I promised to show what I have been doing with the upcycled paper yarn.

Well…

I’ve been working on a couple of things.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I knitted a little pocket doll with the yarn.

Myeh.  It wasn’t magical.

So I frogged it.

And, then, I followed my intuition. One of the b5 bloggers wrote recently that her little girl was saddened by being told that Unicorns are not real.

I thought…. hmmm…. why not show her that the realm of imagination is alive and well?

So, I got out my potholder loom, and started weaving the paper yarn.

and guess what I wove?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

A Unicorn, of course!

Weaving the paper yarn

is a lot like weaving wire.

Neither of them have

any give, so it’s essential

to warp the loom so loosely

that it is almost crazy making.

BUT…

the completed weaving

is wonderfully maleable

and sculptable, so

the pain in the neck-ed-ness

of weaving with it is worth it.

Although, weaving with normal ‘yarn’ yarn is infinitely easier!

The  paper yarn crochets well too and I quite like the way it can be sculpted. I am working on a crocheted piece that I am making with the paper yarn that I upcycled from the Blue Man streamers. Stay tuned! I’ll post pics of it.

The pattern for the woven unicorn is available at: Potholder Loom Magical Creatures because, yes, the world of imagination is indeed essential, important and must be cherished!

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You’ll need: A ball of pink yarn (I used Bernat Denimstyle in Weathered Rose)

A Potholder Loom,a weaving hook, a chopstick,a crochet hook,

a 4 peg spool knitter, a loop lifter,

a craft needle, a ruler, a dime, scissors, about an ounce of polyester stuffing,

about 10 inches of red yarn, a paper punch for circles, a paper punch for the heart,

or cut it out of junk mail freehand, thick craft glue, a bee button (ONLY for older children – NEVER use buttons, charms or beads on any toy or doll that you give to any child that is under the age of 7 years old), about 2 square inches (5 cm) of black felt for eyes.

Weave one square on your potholder loom, using two strands of yarn held together.

Spool knit the following  cords with all 4 pegs, using only 1 strand of yarn:

For the ears: 2 cords that are each 4 inches (10 cm) long

For the paws: 4 cords that are each 2 inches (5 cm) long.

Now, click on the video, and make yourself a Springtime Plushie Potholder Loom and Spool knitted Bunny!

All images, text, video and layout are copyright.  Video and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

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I was weaving away on my potholder loom, so there’s even a little fiber content in the video!

Jim wrote ‘Gypsy Girl’ for me…. sigh……  having him write music for me is one of the most incredible gifts I have ever received!

photo and video by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I was sitting quite far away from the bass player, so, sadly, you don’t hear much of the bass.

I was sitting with one of my closest friends, who hadn’t heard ‘Gypsy Girl’ yet.

You’ll hear her say: Wow….. and me laughing in delight

at the end of the video.

That’s my ubiquitous cup of green tea next to my potholder loom.

The little wooden notebook in the pic is one that I made my friend for Christmas, and the white crochet is the bag I crocheted for her for her birthday.

It’s the prototype for the bag in Book 1 of the Strapped for Bags series.

Anyhow… I hope that you’ll enjoy ‘Gypsy Girl’ (even though it’s a YouTube video and NOT recording standard by any means….)

That’s my Beloved in the red shirt, playing the guitar…..

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I absolutely love the Potholder Loom.

It’s a loom that is seriously under appreciated.

Many people were introduced to the potholder loom when they were children.

They began weaving with loops of nylon or cotton that were offcuts from the sock industry.

This has tended to fix the idea in people’s minds that loopers are what potholder looms are all about.

No no no no no no no no!

Luckily, I didn’t have a potholder loom when I was a kid, because I would hate to be stuck with the looper misconception.

Potholder looms are simple, basic square looms that are delightfully portable and offer infinite creative possibilities!

My Weavagarumi Plushie Critters are my latest designs for the Potholder loom,  and I am tickled pink with them.

Here are a few of them:

Weavagarumi Kitty, Ladybug and Bluebird of Happiness photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And

Weavagarumi Lemon, Orange and Apple photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

As I have been designing and weaving them, I have been grinning from ear to ear. They simply fill me with delight.

Potholder looms just plain rock! Here’s to simplicity, affordability and portability, as well as unlimited creativity!

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Ah well, today, May 5, is still cause for celebration. It’s Children’s  Day in Japan.  (Used to be Boy’s Hero Day, but now it’s more family oriented)

So, even though I missed the Doll Day festivities  (note to self: March 3! March 3! March 3!), I figured that Children’s Day is still cause for  Celebration on Hankering for Yarn!

There are a million ways of having fun with yarn and kids on Children’s Day:

click  on “potholder Loom Weaving’ in the categories at the right hand side of the page, and all kinds of great fun will unfold for you!

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One thing that is truly lovely about potholder looms is that you can buy the absolute Cadillac of the potholder loom world for very little money…. less than the price of a movie and popcorn!

Which loom am I speaking about?

Metal potholder looms by Harrisville photographed on a shawl woven with the Harrisville Looms potholder loom and handspun yarn.

The metal potholder loom from Harrisville is a true winner.

the edges are finished beautifully

the pegs are softly turned out to keep the yarn on the loom

the  pegs are sturdy and don’t bend or flex

Harrisville’s potholder loom is going to last several lifetimes….. AND…….

it just feels so pleasant in your hand!

I am a dyed in the wool  ‘Yarnie’, so I am not keen on loops.

I’ve designed a ton of projects to weave on potholder looms and will continue to design for this marvelous little loom!

Don’t forget that I have made a couple of little videos to show how to weave with yarn on the potholder loom.

Part one

Part two 

So, get out your potholder loom and click on the ‘potholder loom’ category on the right hand side of this page, and start weaving!

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