photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The flowers from

flower looms work

beautifully  in combination

with crochet.

I quite like using

unusual yarns with

the flower looms.

This is slubbly quite

hefty silk handspun

in a shawl.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here are a

bunch of flower loom

flowers in another

shawl- also all

made in handspun yarns.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The rainbow  flower

was made with

spool knitted cord

on a flower loom.

The white flower

was made with chained

yarn…..

so you can really play with

your yarn before you use it

with a flower loom.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

What are those flowers part of?

Well…

a wild and wonderful

freeform crocheted, spool knitted,

tatted, woven, sewn, sculpted

doll made with all manner of

found objects.

Yes…. her

head REALLY is a vintage

shaving brush.

Aren’t her shoes cute?

The red square was made with a

magic loom and soft ribbon.

flower looms and freeform crochet photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here’s the back of the doll.

I used black  ribbon with

the flower loom,

and with the magic loom,

and a fair amount of spool knitting,

and crochet, with lots

of vintage buttons, a little lego,

beads, and found objects.

Putting together

all the diverse elements

in a cohesive way

can be challenging.

flower looms and freeform crochet photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

But, seeing the possibilities

for creative adaptive re-use,

aka: Upcycling found and

discarded objects and

using them to create

wild and funky dolls

that are an expression

of human experience

is one of the great joys of

my life….

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I have to apologize

for a mistake

that I made

when I was

making the video.

I have been

plying yarn

like mad, and

I always spin it

counterclockwise

when plying yarn. So, I kind of was running on ‘automatic’ and just kept spinning counterclockwise, which is not a problem, as you can spin tissue paper yarn either clockwise or counterclockwise.

BUT… I said I was spinning clockwise, when I wasn’t. So, doh, brain function.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Actually,

ahem.

The entire

video is

rather ‘casual’!

My husband came

into the studio

as I was shooting

the video, which

sent the dogs into

orbits of exultant and noisy delight.

And, at the end of the video, I whalloped into the camera stand and sent it careening. Oops….. ah well… c’est la vie!

It may be wonky, but it still shows you how to upcycle tissue paper into rather spiffy yarn.

Here’s the video:

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Well, now you can treat yourself to that shirt and upcycle it by crocheting simple flowers to cover the unwanted logo.

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

The other day, I was looking at my summer clothes (finally – what a long winter!)

And, I realized that I needed a new black t-shirt.

My old ones  are beyond wearing, and are destined to become fabric strips for weaving.

They’ll also become rags and other ‘green’ options.

Later that day, we were at a garage sale, and Tah-dah!

There was the PERFECT shirt- black, short sleeves, cute button front…. perfect!

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

The only problem was that there was a very obvious company logo on the back of the shirt , just below the collar.

I had been working on the Simple Crocheted Flower Jewelry tutorial, so immediately, it struck me-  Whee!

I could use the crocheted flower motifs to cover the unwanted logo!   YES!!!

(click the link in bold letters to go to the tute and instructions)

So, I got out one of my most favorite ever threads: South Maid mercerized cotton in Mexicana, and a ball of Aunt Lydia’s Size 3 Fashion Crochet thread in Warm Blue, and a ball of Red Heart Hula in Orangina. I used a 1.75 mm hook for the rainbow thread and a 3.5 mm hook for the orange and blue. I crocheted up a medley of flowers and pinned them over the logo:

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Then, I stitched the flowers to the shirt, and added a couple of vintage buttons, and a bead or two:

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

and the ‘new to me’ shirt is now gloriously and completely mine all mine!

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

I am really pleased with the way this shirt turned out. I have another one that has an unwanted logo on it, and guess what?

It’s going to get upcycled with crocheted flowers, too!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn