking for miracles…..
and may your life be full of miracles of healing, wholeness, wonderfulness in every way!
Miracles.
Yes, please.
When we went on holidays in July, I took along 4 small looms- My Norwegian Cradle loom, my 8 inch Mirrix tapestry loom, my wee copper pipe loom and my tiny peg loom.
I warped up my Norwegian Cradle loom with fine cotton to weave a narrow band, using my Swedish double slotted rigid heddle.
The heddle is actually too wide for the Cradle loom, but oddly enough, this worked well in a quirky way.
I wove and wove and wove and wove as we drove for many, many days, with the Norwegian Cradle loom in my lap:
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The cotton thread in the narrow band is in the same colors that I was using to weave the sampler for Part 2 of the online tapestry course offered by Rebecca Mezoff.
I knew that I wanted to have narrow bands as part of the figure that I was weaving, using the sampler as the body.
And here she is: Her name is:
“Small Bird Sang and All Was Forgiven”.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com
Her body is the sampler that includes the techniques that were covered in Part Two of the course.
I wove her arms separately, using techniques from Part 2 as well.
I have included driftwood from our beachcombing at the ocean, as well as found objects.
Her hands, head, feet and the archway panel are cut from Baltic birch plywood. (Lovely stuff!)
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I burned the features with a wood burning tool, and then painted and embellished with encaustic.
She is 36 inches/90 cm tall.
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I wove her body first, then re-warped the loom and wove the arms separately.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com
Her body and arms were woven on my 8 inch Mirrix tapestry loom, which I also took along on holidays, as it’s a fabulous little traveling loom.
I’ve just finished weaving a new piece that I have called: ‘Edith’s Song: No Regrets’:
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For the last 3 weeks, I have been weaving away, loving working on a sampler for Part One of Rebecca Mezoff’s online tapestry weaving workshop. LINK to her course outlines. (Love the course, highly recommend it!)
While I was weaving it, I got inspired to weave the last section in 3 panels- one for the torso, and 2 for the arms.
I shaped the upper edge in a semi circle to be the neckline of her bodice, and left empty triangles at the elbows so I could shape bent arms.
I pulled the warp strands to bend the arms and to shape her torso.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
I chose to leave the slits unstitched in the lower panel so I could weave in narrow bands that I had previously woven on my double hole rigid heddle loom.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
I also used the narrow bands as the hem and other embellishments.
I cut the head, hands and feet from 1/4 inch plywood.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
The wings were a serendipitous thrift shop find.
The beads around her face are a peyote stitch tube that I made a couple of years ago and have been waiting for the perfect project.
Woven on my 16 inch Mirrix loom, using Paternayan tapestry yarn that I inherited from my mother and handspun from my daughter in law.
She makes me feel happy. 🙂
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.
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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……
I am passionate about lace and lace making.
I love to tat, crochet and knit lace.
And, recently, I have been experimenting with weaving lace.
Well… weaving leno lace and then embroidering it…..
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This was my first attempt, and to be honest, it’s wonky and woobley and ‘real weavers’ would consider it to be a messy failure.
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But, I really learned a lot while I was working on it- and am intrigued and intend to keep working with this technique.
By the way, this was woven on my 16 inch Mirrix loom, with loom extenders attached.
When I was warping up for my second embroidered Leno lace scarf, I made a video about the things I figured out while warping with loom extenders:
I got so overwhelmed with all the work for the Soumak Weave Along that I didn’t have time to do much more with the embroidered leno lace.
I needed my 16 inch loom for a tapestry, so I wove off the blue scarf to get it off the loom, and will be doing the embroidery with the scarf being off loom.
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I am pleased with the progress I have made with the embroidery, and look forward to doing more of this technique.
I love scarves and wear them year round.
Leno lace scarves are light enough to be comfortable even in the summer, especially in the evening.
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I haven’t had a chance to wash and block this one yet, so it’s not as nice as it will be.
I am planning on working a twisted cord with beads on it for the fringes.
Leno lace is so wonderful and has so much design potential that I intend to continue experimenting with it!
Today’s installment of the Soumak Pouch Weave Along is a video tutorial about warping the looms for the ‘no warp ends’ technique that will be the foundation of the Soumak Pouches.
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There are a number of hints and tips that I have found that make warping for the pouches much quicker and easier.
The video shows how to warp the 8 inch and 12 inch Mirrix looms, using ‘s’ hooks.
The Mini (5 inch loom) is warped using the ‘no warp ends’ kit from Mirrix.
The looms are almost gift wrapped after warping!
Really? Yes 🙂
I have found that using ribbons to tie around the ‘s’ hooks on the lower edge of the 8 inch, 12 inch or larger Mirrix looms keeps the weft yarn from getting snagged on the hooks while weaving.
And, the Mini wears little babushkas or headscarves!
Yep. I tie bias tape or ribbon around the ends to cover the paper clips and keep them from snagging on clothing and to protect them.
I know it may seem odd, but it makes the weaving go more smoothly.
And, having the weaving be a joy is really important 🙂
Here’s the video that shows how the warping is done for the Weave Along:
When a weaver and a musician go on holidays, what do they take with them?
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
Their dogs, of course!
But of course, they never leave home without a guitar
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Or, a loom:
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I was weaviing away on this pouch while we were away:
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So, I took advantage of the gorgeous scenery to photograph the step by step photos of weaving the pouch:
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Mini has her own wee suitcase which she snuggles very happily into, along with all the bits and pieces needed for the weaving.
(It began life as a case for a drill that lives in a toolbox, so Jim gave the un-used case to me and I love it for Ms Mini!)
When we are on holidays, I tend to photograph the smaller things, like lichens:
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and flowers (ahem… the wind was crazy, so trying to get the flower to sit still was a lost cause)
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and small looms on beautiful stony beaches:
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and the patterns in tree roots:
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and shadows:
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and gorgeous driftwood:
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and the patterns in nature:
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and small dogs having great adventures … (Yikes! Wolves ATE a dog here? eegads!)
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Speaking of wild animals, last year when we went to Jasper (in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada), we saw 13 bears!
This year, we only saw one:
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But we did see one VERY thrilling wild animal- the first time I have ever seen a wild mountain goat, in fact:
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It was rainy, windy and cold for the entire time we were there, which made perfect weather for weaving and making music 😀
But then, as far as I am concerned, ANY weather is perfect for weaving and making music 🙂
I hope that you had a lovely summer and that the sun shone upon you, and music swirled around you and that the yarn was sweet in your hands!
I rarely leave home without a small loom.
If I am the passenger in a car, I weave.
If I have to wait for an appointment, I weave.
When in an airport or flying…. I weave.
If I am sitting, listening to my husband’s Jazz trio/quartette/quintette, I weave.
I like to be able to to port along my small looms in tote bags, backpacks or baskets.
But…. the warp strands and bobbins and needles can get seriously disarranged by being jostled in transit.
I have been mulling over the best way of protecting them while they are being trundled about…. and then it struck me….
By using the Japanese technique of creating perfect wraps and carriers from a scarf or cloth! :
FUROSHIKI (link to a ton of ways of doing furoshiki wraps)
3 Mirrix looms wrapped with Furoshiki techniques
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I always carry headscarves in my purse or bag, to use as instant tote bags.
The other day, it struck me that the perfect way to protect my beloved small looms when I am slipping them into bags or baskets for their travels, is to ‘Furoshiki’ them.
It works BRILLIANTLY!
I usually use square headscarves- and any size will work… smaller scarves are great for small looms or bundles of books and tools; larger scarves for larger bundles of looms and stuff.
But, you don’t have to use scarves: This is a great upcycling opportunity!
You can use squares of fabric cut from old shirts or skirts or dresses 🙂
You can also use cloth squares to gift wrap presies. Do check that link at the top of the page. Impressive 🙂
Here’s a video, showing how to use Furoshiki wrapping techniques to make an instant, customized carrier for your small loom:
The models in the video are my 3 smallest Mirrix looms. I call them the Three Sisters.
I love, love LOVE my Three Little Sisters! I have renamed them: The Mini is ‘Molly Whuppie’ (you can read her story in my book, Soul Mate Dolls), ‘Vasilisa’ (heroine of a wonderful Russian fairytale) is the name of the 8 inch loom, and the 12 inch is now known as ‘Jane’, after my beloved Jane Austen.
I do believe they quite like their travel wraps! 🙂
Here’s the video that I made to show how I wrap my looms :
Noreen Crone-Findlay, designer and author
