Making a decorative mask is easy and fun.
Trace around
a pair of glasses
onto a scrap
of card stock.
Cut it out
to use as a template.
Trace the
template
onto a piece
of card stock.
In this case,
it’s a piece of
card that I saved
from a package
for upcycling.
Once you’ve
got the  base of
your mask cut out,
get out a small
ball of yarn,
and a spool knitter.
Spool knit about 20 inches of cord.
And, gather up
some beads,
buttons and charms.
Glue the spool knitted
cord and all the other
embellishments onto the mask.
Punch holes at the tips, and attach elastic or ribbons.  Tie the mask on and dance away, or hang it on the wall…..

My last posting was about some spool knitters that I am very fond of.
I’ve just become acquainted with some wonderful new spool knitters:Crystalite French Knitters from Susan Bates. They’re 4 and 6 peg spool knitters and are very sturdy.
I really like them! They’re solidly made and are very nice to work with.

One of the things that is really neat is being able to see the cord while it’s still inside the spool knitter. They come with a wonderful little tool (Sylvalume Handi tool) that has a hook on one end and a point on the other.
Definitely thumbs up on these …read more

When I was designing and making this Worry Doll:

I started out by basing my measurements on another little doll that I made a few years ago:

and I ended up transforming her, too.
So, she ended up like this:

I figured that she’s such a little cutie that I should probably upload a tutorial on how to make her too.
And, I have:
Here’s the Tutorial for the Cornstarch Clay Worry Doll
It took a few days, as I had sick family, so I spent the day tending to them, and making chicken soup and such.
So, the Worry dolls took a little longer than …read more

Tammy sent me a note, saying that she liked the spool knitted Celtic Interlace heart Valentine
and that she thought that the motif would work well as an applique or other embellishment on garments or home dec stuff….
Yep, I agreed.
This is something I’ve been doing for quite some time.
And, I figured that I should show a few pics of some of the spool knitted Celtic interlaces that I have included on some of the shawls I’ve designed and made:

Yup. Love my spool knitters…..  and Celtic interlaces…..
Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I’ve been working on a humoungous spool knitter, and have just finished it up! I am so pleased with it!
It’s 9 inches tall (including the height of the pegs) and 9 inches in diameter. It’s not a spool knitter for wimps! LOL!

It’s going to take a box the size of a refrigerator to ship it!
I find the really big spool knitters to be very comfortable to work with. They sit in your lap and you turn them as you spool knit. The large size actually makes it easier, as it’s so stable.
Sometimes, bigger IS better!

In my last posting, I think I used the word, ‘big’, about a dozen times.
Well…. whaddya gonna do?
We are making a B I G spool knitter for Maitri’s magical and splendiferous freeform wearable art making!
I drew a sweetheart of a serpent on the side of the spool knitter, and then burned it with my wood burner.

As she turns, she seems to reveal herself. She has the sweetest energy!

I’m adding the second coat of paint, and she’ll be varnished, of course.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you what’s on the back…..

My friend, Maitri Libellule, makes freeform wearable art with her spool knitters and crochet hooks. She’s been making spectacular, huge wearable serpents. They’ve been getting bigger and bigger, so she’s needing bigger and bigger tools to make them.
So, we have made her a H U G E spool knitter:

It’s 9 inches across and 6 inches tall. It’s a whopper!
I am getting it painted before we peg it. It’s going to have 8 big big pegs on it. She handspins yarn that is layers and layers of fibers and it’s very very thick, so she needs big pegs.
Big …read more

So, I had planned a whole series of entries, and had even got the pictures photoshopped and everything!
BUT
I just had to nip over to read one of my favorite blogs:
And, OH NO! Jennifer at Offbeat Homes had just posted a wonderful list of fabulous things, and had discovered the cutest cupcakes for yarnophiles.
She thought that I might just like them….
Well, I had to crack up! Did I like them? OH YES!
and talk about synchronicity!
Forget about the entry I had planned!
For a couple of months, I have been playing with the idea of spool knitted cupcakes.
So…..I made a Cordelia cordmaker …read more

Let’s start off my Holiday gift links list with a gift for you:
A contest to win a one of a kind art hand carved snowman crochet hook: snowman crochet hook

Now, links for making small but wonderful gifts:
How to make a bead doll
and, how to make an adjustable spool knitted cord for the bead doll.
Wonderful, felted finger puppets
A charming gingerbread man to spool knit
which lead to
A new Angel of Peace to spool knit
Have fun with your holiday gift making!
hugs all round
Noreen
www.crone-findlay.com

Yesterday, my beloved daughter-in-law, Alliston, sent me an email, asking to buy a Cordelia cordmaker.
~Buy~?
No, m’darlin’girl.
BUT! I did offer to make her one as an early Christmas presie.
Alli accepted.
I know that she loves the skullie spoolies I’ve been making, so I asked her if she’d like a skullie Cordelia.
Yes, indeed!
So here’s one of her slightly early Christmas presies:

It may be slightly more ‘Dio de los Muertos’ than ‘Christmas’, but isn’t it better to make something that the recipient really likes? I’m grinning from ear to ear, rather like our calciferous friend in the pic.
Hope you have fun with …read more