Tag Archives: small loom weaving

Carving a tiny wooden Gnome Doll

Sometimes, when you are carving a doll, you will start with one thought in mind.

But, there are times when it becomes clear that the doll wants to be something else entirely.

This just happened to me when I was carving a very small doll.

My grandson is five and he thinks babies are sublime, so he asked me to carve a baby doll.

I started…. I used a little doll that my mother owned long ago and far away in her childhood…

(Oh how I love this little doll!)

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

but soon, it became clear that it was a tiny Lady Gnome who wanted to be released from the wood….

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

And, there she is- among her friends, admiring the thimbles…

Her name is Bessie, or, just Bess, and this is how I carved her:

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Filed under doll & dolls & dollmaking & doll making, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, wooden dolls

How I carved 2 little wooden dolls from an Arbutus branch

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

We had a branch from an Arbutus tree that was trimmed from our sisters’ tree many years ago, so it is really dried out and incredibly hard.

I used it to carve 2 little dolls, and then I wove dresses for them, using Lil Weaver looms from Dewberry Ridge Looms.

Here’s a short slide show of the making of the dolls:

So much fun!!!!

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

Sigh- this is NOT the background for the book pics

While I am weaving up a storm, working on projects for my new book, I can’t post pics of what I am weaving.

You know…. you just can’t ‘scoop’ yourself and let the cat out of the bag, no matter how enticing it would be to let it out for just a very little peek.

But, nope.  It’s zipped lips and fingers off the keyboard when the itch to do a tiny reveal has to be firmly pushed down.

On the other hand, when something gets vetoed by my editor and the art dept…. I can say:

“Guess what! Here’s something that you WON’T be seeing in my new book!” 🙂

I had this bright  obviously Not so bright, idea that I would weave the background for all the project and how to photos on the peg loom.

I liked the idea.

A lot.

I wove and wove and wove for many an hour…..

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

And wove a large background piece.

And, merrily shot photographs using it.

But…..

I am learning the nuts and bolts of my new camera and so I sent photos in to my editor to make sure that the photos will be acceptable for all the manipulations that have to happen for publishing.

Oops….

The art department nixed the background.

oops.

Should have checked in on that one sooner, shouldn’t I?

oops.

Building a book is never a straight line- it’s a ziggy, zaggy, loopy and sometimes, snaggy one, indeed.

Ah, the learning curve.

All part of the journey.

Back to work I go.

🙂

But hey, at least I was able to show you something that I have been working (and working and working) on.

🙂

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Filed under Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks

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.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

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

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!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

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

Geometric Butterfly Motif to weave on the potholder loom

For the last couple of years, I have been working on a new design for the potholder loom.

It’s for a Geometric Butterfly motif- and I have finally finished the pattern for it, and for a bag and wrap made using it.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

I have listed the pdf pattern on my website on the potholder loom page  LINK

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

The Geometric Butterfly motif is wonderful for bags:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

and wraps

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com

It would also make beautiful prayer flags, pillows, afghans, vests, throws, wall hangings, table runners and whatever else your heart desires.

It’s a great way to showcase handspun yarns, but commercial yarns work just fine with it.

Tarn, or t shirt yarn is also great in the Geometric Butterfly pattern.

The pattern has full color step by step photos and diagrams, and comes with links to helpful videos.

There is a separate pdf that has all the step by step photos and instructions for how to weave all the different shapes on the potholder loom.

Isn’t it amazing what you can do on the simple potholder loom? 🙂

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

Finished my eBook on Woven Jewelry (Happy Dancing)

Do you hear that skippetty thump thump?

That’s me, happy dancing!

I’ve been working on a new eBook for more than 6 months and I have FINALLY finished it!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE! and Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 😀

What’s it about?

Jewelry Woven on weaving sticks:   LINK TO MY WEBSITE to see lotsa pics and order it, too 🙂

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I’ve designed a slew of wonderful necklaces, bracelets and pins that are just sooooooooooo neat!

Some of them, like this bracelet, are woven with t shirt yarn, so woots!

You can be super eco friendly and upcycle and recycle at the same time as weaving and wearing fab jewelry!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Speaking of being eco-friendly, I show you how to make funky, cheap and cheerful embellishments and nifty closures for necklaces and bracelets:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You can use all kinds of yarns, cords, threads, fabric strips, paper ribbon- you name it….

 

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I love weaving jewelry, and hope that you will, too!

So scoot on over to my website, and see more pics and order the book, and start weaving!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Happy weaving! 🙂

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Filed under eco crafts & green projects, jewelry, Loom & looms & small loom weaving, Peg and Stick Loom weaving, peg looms and weaving sticks, weaving & handwoven

How to weave a hexagon using continuous warping and weaving techniques on the Lily Speed O Weave loom

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

A couple of years ago, when I was working on the designs for The Lily Speed O Weave design book LINK,

I figured out how to weave a hexagon on the loom, using continuous weaving methods.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The method is slightly tricky (it took me a LOT of experimenting to figure it out!) and has one disadvantage….

You have to use quite bulky yarn or else the hexagon is really loopy and open meshy (aka ‘sleazy’).

I decided that this made it not worthwhile to share the technique, as the knotting technique that was traditional for the Lily Speed O Weave loom allowed you to use absolutely any weight of yarn or thread.

Besides, I had figured out a way of speeding up and streamlining the knotting process, so I decided to just go with that.

But, a few days ago, a lady on Ravelry asked if anyone knew how to weave continuously on the hex loom and wasn’t into the knotting technique.

So, I figured…. okay…. I’ll make a video showing how to do this….

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The secret to weaving continuously on the Lily Speed O weave looms?

Mashing up triangle loom weaving techniques with the continuous weaving technique of the potholder loom.

AND>>>> There’s a VERY important switcheroo that you have to make, mid-stream, as it were.  🙂

Once you have mastered the technique, it’s REALLY quick and easy to weave up hexagons on the Lily Speed O Weave loom!

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

And, here’s the video to show you how to do it:

Happy Hexagons! 🙂

 

 

 

 

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

Woven Women- Child in the Shadows

I’ve decided that once a week, I am going  to post a photo of one of the pieces from my solo show of tapestries and woven works, ‘Woven Women’.

This week, it’s : ‘Child in the Shadows’.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I love working with images of shadows.

I wove this little tapestry using Soumak stitch.

It’s 8 1/2 inches wide by 9 1/2 inches tall.

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

Easels and other useful supports for small looms

Several weeks ago, we went to the very last garage sale of the season (brrrr).

While we were there,  Jim pointed at a tripod and asked if it would work to support a loom.

I was delighted!  YES!!!

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Noreen Crone-Findlay

I twiddled around with a protractor, a compass, and paper, and made a template to make a shelf for it.

Then  I cut 3 notches in a board, and Voila! a perfect shelf to hold my looms.

I can raise or lower the tripod to any height, and tip and tilt it to any angle.

It’s really lightweight, but very sturdily built. What a find!

To say that I am thrilled with it is a huge understatement!

Another wonderful garage sale find was this lovely table top easel:

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Noreen Crone-Findlay

It works great for small looms, and also for holding books and patterns:

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Noreen Crone-Findlay

Music stands (only the really sturdy ones) are also great for holding books and patterns, and also for holding small looms, too.

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Noreen Crone-Findlay

Another really useful support for small looms is a laptop pillow desk….

copyright
Noreen Crone-Findlay

I really like that I can smoosh it around to make it sit at the perfect angle for comfortably weaving in my lap.

The flat part of mine is leather, so it’s a touch slippery.

I put a small piece of suede on the surface, which keeps the loom from skittering around.

Also, it works in the car, to support the loom comfortably while I weave and Jim drives 🙂

It’s amazing how many weaving treasures you can find at garage sales.

That’s what keeps me going back to them…. 🙂

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