Some of them old as the hills and others more recently acquired treasures?

I think everyone does.

Recently, a friend asked me about weaving books.

If I had just a handful of weaving books in my studio, which ones would they be?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Great question.  A handful… hmmm… five fingers on a hand, so five favorite weaving books…..

I could cheat and list the ones I have written, but I think that she was asking me for five books ~AS WELL AS~ the books I have written

I am going to start with an oldie but a goodie.

I bought my copy of

NEW DESIGN IN WEAVING

by Donald J. Willcox,

copyright 1970,

in our favorite 2nd hand store.

At first, I didn’t love it.

Why?

Because all the photos are in black and white, and I am spoiled by the lusciousness of being able to feast my eyes on full color any time of day or night, courtesy of the interwebs.

BUT…. once I got past the dreariness of black and white photos, I have been awestruck, over and over, by the knock out whammo inspiration that this unprepossessing little book is chock full of.

There are almost 200 photos in the book. They are clear and show a combination of closeups and full figure images.

There’s a little of the Seventies Silliness, but only the teeniest bit.  In fact, most of the pieces in the book stand the test of time, and are fine and handsome work 40 years after their creation.

I did a little scoping around on the net to see if you can still find copies of  New Design in Weaving, and yes, indeed you can. Some of the prices made me gasp, but, there were a fair few copies available through Amazon.com at rock bottom prices.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

My next vote to stay on the island is

INKLE WEAVING

by Helene Bress

I’ve had my copy since 1994.

This book is, quite simply,

the Bible of Inkle Weaving.

If you want to learn how to

weave on the inkle loom,

then you will want to own

this book.

It’s just that simple.

My one difference of opinion with Ms. Bress is that she is very anti- double sided inkle looms. Personally, I love having the stability of a double sided inkle loom, and have learned to compensate for the inconvenience of having both sides closed.

Her instructions are excellent, and she is generous in her charts and graphs. Again, the pics are just in B&W, but they are clear and comprehensive.

I googled to see if she has a website, but didn’t find one.  I did find a heap of links to buy the book, so if you don’t have it, then you are in luck, as it is still available.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

My next choice is  another classic.

If you have

treated yourself

to a Cricket  or

an Asheville

Knitter’s loom , or

other  rigid heddle

loom,

you MUST treat

yourself to

this book.

Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving is beautifully written, with clear and articulate instructions, and joy of joys, the photos are in color!

Betty Linn Davenport proves that there is a lifetime’s worth of exploration in the humble rigid heddle loom. She shows all kinds of techniques that will have weavers honing their skills for years.

It’s a lovely book!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

ZATI: THE ART OF WEAVING A LIFE by Susan Barrett Merrill is a gorgeous book. It is an exploration of the mindful, contemplative and healing art of weaving.

Ms Merrill has designed a very simple loom: The Journey loom that is a lovely version of a frame loom. It looks like a pictograph of ‘home’.

She has also designed larger versions of the loom, The Earth looms, that are an invitation for groups to weave together in a meditative way. It’s accompanied by an instructional DVD and booklet.

I love the Zati book, as Ms Merrill describes and explains how she has built her life around weaving. She then walks the reader through 7 projects that  are heartfelt explorations of creativity and soulfulness.

Susan Barrett Merrill’s website is Weaving a Life – you can get her book, loom and other goodies there.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay

Last, but certainly not least, is another

lovely book  about

mindfulness, healing

and wholeness in

weaving.

Saori was invented 40 years ago

by a wonderful weaver,

Misao Jo.

Saori weaving is all about

weaving with an open heart, and

a belief in there being no mistakes

(in life) and in weaving.   Misao Jo’s family has continued her work, developing and building beautiful 2 harness floor looms, and spreading her philosophy of creative and exuberant exploration in weaving.

My dear friend, Terri Bibby, teaches all kinds of wonderful workshops on Saori weaving. You can order the book from her, as well as looms and other accessories. Wonderful!  Terri’s website is Saltspring Weaving

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Now, show us something to do with it!

I thought… An Angel!

project & photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

So I spent the day, designing a convoluted and complicated Angel doll.

Then, I went to tweet about it on Twitter , and as I was writing my tiny tweet…

it struck me…. I can make a SUPER SIMPLE ANGEL that would be

PERFECT FOR  MOTHER’S DAY!

(or any other celebration, or actually, just because….)

What do you need to make this NIFTY LITTLE ANGEL DOLL ?

(Today on the International Freeform list, James Walters, who is the King of Crochet, and a brilliant artist, had me floating in the air when he called me:

“The First Lady of Nifty”

Can I put that on my business card?   wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

Anyhow, back to the Nifty Little Angel of the Triangles.

Here’s what you need to do:

Watch the How to Weave a Triangle on the Potholder Loom video

Make a face for your Simple Nifty Angel: I drew a face on an inch& 1/4  (3 cm) diameter white button with permanent ink pens, but you could also draw it onto a circle of card stock or use a photo or other ingenious way of making a face.

Here’s what my face looks like for the project:

project and photos by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Well, okay, that’s NOT what MY face looks like… but this is what I drew for the doll….

Get your potholder loom out and a craft needle and yarn (I used 2 strands of  Lily Sugar’nCream Twists in ‘Country Twists’ for the body and 1 strand  of Patons SWS in Natural Sky for the wings. I didn’t wash or block the cotton body triangles, but for the finished wings, I did find that the SWS pulls together better if you rinse it gently in warm water, squeeze it out  and let it dry before you use it in the project. Or, you can use 2 strands held together for a more oomphie triangle)

And, here’s how to make the Nifty Simple Angel Doll:

Happy Weaving, Happy Angels!

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Mother Earth doll designed and woven by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Green and eco projects are always a good idea.

I wanted to celebrate Earth day by coming up with some fun ‘eco-upcycling’ projects that would be quick, easy and oh so friendly to the Earth.

I’ve made a few notes about a couple of them, and will be sharing them this week.

Today, a very very easy one  popped into my mind.

I was rummaging through a drawer and

I found a bit of  inkle weaving that had been left over from another project.

I thought… hmmm…. this would make a great bookmark!

Bookmarks are great.

They are a fun way to experiment with needlework techniques and take ideas for trial runs.  You can make a small sample or a swatch and then modify it a little and use it to keep your place when you’re reading…. that’s great… multi-tasking!

Besides… I can never have enough bookmarks. I often mark several places in the same book, so a spare bookmark is always welcome.

And… another thing…. bookmarks make great little gifts. You can pop them in an envelope and mail them of to a friend to make them feel extra appreciated. Yup…. bookmarks are fine things!

Anyhow. Back to this particular bit of upcycling.

I liked the idea of using this scrap of inkle weaving as a bookmark -

But, it needed something….. hmmmm…

Then, I noticed the corner of an out of date business card.

Aha! I could use the pic off the business card to ‘top’ the bookmark!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I grabbed a pair of scissors and some extra thick glue.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I snipped the pic off the business card, then cut a back the same size, and glued them to the weaving.

Voila! an instant upcycled bookmark!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Hmmm… the cut out is kind of wonky…. so

I thought…. let’s try this again!

This time, I used a fragment of tatting that I had tossed in the drawer after ’sampling’ some crochet cotton to see if it would be okay for tatting.

And, I decided to use a punch to cut out the shapes from the business cards to make the cutout top more regular:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I added a small tassel to the end of the tatting and then glued it all together:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There… I like that better… using a punch to cut out the pic for the top of the bookmark makes it cleaner. I’m happy with it….

Hurrah for upcycling!

What if you don’t have old business cards? Cut or punch out a front and matching back from a photograph or use a postage stamp or even a bit of a pic from junk mail!

What if you don’t have a scrap of weaving or lace? Use a bit of ribbon, or spool knitting, or part of a broken tape measure….

what  do you have ? Upcycle it!

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photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

twitterweave group.

The twitterweave group is open to anyone who weaves, (or used to weave, or hopes to learn how to weave), has a loom of any description, is involved in a weaving guild  or not, or has news and notes about weaving that they would like to share…..

It’s a little baffling, but  I am working on figuring out how it’s supposed to work.

First, you join the group:

twitterweave

and when you tweet  anything about weaving on twitter, and would like the rest of the group to know about it, include the tag:

#twitterweave in your tweet.

That should send your tweet out to other group members.

AND…. I have started a yahoo group so twitterweave members can post their links, and info or start conversations and post pics, so please feel free to join it, too, and add your twitter link:

Here’s the link to the yahoo group: /TwitterWeave/

And, if you don’t want to join TwitterWeave, but want to follow me, my twitter link is: NCroneFindlay

Happy Weaving and Happy Tweeting!

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They are just about to launch an absolute sweetheart of a small rigid heddle loom.

It’s the Cricket .

Just because a loom is small, doesn’t mean it isn’t mighty! The size of the loom doesn’t necessarily limit the size of the  finished  project. Imagination is the key!

I am a passionate small loom weaver and am looking forward to meeting the Cricket!

By the way….. if you have a rigid heddle loom, then you absolutely HAVE TO HAVE a copy of Betty Davenport’s book: Hands on Rigid Heddle Weaving.  It’s a terrific little book!

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This is just thrilling…. a co-operative is forming under the aspices of  the  non-profit Architecture for Humanity and Lulan Artisans to train young women in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and India to create stable incomes through weaving. This is a way of resisting the pressure to succumb to human trafficing.

Here’s the link: Weaving co-op

News like this makes my heart soar!

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It’s great to learn that the art of tapestry weaving is alive and well in Australia, but the photographs are tiny and there doesn’t seem to be a gallery of their completed works….

Still worth a look: Tapestry

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My dear friend, Terri Bibby, lives there and has been participating in ARTCRAFT

She did an installation of her Saori Peace Banners that  is magical. Here’s the link to her blog entry about it:

weaving installation 

Be sure to click on

Shannon Wardroper’s link 

as her mixed media pieces are stunningly beautiful.

Oh to be on Salt Spring…. sigh…..

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She brought back this lovely bag:

The butterfly outline was satin stitched with the weaving behind the cotton. Then the black cotton was carefully cut away to reveal the weaving.

This is a variation on Mola or San Blas appliqué technique.

Terry made a lovely T shirt using this technique….. here’s the link: Terri’s dragonfly shirt

and a neat shirt that has a woven appliqué image of the map of Salt Spring Island: Map shirt

I think that this is a great way to use treasured bits of weaving or embroidery or other fabric fragments.

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

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It’s a very bad idea to read a hysterically funny book when you are in bed, and your exhausted husband is trying to sleep.

Last night, I was reading with my wee tiny light, trying oh so hard to be inconspicuous…. well…. oops!

I am reading the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, and the gentle, but hilarious adventures/misadventures in the agency and garage had me in stitches. Which meant that the bed was shaking like a windswept leaf.  Poor seasick (awake) hubby!

There was one passage that struck me as being totally ‘Winnie the Pooh’. That made me want to be able to share it with my sister-in-law who was also a Pooh fan. Sadly, as the characters in the book say, she is now ‘late’.

Today, I was rummaging around searching for a missing earring, and there were two heart earrings that she had given me, right beside a little amulet bag that had a Piglet pin (also given to me by her) on it. It felt like a message of love and connection to her, from her.

So, today, I am wearing my Piglet Pouch and heart earrings, feeling connected to a sister who has gone on ahead.

I wove this pouch on this cardboard loom:

Cardboard Loom 

and then added a seed bead fringe. And a Piglet pin, and happy memories.

Oh, yes! Because of Mma Ramotswe and her Ladies Detective Agency, I was wondering what the textile traditions are in Botswana. Crochet is mentioned in the books, but no weaving, basketry or knitting.

So, I did a search on Youtube to see if there were any videos of weavers in Botswana.  Yes! there are!

But – they are all birds ….. Weaver birds

If you haven’t discovered the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and are open to a charming, gentle, wise, funny and engaging, but oooooooooh so addictive read, then you’ve got some lovely summer reading ahead of you!

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay 

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