photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There are also tutorials

on the web

for spectacular

masks for

crocheters and

tatters.

Here are links for some dazzlers:

Have you seen the tutorial for the exquisite Tatted Mask on Instructables? Awe inspiring!

And, here’s a link for a gorgeous Hairpin Lace  Mask from Stitch Diva.

If you are looking for something a little more whimsical, then Melissa Mall’s crocheted critter  1/2 masks on Crochet Me might be just perfect: Critter masks

If you would like to be inspired  by the sculptural potential of crochet, then definitely check out the crocheted mask gallery of

Nicki Hitz Edson: Gallery

The woven masks of Susan Barrett Merrill are breathtaking. They are an exploration of spirit and soul: Zati Masks.

And what if you need a snoozy little mask to ease your naptime? Ah, then, the  Goodnight Mask by Regina Rioux Gonzalez is the answer.

So…. there you have it… yarn is unmasked as the secret ingredient of all manner of masks, from giddy to glorious!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I’ve been reading up on ‘play’ (click the link to read what wikipedia has to say about play)

image & photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and playfulness.

Expert after expert has talked about the importance of being playful

for our entire lives.

There was a wonderful conference about Serious Play last year.

All the experts agree:

Play is essential to our well being, in body, mind and spirit – as individuals and as communities.

Being playful can alleviate all kinds of stress.

Playfulness increases resiliency and flexibility….and, whew… do we ever need to be flexible these days!

Because of the grim situation with the economy, we are all rattled and frazzled to some extent or another…. sooooooooooo…….

I thought……….

How about starting a challenge of playfulness?

Here’s the scoop:

For the month of April, I would like to challenge you to  show us all

your face of joy.  What does that mean?

Well, play with some yarn and make a face that shows an image of joy,

image & photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

whatever that means and however you interpret that. NO! you don’t have to be an “artist”  !  A few simple lines CAN convey joy!

For example: I drew a ‘joy’ face with spool knitted cord. (1st pic)

Then, I played with my photoshop program in the 2nd pic. (you don’t

have to do that…. I just wanted to play with it!)

The RULES:

1] Make a face that shows joy- BUT… the face MUST have yarn as some part of it. (Thread and string and wire all are going to count as yarn for this challenge).

2]Any technique that uses yarn IN ANY WAY to make a face, and, the more playful the better! (You can make a mask or a puppet or a doll or a wall hanging or or or… )

(knitting,weaving, crochet, photo collage, spool knitting, tatting, beading, embroidery… and…. and… or…..

ANY playful way you can think of to make a face  of JOY and you’re in!)

3] Send me a pic of your Face of Joy OR blog about it and link to this posting.

4] The challenge lasts for the month of April

5] You can make as many faces of joy as you would like….. please post a comment with your blog links if you’re going to post the pics on your blog, so people can see what you are up to.

6] Would winning a prize bring a smile to your face? Well…. I thought that it might…. so, I am going to give one of the challenge participants one of the one of a kind Homage to Jane Austen crochet hooks that I carved: ( I do ask that the winner pays the postage… sorry about that part…. )

image & photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

image & photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

All right! Now go have some fun! and make some faces of JOY!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Here are the links for my mixed media woven dolls:

Woven Earth Listener Angel  Doll

Dame Julian and Neni 

Three young spritely spirited mixed media dolls 

Mixed media dolls with found objects 

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Here are some more of my mixed media woven dolls:

A woven Menopause Fairy Doll

and a collection of my ‘Reclaiming Dolls’ (Dolls that have parts made from reclaimed, recycled or re-purposed components and found objects,  as well as weaving):

I’ve put together a Links posting so you can catch the group of postings on mixed media woven dolls.

Hmm, it just struck me that they are like three dimensional collages. Neat!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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These dolls are more whimsical:

I spun the yarn and then wove them on potholder looms and combined them will all kinds of mixed media: Leather, wood, stones, metal, wire, buttons and more….

Next posting:

More whimsical mixed media woven dolls.

Some of my readers are on dial up so they’ve asked me to not put toooooooooo many pix in each entry.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay(c) 

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Several people asked if I had pics of any of my other woven mixed media dolls. Why yes! Here are some:

Homage to Dame Julian of Norwich. I wove her on my inkle loom and several small vintage looms. Her hands and face are crocheted. I used cotton and linen to make her. Her body is wood that I carved before stitching on the weaving and attaching her armature.

This is Neni. She’s another Earth Angel doll.

I wove her on the vintage equivalent of Butterfly Looms.

I carved her head, hands, wings and shoes from wood, and drew and burned the face and patterns for the wings.

The buttons came from Grandma’s button jar so are more than 50 years old.

In my next posting: More mixed media woven dolls

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay(c) 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I’ve finished sculpting the head:

and have finished spinning the yarn for the doll:

My best friend gave me a bag of lovely merino/tencel:

That I spun on my wheel, then plyed with my navaho spindle:

I warped up the loom

and wove one panel that just didn’t do it for me,

So, I frogged it, and re-warped the loom.

I am one of those people who would rather take something apart and re-do it rather than leave it if I don’t like it.

Taking it apart is quite contemplative, as it allows me to give myself a second (or third or fourth) chance.

I like the feeling that weaving is not written in stone.

Knowing that I can easily unweave a piece gives me tremendous freedom to be very adventurous with my materials.

I’ve just gotten a tiny bit woven on the new warp, so will start taking pics as I get a little more weaving happening.

I’ll post pics as the doll starts to emerge.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn