Oops… in the previous post, the link to the video was not working.
Sorry about that!
Here’s the correct link to the video:
Happy weaving!
Tag Archives: style
How to weave a boho or hobo bag on the triangle loom
My daughter sewed me a couple of gorgeous triangle shaped bags that got me thinking….
‘Hmmmm…. could I weave a triangular shaped bag?’
And, the answer was so obvious that it was a palm to forehead moment!
Duh! Use the triangle loom!
So, I did, and here’s the result:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
http://www.crone-findlay.com
The easiest bag ~ever~!!!!
These bags are so comfortable to use- they hug your body!
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
I designed it so there are 2 pockets on the outside for glasses, cellphone, business cards, lip gloss etc
I wove mine on the 3 foot configuration of my Dewberry Ridge Triangle loom LINK to their site.
But, you could weave it on the 6 foot configuration, too, if you prefer.
Demonstrating with the full size triangles was too hard to get into the screen of the video camera,
so I used triangles woven on my 14 inch triangle:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
The finished bag is about 24 inches from the tip of the handle to the base point and about 18 inches across:
It’s such a fun and easy bag to make, I know that I am going to be making a whole lot more of them!
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay http://www.crone-findlay.com
Here’s the video tutorial on how to make them:
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
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
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
You can use all kinds of yarns, cords, threads, fabric strips, paper ribbon- you name it….
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
Happy weaving! 🙂
Dreaming of color and weaving the vest
Last Sunday morning, I had an inspiring dream.
I dreamt that I was invited to visit the workroom of a friend who passed on awhile ago.
She and I had written back and forth for several years before her death.
I still hold her dear in my heart, even though we never got to meet, face to face, in this world.
Anyhow, in the dream, I was invited into 2 gorgeous little rooms that were full, floor to ceiling, with antique drawers and shelves, full of exquisite handmade lace and yarn, and thread and weaving and embroidery.
It gave me a whole new view of heaven! 😀
I was particularly moved by the colors of one jacket and 2 bags that were woven with a range of reds and blues and then embroidered with yellow silk thread.
For the rest of this week, I have been glued to my loom, and then my sewing machine, weaving a vest that was inspired by the dream.
It has been such an interesting voyage of discovery, as it took me places that I didn’t expect to go, and it had it’s own rules and requirements.
Here it is:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I wove it on my Saori loom, blending the yarns on the bobbin, and adding and picking up strands of weft as I wove.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I knew that I was going to be shaping the vest by pulling on warp strands to add the curves that would build the vest, so I worked at making the shapes of the clasped weft be conducive to the warp pulling process.
I had thought that I would use the narrow band to add another ruffle to the outside edge, but I decided instead, to use it to weave the back of the vest.
This is one of the things I love about Saori weaving- being able to do freeform work that takes off in a different direction than I had originally planned!
I like to shape the garment after I have woven it, so I do my warp pulling after the weaving is off the loom, and don’t do any shaping on the loom.
The butterfly was woven while it was still on the loom.
I had thought that I would embroider lots of dragonflies onto the vest.
I didn’t embroider the dragonflies while it was on the loom, as I wasn’t sure where I would be placing the pulled warp sections, and didn’t want the embroidery to be distorted or to interfere with the pulling process.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I had woven the butterfly a couple of weeks ago, and set it aside, as the piece that it had originally been part of felt like it was a ‘fail’.
How wrong I was! The butterfly and another section of the ‘fail’, fitted into the back of the vest just perfectly.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I thought that I would tat some dragonflies and stitch them on, but they just didn’t work.
It’s a wonderfully comfortable vest, and every time I wear it, I will think of a dear friend, and how she still inspires me!
So, my friends, here’s to life, to color, to love, and to the creative process!
May you weave sweet, colorful dreams! 😀
And, here is a video on how to shape fabric by pulling warp strands:
Bead love
I love beads- how could I NOT love beads?
The colors! the textures! the complete wonderfulness of them- sigh….
For many years, I did a lot of off loom beading- using brick stitch and peyote stitch to create pieces like this necklace:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
This necklace is an homage to the Minoan Goddess of the Bees.
The blue teardrop shapes are dew drops, as the Minoan Goddess of the Bees is also known as ‘The Dewdrop Goddess’.
I love that—- dew happens when the earth is waking up and shifting from the dreamtime to the waking world.
How wonderful that there is a tiny Goddess there, guiding us back from our dreams, to our waking lives, and refreshing our spirits with dewdrops!
The red petal is a pomegranate seed, as The Minoan Goddess of the Bees is also closely aligned with the Goddess, Persephone.
Persephone was snatched from this world, and taken to the underworld, where she ate 3 pomegranate seeds. This meant that she had to return to the depths for 6 months of every year.
In Western Canada, where we live, winter reigns for at least 6 months of the year, often longer, so I resonate deeply with Persephone’s journey!
By the way, I love how the corded part of the necklace formed a figure ‘8’ – tilt it sideways, and you have infinity!
I worked the cord in peyote stitch, using tiny brass beads that a friend found in a thrift shop. Nice!!! 🙂
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I carved her face from a tagua nut (an ecologically harvested palm nut) that is also known as vegetable ivory.
I have never done much loom beading, but that is about to change!
Every year, Claudia and Elena at Mirrix looms have a ‘social media campaign’.
They choose 2 weavers (a bead weaver and a tapestry weaver) to be part of the team, and then give them each a Mirrix loom.
Then, the weavers blog and post and tweet and fb etc about their adventures with their Mirrix looms for 4 months.
Well… I am soooooooooooooo delighted!
They picked me as one of their weavers! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A few weeks ago, I bought a Mirrix Joni from another Canadian weaver who hadn’t bonded with it. I am working on a series of woven tapestries and fiber arts collages and I need Joni Mirrix to be my loomie for that 😀
Woots! I fell madly in love with Joni Mirrix (although I felt unworthy of her at first… will tell you more about it, later) and thought-
‘Hmmmmm… there must be a Ravelry group for Mirrix looms’.
I looked for it, and sure enough, there is! Link
I joined, and the first thing I saw was that they were having their annual Social Media networking campaign.
I sent in my application, and last night, I was doing a huge happy dance to discover that I got picked for the team!
(good thing I don’t have to catch a ball or throw one to be on the team, or else I would still be standing on the sidelines! ahem)
Oh ho! I want to fill my studio with Mirrix looms, (tapestry is slow, and I want to be doing bead weaving, toooooooo, so I am just ecstatic!)
Speaking of bead weaving, I treated myself to Claudia’s bracelet workshop on Craftsy  (anyone who has seen any of my video tutorials will know that I am madly in love with bracelets!) and I am chomping at the bit to get going on a bunch of yummy woven bracelets!
Alright…. back to work on design deadlines so I get back to my weaving!
Go gently! 🙂
Oh! PS: if you would like to knit yourself a Minoan Goddess of the Bees, I designed one for you to knit, and can be ordered here:
Link to the doll page on my website (scroll down, waaaaaaaaay down the page to click the ‘buy now’ button)
Tottie Talks Crafts Blog 