Tag Archives: Noreen Crone-Findlay

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

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

Woven Women: Stardust Woman

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

For many months, I have been working on a new Woven Woman that is based on Rumi’s poem:

‘We came whirling out of nothingness

Scattering stars like dust…..

The stars made a circle

and in the middle

we danced’

I wove the words on the magical narrow band loom that my son and I created- LINK

using a double slotted rigid heddle.

To weave the letters, I graphed out my hand writing and experimented until the letters wove up in a pleasing manner, both technically, and aesthetically.

I also used the dragonfly and star looms that I designed for Dewberry Ridge looms – LINK

And, I included some tatting, too.

I made the face and hands from 1/2 inch plywood and the backdrop from 1/4 inch plywood.

She’s a departure from the direction I have been going with my Woven Women, so I really questioned myself about her.

She spent quite a long time on the dining room table as I moved her component parts from here to there.

And now,  completed, she measures 11 inches wide and from the top of the arch to the tassel at her hem is more than 60 inches.

But, I feel really drawn to weave words right now, so I will continue to do more….

The next Woven Woman is on the loom already. 🙂

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My grandson designs a truck

Last June, our grandson and I made a wooden doll together.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay  www.tottietalkscrafts.com

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

We had fun doing it, but he didn’t express an interest in doing any more woodworking, so I haven’t brought it up.

BUT…. on Thursday, when we picked him up at Kindergarden, he was dancing with delight because it had ~finally~ been his turn for show and tell and he could hardly wait to show me what he had shared.

He proudly pulled his wooden doll out of his backpack and beamed at me. He was so happy!

Well, I did the ‘granny-swoon’- being washed over with gratitude at my darling boy’s choice of what was ~really~ precious to him.  Melt, melt, melt.

I asked him if he was interested in making more dolls and he said: ‘Of course!’.

I got a piece of wood and asked him if he was more interested in making a doll or a truck and he voted for truck.

He drew the truck and I cut it out on the band saw and sanded it for him.

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

We didn’t have time for paint, so he worked with markers and will use paint at home with his Mamma.

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

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

Sigh.  I LOVE these precious times. ❤

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Filed under personal stuff

An adorable gift

A dear friend of mine sent me the sweetest gift- a delightful little vintage dog who is very at home with the Story Door Dolls!

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

Her name is, ‘Lupin’, and she arrived with magical little vintage postcards that the Story Door Dolls loved!

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

Itty loved the postcard of the sailing ships as it reminded her of her great adventure!

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

Coco loved the postcard of the castle- she thought that it looked like it was right out of a fairy tale.

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

Lupin offered to give Itty and Coco as many rides as they would like.

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

Lupin has settled into the Story Door wall doll house  happily and gets along very well with the other resident dogs. Itty was concerned about how the cat and turtle would handle having another dog in the house so, she  ambled off to have a chat with them.

Thank you so much, darlin’ Caroline for this wonderful addition to the Story Door dolls! ❤

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