Tag Archives: Noreen Crone-Findlay

March 20, 2014 · 1:35 pm

Handmade wooden buttons

There’s been a nice long hiatus since the winter maker’s faires ended and the spring ones begin.

I’ve taken advantage of the time away from the markets/faires to be extremely productive.

I love making (and using!) handmade wooden buttons, so I have been ‘button, buttoning’ like mad.

(and of course, had to build a display for them, too!)

I am sooooooo pleased with how they have turned out.

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

I’ll have them at the next Mercer Maker’s Market on Saturday March 29 from 10 -4 (The Mercer is on the corner of 104 ave and 104 St), so Edmonton peeps, I hope to see you there!

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Filed under buttons, eco crafts & green projects

Tagged as Artisan's faires, hand made wooden buttons, Maker's Markets, Noreen Crone-Findlay, wood buttons, wooden buttons

March 14, 2014 · 9:48 pm

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!

7 Comments

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

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! 😀

Tottie and the Mermaids

Tottie Tomato thinks she’s dreaming!

Two Mermaids have come to live in the studio, and she is thrilled….

They have been singing beautiful songs to her

and telling her stories of the seashore,

and of ships that sail….

Tottie Tomato went to the ocean once, very long ago, the summer that she was born,

and she has been longing to go back.

Perhaps her dream will come true?

And, maybe the Mermaids will help her dream come true!

(And, if Mermaids are in your dreams, you can order my pattern from my website: LINK

or etsy shop: LINK or Ravelry shop LINK)

May the Mermaids sing sweetly to you!

3 Comments

Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Tottie Tomato Loves

Tagged as crocheted doll, crocheted Mermaid doll, mermaid, mermaid doll pattern, mermaids, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Tottie Tomato

February 21, 2014 · 8:40 am

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!

3 Comments

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

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)

3 Comments

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 17, 2014 · 11:35 am

Tips for embroidering on woven Zoom Loom or pin style looms

In my previous post, I showed how to weave a tiny square on the Zoom Loom.

That’s because there’s a fun ‘Weave along’ on the Zoom loom group on Ravelry- all about weaving dolls on the Zoom loom.

I’ve just embroidered the face for my ‘Winter’ doll

I thought that I would make a little video, offering a few tips about embroidering on the squares that you weave on the Zoom Loom.

These tips also work on any other pin style loom or potholder loom, or many of the small looms that are available nowadays.

5 Comments

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

Tagged as 4 seasons dolls, embroidery on small looms, hints and tips, how to embroider on the Zoom Loom, Noreen Crone-Findlay, Ravelry weave along, video tutorial, weaving a doll, woven doll, woven dolls, Zoom Loom by Schacht looms

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!

5 Comments

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.

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).

8 Comments

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