LOL! I just realized that this kind of gives me a new sense of the term: ‘Dream Weaver’…..

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

Anyhow, after all the great weaving dreams, the call of  my Saori loom is just not to be ignored.

Saori weaving is all about listening to inner promptings and setting aside critical voices.

The point of Saori weaving is to focus on the creative process, which is dear to my heart.

So, in that mindset, I gave myself permission to just follow whatever interesting thoughts came up with this weaving, and to see where it lead me.

I wanted to make placemats that have a light hearted feeling.

Also, I want them to be obviously a set, but with each one being unique because of small touches.

I have been playing with doing very simple inlaid sections of contrasting weft.

It struck me that working tambour chain stitching around the inlays would be neat….

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

And, of course, one thing always leads to another.

When I was playing with the tambour chain stitch, it struck me that using an embroidery needle would be easier.

So, the spiral in this pic lead me to the little embroidered flower….

and then I thought….

hmmm…..

combining inlay with simple embroidered shapes

would be interesting…..

So, I got out my sketchbook

and did a quick sketch of a bunny.

I glued it to a piece of card stock and cut it out.  Then, I wove a section of inlay:

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

I traced around the bunny shape, (directly onto the white inlaid section)  and then, embroidered a simple chain stitch outline.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

I am deliberately keeping the shapes simple, as I want the placemats to not be over-embellished.

Oh! I just had a thought….

I think I’ll ask my family what shapes they’d like to see on the placemats, since they are going to be using them!

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photo by Gwen Blakely Kinsler used with permission

The combination of weaving and embroidery is dazzling.

When I saw the photo of the embroidered doll figure in among the spectacular flowers, I was intrigued.

This enigmatic little figure makes me wonder: Is she a Day of the Dead figure? Is that a skull or just an elegantly simplified face?

Is that skirt a spider’s web?

And, where is her other arm?

Anyhow, I knew that I just had to share Gwen’s article with you…. the colors and textures and patterns  of the handmade dresses and garments in her collection are just so inspiring.

Here’s the link to the Pieceworks article: Textile Traditions.

Enjoy.

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Susan’s Joy Piece:

Susan's joy piece copyright

Susan wrote:

Hey Noreen,

Here is my first entry! I had a great time making this. First time all around! I chose a butterfly because they are signs of renewal and Spring is all about renewal of trees, flowers, everything! So I call this Renewal of the heart.

I made the square out of Bamboo Yarn on my Hazel Rose weaving loom 4 inch, followed by my colorful butterfly which I spool knit and the antennas are chenille stem with lil black beads. So as not to attract away from my butterfly I used yarn to free hand a flower LOL! I am very proud of my lil french knot in the middle of flower! Took me a while to figure that out. Thank God for the internet!

Not sure of what I am gonna do with this frame it without glass or magnet for fridge? Any ideas much appreciated!

Please let me know if you are able to view it and it will need to be resized I am not good at any of this blogging or posting pics.

Thank you so much for this challenge! Now on to my next creation!

Thank you
Susan

Caroline’s  Healing Mini quilt:

Caroline's healing Goddess mini quilt

Caroline wrote:

I thought you might like to see this small quilt embroidery that I stitched in 2007after my return home after a cancer operation ( see the scar! ) I hung it near my bed where I could see it when I woke in the morning….. the phoenix like image ties in to my sun sign, Scorpio. It was a way of expessing a lot of emotion without using words.

Sorry didn’t mean to sound so serious but I was SOOO glad to be home…..PURE JOY!!

Bye for Now

Caroline

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Embroidery + dollmaking =  fun )

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I love, love, L O V E  designing embroidered dolls, and have designed a heap of ‘em….. here’s a few of them….

I love punch needle embroidery and have been doing it forever.  Punch needle embroidery is poifeck for making really great dolls.

Yep. Fun.

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I have just given Lady Godiva to our daughter

and Giselbertus’ Eve Revisted to our son.

Well… when I was rumaging around in a box, I found an embroidered doll that I made a million years ago….

She’s Lillith, and she still makes me grin:

I was working on a new doll yesterday, and was thinking that her  face looked familiar.

Couldn’t place it though – and then Lillith suddenly popped up out of a box.

I was surprised by the way the new doll’s face looks very much like Lillith’s! hmmmm….

Makes ya wonder, doesn’t it?  Did mischievous little Lillith get fed up with being stuck in a box, and call out to be given some fresh air and a new lease on life?

I think we all have moments like that!

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A posting or two ago, I showed pics of a tapestry that I embroidered long ago and far away, when I was in art school: Lady Godiva

I decided that some day, I would give it to my first born child.  She now owns it, and it feels like a  promise has been kept.

It took about a year of intense embroidering to complete Lady Godiva, and then I began a second embroidered piece that I decided would some day belong to my second born child.

I fell in love with a small black and white photograph of  a medieval carving of Eve, by the sculptor Giselbertus.

I embroidered an homage to that sculptor and the sculpture.   I had always told my children that the tapestries belonged to them, but my son took a long time to get comfortable with owning Giselbertus’ Eve Revisited.

He loves it now, and he and his wife  have taken possession of it.

Here are some pics of it………

I googled to see if I could find a pic of the  actual sculpture, and I did! So, here’s a pic I found on the web of the original sculpture

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More than 30 years ago, when I was young and children were only a distant dream, I sat down and embroidered some tapestries for those dream children.

Not long after, I met the man of my dreams, and we fell in love and have stayed and deepened and grown in love.

AND…. the best part is……. we did have those 2 dream children.

Our wonderful daughter has just taken home one of the embroidered tapestries: Lady Godiva………

I embroidered Lady Godiva with the intention that someday, my first born child would take this tapestry and know that it was a pledge of friendship between us. And, every time she looks at the tapestry, she’ll know that she was welcomed, wanted, waited for, cherished and loved.

And, some day, I hope that there will be another young woman who will pat the Lady Godiva tapestry and say:

‘I had a grandmother who lived and loved well!’

If you ever happen upon Lark publishing’s first Fiber Arts Design book, there’s a tiny pic of this tapestry in it.

This is what our daughter and her husband took home with them this evening:

Here are more pics of Lady Godiva……

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