Tag Archives: Noreen Crone-Findlay

A Very Tiny Doll Celebrates Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from very snowy and cold Western Canada.

Last night, we were heading out to our son and daughter-in-law’s home to join with many family and friends in celebrating Thanksgiving.

There were sounds of protest from the Wall Doll House in my studio.

thallie-at-thanksgiving-dinner-1-c

The smallest (less than an inch tall) wooden Story Door Doll, who used to be known as ‘Itty’, until she declared her name is actually, ‘Thallie’ was sitting in her armchair.

She’s thrilled that she finally has a new dress, and declared that it was important to her to go out to dinner to show it off.

I  protested that I don’t like taking her out of the house, for fear of loosing her.

She ‘pshawed’ me, and reminded me that I am perfectly capable of loosing MUCH larger things than her INSIDE the house.

Oh. Right…

She hopped into the Thumbelina traveling tin:

thallie-at-thanksgiving-dinner-1a-c

But I was planning on taking along the ~very last~ bit of weaving for the big tapestry that I am weaving, and not Thumbelina.

So, Thallie hopped into my seashell necklace, along with her friend, Inch Faery Bear, who is the same petite size as her.  This makes them the best of friends, as they enjoy hanging out with someone who understands the world in miniature.

thallie-at-thanksgiving-dinner-2-c

And, off we went.

After the toasts were ‘clink clinked’, Thallie was convinced that there were Similar Sized People as her and Inch Faery Bear hiding in the corks…. so we shall have to see.

The corks came home in my pocket, so it will be interesting to see if there are little people in them or, as my daughter suggested, little faery mushrooms…. who knows?

thallie-at-thanksgiving-dinner-3-c

After the corks were filed in my pocket, I put Thallie back into the Seashell necklace….

and…. palm to forehead….

did not take even one more photo of the whole evening.

Oh my…..

Which I wish I had, as a beloved member of the family is on her way to London, England.

She’s moving there, so it’s going to be quite some time before we are all around the same dinner table.

We wish her the greatest of joy in her big adventure!

Pauline is accompanying her in her travels, and posed for a very Canadian moment before dealing with airports etc:

pauline-goes-to-london-3-c

Pauline’s Human took a moment from enjoying her last ‘Timmie’ time to share a pic of this special moment.

(Only Canadians will understand this reference, I think?)

Anyhow, all the little wooden folk who live in the studio join my in wishing you a joyous Thanksgiving, even if you live somewhere else in the world.  There is so much to say thank you for….

Thank you~~ ❤

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, wooden dolls

Vintage hankies become dresses for wooden dolls

I love vintage hankies and decided to use them to make dresses for some of the wooden dolls that I carve.

I needed to take a break last week, and my Story Door Dolls were beckoning me.

So, I used some of the vintage hankies that I have collected over the years to make them new dresses.

new-hanky-dresses-2-c

Lucky Pauline ended up with the most beautifully embroidered hanky.

I can’t bear to cut the hankies, so I do some crazy folding to make the hanky work as the skirt.

new-hanky-dresses-1-c

This is Tennie in her new hanky dress…. even though it’s not as glamorous as Pauline’s, she’s still very happy with it.

By folding and hand stitching the delicate old linen, cotton and silk hankies, the hankies remain intact.

This is a kind of archival use of the hankies, which preserves them, but uses them, instead of them languishing in a box.

new-hanky-dresses-3c

I hand carve the dolls, which I call my ‘Story Door Dolls’.

They are all around 6 inches tall, and I use local woods for most of them.

They were inspired by Hitty dolls.

new-hanky-dresses-4-c

This little charmer was carved from Arbutus wood that was trimmed many years ago from the tree in my sisters in laws house in Victoria.  I won’t be carving anymore Arbutus dolls as that wood is like iron!  wow…. and ow….

And, yes, I do sell them…..

But not Pauline

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Woven Women: 6th Sense One of a Kind Art Dolls

I have been working on  new handwoven one of a kind art dolls.

They are a somewhat different approach to my Woven Women Mixed Media pieces.

6th-sense-trio-c

Earlier this summer, I read a wonderful book, called: A Monk in the Beehive.

The author spoke about humanity needing to come to our senses, and to connect with our sixth sense, which is wisdom, intuition, peacefulness and integrity towards the planet.

This moved me deeply, and I have been thinking about it  a lot.

This is how I have woven these thoughts together- in the first 3 of a series of ‘6th Sense’ Woven Women.

Each one is totally one of a kind.

I wove them as contemplations on wisdom, compassion, kindness, peace and peace making, connection, and a longing to care for the planet.

As I created each one, I would hold thoughts of wellness, integrity, and all the other attributes that I mentioned previously.

Weaving is a meditation in motion, and there is love in every stitch.

There is joy  and tenderness in the making of the ‘6th Sense’ art dolls.

 

They are all approximately 17 inches tall and they can either stand and lean on a shelf, or be hung from the woven hanging loop on the back of the head.

Each one has 6 pennies-  six cents- to represent the Sixth Sense, in all it’s manifestations.

I wove each of the 6th Sense Woven Women Art Dolls on many different looms, using a wide variety of techiques.

Here’s a video of ‘6th Sense- Intuition’,    ‘6th Sense- Deep Peace’ and

‘6th Sense- Listening to The Voice of Wisdom’:

Photos:

‘6th Sense- INTUITION’:

One of a kind art doll by Noreen Crone-Findlay www.tottietalkscrafts.com6th-sense-intuition-2-c6th-sense-intuition-3-c6th-sense-intuition-4-c6th-sense-intuition-5-c6th-sense-intuition-6-c

 

‘6th Sense- Deep Peace’

6th-sense-deep-peace-1-c6th-sense-deep-peace-2-c 6th-sense-deep-peace-3-c 6th-sense-deep-peace-4-c 6th-sense-deep-peace-5-c 6th-sense-deep-peace-6-c

 

 

‘6th Sense- Listening to The Voice of Wisdom’

6th-sense-listening-to-the-voice-of-wisdom-1c 6th-sense-listening-to-the-voice-of-wisdom-2-c 6th-sense-listening-to-the-voice-of-wisdom-3-c 6th-sense-listening-to-the-voice-of-wisdom-4-c 6th-sense-listening-to-the-voice-of-wisdom-5-c

 

 

If you are interested in purchasing a ‘Woven Women- 6th Sense’ One of a Kind Art Doll,

please contact me

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

 

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, weaving & handwoven, Woven Women tapestries and woven works

Weaving the Flower of Life Pattern on a Hexagon Loom

I’ve just finished weaving a new Woven Woman mixed media tapestry.  LINK

Woven Woman (Essence) by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

Woven Woman (Essence) by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c)

I’ve made 3 video tutorials to show how I wove various aspects of her:

Peg Loom Circle with outside band (c)

How I wove the ‘Galaxy’ circle at her heart: LINK  using the Peg Loom

weaving with wire on weaving sticks

weaving with wire on weaving sticks

How I wove the narrow copper band around her face, using Weaving Sticks: LINK

And, the third video shows how I used a Lily Speed o Weave loom to weave a hexagon, using the ‘Flower of Life’ pattern, with spool knitted cord.

I spent several days shooting a video, showing how to weave the Flower of Life with wire, but the wire just doesn’t show up in the video.  Sigh.

So back to the drawing board, and several more days, but this time, using spool knitted cord, because it shows up well in the video.

Flower of Life pattern woven on the hexagon loom by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Flower of Life pattern woven on the hexagon loom by Noreen Crone-Findlay

You can use all kinds of things to weave this pattern that is a celebration of geometry- Lucet cords, wire, thread, yarn, art yarn, roving (use thread or embroidery floss or yarn to tie the intersections), t shirt yarn, fabric strips…. no limits!

 

 

By the way:  In my etsy shop, there’s a great eBook:

LINK

(Lily Speed o Weave patterns and designs)

Another YouTube video for a different  Lily Speed o Weave tutorial :

Happy weaving!

 

 

 

 

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

Knitted Sweater and Pants for Findlay Bear and Flora Panda

Findlay & Flora love flowers

Findlay Bear and Flora Panda are celebrating springtime by searching for flower buds that are just coming up.

Sweaters 2 (c)

It’s so exciting to see the new leaves popping up,

Sweaters 3 (c)

Some of the flowers are absolutely tiny!

Springtime can be a chilly time of year, so Findlay and Flora are happy to wear their new sweaters and pants while they are questing for flowers.

Sweaters 4 (c)

The pattern for the sweater and pants  is available in my etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/275065922/findlay-and-flora-teddy-bear-knitted?ref=shop_home_active_1

and for Findlay Bear and Flora Panda:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/274302708/knitted-teddy-bear-pdf-pattern-findlay?ref=listing-shop-header-1

Happy springtime, happy flowers, happy knitting, and happy bears!

 

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Filed under Findlay Bear and Flora Panda, knitting, teddy bear

Knitted Goddess Artemis pattern

I am catching up on all kinds of things that have gotten set aside for one reason or another.

One of those things is to finally get my pattern for the Goddess Artemis and her animal companions posted to my etsy shop.

The Knitted Artemis doll and her animal companions (resting rabbit, mouse and beaver) pdf pattern has complete charts with instructions for how to knit the Goddess Artemis.

I based the design on a painting on a clay pot that has been dated as 7th century BC. It was discovered in Boetia, which was part of Greece in that time.

The Goddess Artemis is the protector of the wild spaces and is always accompanied by animal companions, which is why she has them with her in this pattern.  Because the wild places on the planet are so precious, inviting Artemis energy to protect them is a very good idea.

The finished size of the Artemis doll and her animals is determined by the thickness of the yarns that you use and the size of the needles that you knit with.

The doll in the photo was knitted with sock yarn and 2.5 mm knitting needles.

Here’s the LINK to the pattern:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/264519152/knitted-artemis-doll-and-her-companion

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Whee- 40 teeny Comfort Bears- I did it!!!

Originally, I designed these little bears for Syrian refugee children, but I wanted to address the critical comments that some people had made. They said that we should be taking care of people who are already here and are suffering.

Well, I agree: We do need to care for those in pain, but it is NOT an either/or situation: It is AND.

I had recently read an article that spoke of acts of compassion and ended by saying that the heart must stretch, or it will break.

I thought: Alright… let’s stretch the heartstrings.

I thought: Who is here that needs me?  Immediately, the answer came up: The Women’s Shelter.

So, two weeks ago, I asked the Women’s Shelter if I could donate some of the tiny Blessing/Comfort/Kindness bears to the children in their care.

Confession time: Truth be told, I was still in the design stage at this point… how bold of me to phone them up when I hadn’t even finished the workable prototype! LOL

They said, ‘YES! Please make us 40!’

When I recovered from my astonishment, I said: ‘Of course I will’.

And, so, for the last 2 weeks, I have gotten up early (very VERY early some mornings!) and gone to bed late….

and …. tadah!!!!

40 little Comfort/Blessing Bears in a Basket! (made with love by Noreen Crone-Findlay)

I knew that I could not possibly get them all knitted by hand in only 2 weeks, so I knitted the bodies of most of them by machine, but some of them, I knitted on 2 sets of circular needles (cumbersome) and some on 4 dpn’s… which is much more doable than the 2 circs.

(I have my dpn’s and yarn with a bear on it in my ‘going out the door’ knitting bag… more about that, later).

The hand work of sewing the back seam, stuffing the bear, sewing both ends shut then making the necks, legs, ears, stitching on the arms and embroidering the faces is what takes up most of the bear making time.

It’s slow, but contemplative work, and it brings me such great delight as each little face smiles up at me when I finish embroidering it!   Such joy!!!!

I have to race to finish family Christmas presents now, but I will be casting on lots more stitches for more, more, more bears- for Syrian refugee children, and more for the Women’s Shelter to have on hand, and more because I keep meeting people who need them….

This makes me sooooooooooooo happy!   ❤     😀     ❤

Yup, this has been a real heart stretcher… I have so much more room in my heart than I ever thought possible.

I think that the extra room is bear shaped….

copyright  Noreen Crone-Findlay www.tottietalkscrafts.com

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com

My dream is that people will be inspired to knit or crochet all kinds of wonderful wee comfort/kindness/blessing bears to give to anyone who needs some compassion and healing.   Won’t you join me?    🙂

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Filed under charity knitting, crafting for charity, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, knitting, teddy bear

Tiny Teddy Bears that hug the hand that holds them

The past few weeks have been a flurry of knitting tiny bears .

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts.com

I designed these Comfort Bears (also known as ‘Kindness Bears’ , ‘Compassion Bears’ and ‘Blessing Bears’) for people of any age who need to feel loved and comforted.

It was important to me that they fit in a pocket, so they are less than 3 inches tall.

It  also felt important that the wee bears be interactive, so I designed their arms to be knitted in one piece, so they could hug the finger of the person who owns them.

They bring me so much joy to make!  I hope that those who will be adopting them will feel all the love in each tiny teddy!

I’ve found such joy in making them, so they really do hug back to their maker, as well as whoever will be their owner.  😀

Here’s the link to the pattern so you can knit them, too:

https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2015/12/11/knitted-comfort-bear-by-noreen-crone-findlay/

If you don’t knit, but would like to make crocheted comfort bears, here’s the link to the pattern for crocheted comfort bears:

https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2015/12/18/crocheted-comfort-bears-by-noreen-crone-findlay/

I have been thrilled to hear from people how then intend to use the Blessing Bears.

One woman brought tears to my eyes by telling me that she’s making them to give to her children so they can give them to children at their school who have been bullied.

I’d love to hear who you are making Blessing Bears for….

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Filed under charity knitting, crafting for charity, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, knitting, teddy bear

Crocheted Comfort bears by Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay www.tottietalkscrafts. com

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.tottietalkscrafts. com

I designed these wee crocheted comfort bears many years ago.

I’ve had requests for a pattern for crocheted comfort bears, and so here is my pattern for crocheters to create wee bears to give to charities and individuals who are in need.

May they bring joy to those who make them and to those who receive them.

❤ Noreen

CROCHETED COMFORT BEAR
Designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay (c) 2001
The size of your hook and weight of your yarn will determine the gauge of the crocheting, and the finished size of your bear. When made with worsted-weight yarn, the Comfort Bear is approximately 3 inches tall. When made with Embroidery Floss, it is approximately l inch tall. In order
to make this bear, you will need to know how to make a chain, slip stitch, single crochet and double
crochet.
MATERIALS:
Larger bears in photo were made with approximately half an ounce of worsted-weight yarn. Smaller bears were made with 1 skein of embroidery floss or lace weight yarn, using one strand. I experimented with copper wire. Oh ugh! I don’t recommend it!
Black embroidery floss for embroidering the features.
Crochet Hook in a size appropriate to your size of yarn
(For larger bear: “H”
For smaller bear: Steel Size 9 (l.15 mm))
Darning needle for sewing seams
Embroidery needle for embroidering features
ABBREVIATIONS:
Ch= chain
Sc= single crochet
Dc= double crochet
Sl St= Slip stitch
Turn= turn the work over and start the next row in the last st of the last row
Y0= yarn over the hook
* to *= you will repeat the instructions that appear between the two”*” signs however many times stated in the pattern.
BEGIN WITH THE FIRST LEG:
Ch 5, leaving about 4 inches of yarn at beginning of ch. This tail will be used to sew the legs up later.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch to end. (4 sc). Ch 1 and turn.
Row 2 & 3: 4 sc, ch l, turn. Cut yarn, and draw end through last ch l.
Repeat Rows 1 – 3 for the second leg, but do not cut the yarn. Ch l and turn.
BODY:
Row 4: Work l sc in each of the 4 sc of second leg, then work l sc in each of the 4 sc of the first leg. (8
sc). Ch l and turn.
Row 5 & 6: 8 sc, ch l, turn.
HEAD:
Row 7: Sc in lst sc, (ch 2, sc in next sc)7 times. (7 ch 2 spaces formed) ch l, turn.
Row 8: 2 sc in each ch 2 sp (14 sc) ch l, turn.
Row 9: (l sc in first sc, sk next sc)7 times. (7 sc) ch l turn
Row 10: sc in lst 2 sc,(insert hook into next loop, yo, pull through st)3 times, yo, pull yarn through all 4
loops on hook, sc in last 2 sc. (5 sc) ch l turn.
Row ll: 5 sc, ch l. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of about 10 inches, pull yarn end through last ch l.
ARMS: Make 2:
Row 1: Ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each remaining ch. (3 sc) ch l, turn.
Row 2 and 3: 3 sc, ch l, turn. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of about 4 inches, pull yarn end through last ch l.
FINISHING:
Head: Gather upper edge of head and pull up tightly. Stitch.
-Sew center back seam of head.
-Stuff head.
Neck: Wrap yarn end around neck of bear 3 or 4 times, and pull up tightly.
– Stitch over the neck wraps 2 or 3 times to lock in place.
Legs: Fold the leg edges together. With the starting yarn end, sew the leg seam up to the center back.
Body: Stuff body and sew shut.
Arms: Sew arm seam, and sew arm to bear. Repeat for other arm.
 Ears: Push crochet hook into a stitch in the top of the head, yo, pull up a loop onto hook.  Ch 4.
-Cut yarn, pull end through last loop on hook.
-Tie a knot with first yarn end, then thread yarn end into darning needle, and hide yarn ends inside
head.
-Repeat for other ear.
Features: -Embroider features by stitching with straight stitches approximately 6 or 7 times for eyes and nose.
– Embroider mouth by making a single straight stitch at each side of the nose.

If you would like some help embroidering the features, please check out:

or: https://tottietalkscrafts.com/2015/12/11/knitted-comfort-bear-by-noreen-crone-findlay/

-Thread yarn ends into a darning needle, and take them inside bear’s body. Trim excess ends.

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Filed under blessing bear, crafting for charity, crochet, gifts & easy to make gifts & presents, teddy bear, tutorial & how to

Kindness and solace from tiny knitted bears

Because I offered to make the tiny knitted comfort bears LINK TO PATTERN for the Women’s Shelter, and they responded enthusiastically by asking for 40 of them by Dec 21 (eegads), I have been taking them with me everywhere I go, making making making little comfort bears.

I’ve been so grateful that friends have offered to help me with them.

It’s such a joy to sit together making these wee ambassadors of love and connection:

Arwen & Noreen at the Blue Chair cafe making Kindness Bears

Arwen & Noreen at the Blue Chair cafe making Kindness Bears

Bears at Blue Chair 2 (c)

I have been hearing really touching stories from people- the tiny bears have the amazing capacity to open hearts, so people feel safe to tell their stories…. some of which are really painful to hear, but must be heard even so.

Emily Dickinson’s poem:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,    
I shall not live in vain;    
If I can ease one life the aching,    
Or cool one pain,    
Or help one fainting robin             
Unto his nest again,    
I shall not live in vain.

has taken on even deeper meaning to me as I make these tiny ‘Kindness’ bears.

I have to admit that some of the stories that I have heard have brought tears to my eyes, and sometimes cause rage to well up at the horrors some people have endured.

If these little bears can bring solace, well, then, I , and all those who join me in making them, shall not have lived in vain.

4 Comments

December 18, 2015 · 12:58 pm