This made me chuckle, as I realized how fond I am of chopsticks and how much I use them in the studio.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I thought:

‘Okay….I use chopsticks

in the studio ALL THE TIME

so….

how many ways

to use a chopstick

in the studio

can I think of ?

(There are 6

variations in the pic

to the left….)

Here’s my list of ways to use chopsticks in the studio:

1] Since this all started with me using a chopstick as an instrument of de-construction in unravelling weaving, that’s the top of the list.

2] Chopsticks can be carved into great weaving hooks. I posted a video about how to do this: Carve a weaving hook

3] Speaking of weaving: I really like to use chopsticks as shed sticks in weaving:  Weaving with yarn on the potholder loom

4] You can sand chopsticks, sharpen them, glue a bead on, and you have got knitting needles.

5] You know that weaving hook you carved? Well, you can carve a crochet hook with a chopstick, too.

6] In the pic above, a chopstick is supporting a spindle. I use chopsticks all the time to hold things up for photos. Handy!

7]  The spindle the photo support chopstick is holding up is made with: Yep…. a chopstick.

8] Cut a circle of wood, drill a hole in the center, and pop a chopstick in it: Voila! Perfect for holding small cones of thread or yarn.

9] Paint it black and hold a shawl closed with it

10]  Sharpen the point, and sand it, and it works well as a loop lifter for large spool knitters

11]  Ooooooh yes…. mustn’t forget this one: Chopsticks are excellent backscratchers!

12] And, what if you want to conduct your favorite piece of music? A chopstick is a fine little baton

13]  I work with charts all the time, so I lay a chopstick above the row I am working on to mark my place

14]  I wouldn’t recommend a chopstick as a bookmark, but a magazine place holder is within the realm of possibilities

15]  Have you ever had a small object roll tantalizingly close to the edge, but just out of finger range under a bookcase? Well, a chopstick is perfect for flicking the elusive object out of hiding.

16]   Floppy plants can be given a little backbone by supporting them with a chopstick

17]  You can make an impromptu Lazy Kate by poking  holes on each side of a small box and putting balls of yarn onto the chopsticks that are inserted into the holes in the box. Instant assistance in plying in handspinning.

18] You can stir paint with a chopstick

19] You can stir your tea with a chopstick, but not after you have stirred paint with it

20] You can wind yarn on it, like a mini nostepinne (How? Nostepinne how to link)

21] I make tatting shuttles, and when I am varnishing them, I need ways to suspend them. Chopsticks are great for supporting them as they dry

22] Do you need a peg for anything at all? Cut one from a chopstick!

23] Swirl the detergeant around in the pail with a chopstick before you place dirty fleece in it to soak.

24] Lift yarn or roving out of dye pots with chopsticks.

25] If you have long hair, you can twirl it around, and put a chopstick through it to hold it out of the way. I don’t have long hair anymore, so this one doesn’t really count on my list.

26] You can use chopsticks to make doll arms and legs

27] Chopsticks make great support sticks for shadow puppets

28]  You can use chopsticks instead of dowels to hang small wall hangings and tapestries

29] You can use chopsticks to make wrapped God’s Eye ornaments: Tutorial

30] And, perhaps, most important of all: You can eat your pad thai or sushi with chopsticks.

So,  can you think of other ways to use a chopstick in the studio?

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

When I am working on a new book,

(like I am right now)

I have dozens of projects in the works all at once,

and each of the projects has heaps of iterations.

I make a project over

and over and over,

refining and honing it.

Lots of the versions will simply

get frogged as soon as I recognize

a problem and note what I

have to do to fix it.

But, some of the versions of the

project are worthwhile keeping,

so I can end up with a whole lot of  variations on a theme.

It is absolutely essential to have each piece labeled with basic information.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

The system that I have developed over the years

is a simple one that works beautifully for me.

I recycle lightweight cardstock boxes

by punching out hang tag labels.

Then, I punch a hole in it,

and tie a cord to it.

I number which iteration it is

so that I know what the progression

was, date it,

write the name of the project,

info like yarn and hook size

and anything else that’s relevant.

Then, I attach the label to the project with a lark’s head knot, and place all the projects together in a box or bag in a larger container.

I have other designer/author ’sanity saver’ systems that I can share if people are interested….

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

In ‘Time To Weave’, she has a project (with variations) that uses a peg or stick loom.

She made her weaving sticks by cutting lengths of aluminum tubing.

I was pleased to see that she had included the stick loom in the book, as it’s a small loom that has lots of creative potential.

Seeing her version of the stick loom reminded me that it was something that I had been exploring about a year or so ago.

So, I went and dug out my version of the stick loom.

(Well, to be perfectly honest, I tore the studio apart, because I could only find half of it.

The search for the other half was VERY rewarding so it was a big win-win, even though I had a minor fit at not being able to find it at first).

Anyhow, I found it (and some other really good stuff) and all is well….

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I am a dyed in the wool ‘gadgeteer’…

and I am fascinated by the potential of

working in a ‘cross currents’ kind of way….

using a tool in multiple ways to create

interesting textiles.

One little tool that is a great multi-tasker is the Clover Hairpin Lace Tool, with 6 extra pegs or pins, for a total of 9 pins or sticks…

(Yes, I know, there are only 6 pins in the photo…. the other 3 are in the box)    I know that someone would look at the photo and scratch their head, thinking: Um, can’t Noreen count to 6? Why is she talking about 9 pins? 

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Okay, now that that is settled…

To buy it with all 9 pins, go to Lacis.com

and  type ‘ Stick Loom LF 82 ‘

into their search box.

They are the only vendor that

I have seen with the full 9 pins.

Joann’s has a 3 pin version.

Lacis also has the more usual stick loom with dowels.

Basically, the stick loom holds warp strands, as tails, and you weave the weft on the sticks,

then slide it off the sticks and down onto the tails.

I am working on a set of placemats, and am playing with different ways of trimming the edges.

It struck me that stick loom woven bands would be a great way to finish an edge, so I decided to experiment.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Years ago, I wove with a bunch of darning needles

held together as a stick loom.

I thought… hey! I have 6 plastic weaving needles….

why don’t I try weaving with them?

So I cut lengths of warp strands

and threaded them into the needles.

and filled them up with weaving….

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It seemed like a good idea at the time….

but…

the great big eyes

on the needles

turned it

into a very bad idea.

Erg.

I had to squeeeeeeeeeeeee, honk and

scrape to get the weft off the needles.

So… scratch the plastic weaving needles with big eyes. One of them has a nice slender eye. The weft slipped off it lickety split. The others clung to the weft like there was no tomorrow.

Darning needles with inline eyes work great especially if you can find somewhat longish ones.  But for now….

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It’s back to working

with the Clover Hairpin Lace loom.

This time with just 3 pins,

as I only want the woven band

to be about an inch wide.

Insert the warp strands

into the eye of the pin,

bring the ends together and

tie a knot. Repeat across.

Now, go back and forth, under over the pins, weaving yarn onto them until you have a couple of inches woven.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Then, pull the pins

out of the base,

and slide the weaving down

the tails of warp,

until you have all the

weaving slipped down

off the pins.

Insert the pins back into the holes in the base.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Tug the warp ends

gently to bring

the weaving to the base.

And there you go…

carry on for the desired

length of your

band.

When you are done, tie or braid the ends.

Voila! a nifty woven band on the stick loom!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I brought the branch home and let it dry out for a few months.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

I trimmed the small stickie outie bits off….

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

And carefully sliced pieces off the branch. The pine wood smelled wonderful!

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

Then drilled holes

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright.

Voila! Handmade wooden buttons- they need to be waxed or varnished…

perhaps embellished with a little woodburning or paint first?

Hmmmm….. my son trimmed the apple trees…. perhaps I should make some apple wood buttons…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

project and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Well…. here’s a fun and funky ‘green living’ alternative to all those scraps of paper.

Make yourself a Chalkboard Dolly to  write all those little notes to yourself instead of having a mountain of little notes.

On the one hand, those little slips of paper can get lost so easily.

On the other… they have a way of stacking up and turning into clutter.

With a few simple tools, you can make yourself a very neat Chalkboard Mamma, who will help to keep you organized.

Instead of scribbling reminders onto those bits of paper, write it on the Chalkboard Mamma.

Whats even more satisfying is when the task is done and you get to take your little scrap of cloth and rub that chore off the board! Yay!

Here’s how I made my Chalkboard Mamma Doll:

I started with a piece of 1/4 inch  smooth masonite that was about 12 inches wide by about 22 inches tall. There are other products that work well for making chalkboards, too. Ask the folks at the hardware store.  While you’re there, buy a small tin of chalkboard paint and a brush.

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I made a pattern by drawing 3 circles (5 inches, 8 inches and 13 inches in diameter)along the center fold of a 24 inch long piece of paper:

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I cut out the pattern, and decided that I wanted to adjust the pattern somewhat, to make the Chalkboard Mamma look more like a Matrouschka doll.  So, I re-drew the pattern, and when I was happy with it, traced it onto the masonite, and cut it out.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Then, I painted several coats of the chalkboard paint onto the doll, letting it dry thoroughly between each coat…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and Voila!

A Chalkboard Mamma who remembers things for me, so I don’t forget them!

And, she cleverly doesn’t add to paper clutter in my studio, either!

photo & project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I drilled a hole in each of her shoulders and ran a wire through it so she can hang on my wall.  You may prefer to have her sitting and leaning against the wall.  Either way, she’ll work hard, helping you to remember without having bits of paper everywhere!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Yesterday,  we had a very stressful day. We went to visit an old friend who is terribly ill in the hospital.

As we were leaving the hospital, talking quietly together about our friend, a young woman dashed into the elevator with us.  We could hear her coming by her booming, angry voice.  She shouted into her cellphone throughout the elevator ride, with her harsh voice bouncing off the glass walls.  Her voice filled the rotunda of the hospital and many people were jolted and  glared at her in response.

We felt like we’d been smacked sideways by her anger. As she dashed on ahead of us, it suddenly struck me that, yes, she was screaming in rage at the poor person on the other end of the connection, but there was so much more to it. What was really happening was that she was shouting to the whole world that she deserved to be loved, and that someone, somewhere, had told her that she didn’t deserve love and wouldn’t BE loved. Some part of her was yelling back, that she bally well had better be loved or there would be h*ll to pay.Yikes.

I had taken a crocheted comfort doll to our sick friend. She loved it, and clutched it in her hand.

It struck me that it would have been great to have had another comfort doll to give to the angry young woman, as a sign that, yes, someone did hear her, and that there are good things to hold onto, even in the darkest times.

I felt totally wiped out, so when we got home, I laid down, hoping for a nap. Instead, I kept thinking about how good it would have been to have had a small comfort doll to offer to the upset woman.

Sleep didn’t come, but inspiration did.   What popped into my mind was this:

Old fashioned yarn babies:

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I decided that it would be really good to make a bunch of them and have them in my bag. Then, if an opportunity presented itself when someone might need a little something, then, I would have these ‘Yarn Babies’ on hand.

Then, I thought… oh, it would be even better to have one pinned on my jacket, and then I wouldn’t have to rummage around in my bag. So, I decided to add a pin on their backs.

AND then… I had another thought…..  it was about this bag of  cheap and cheerful thread that my husband had bought for me in our fave 2nd hand store a few weeks ago:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There are great colors there, but the thread is totally hopeless to try to sew with.  So, I have been having fun upcycling it.

I grabbed some tubes of it, and a stack of old business cards, and started wrapping around the 2 inch side of the cards:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

When it felt like I had enough wraps for the doll, I cut a 6 inch long piece of the threads, and took them through the top.

I slipped the loops of thread off the card and tied a knot securely at the top.

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Snip the loops at the lower edge open, smooth down the yarn ends, and wrap and tie securely around the neck:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Separate out 2 arms, and wrap and tie securely around the waist:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Wrap and tie the wrists, and trim the extra length off the ends of the arms.  If you have access to oak trees, glue an acorn cap to her head.

Punch or cut out a heart and glue it to her chest.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Stitch or glue a pin on her back if you want to wear her on your lapel, bag or hat.

To turn the skirt into legs, divide the skirt in half and tie off ankles.

I now have a full rainbow of Olden Days Yarn Babies made with upcycled thread…. so, if I happen to feel that someone might just need a little comfort, then, I have a little bit of threadie goodness right close at hand……….

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, I have just thought of some friends and relatives who might like to find one in an envelope, so I think I had better go get wrapping…

Don’t forget that they make great angels when you add wings.  If you want to hang them on a tree, then leave the yarn ends at the top of their heads loose and make a hanging loop with it.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I have been spool knitting variegated handspun for the edging, so I posted a tutorial about how to spool knit a sturdy cord on 2 pegs with thin yarn.  Tutorial

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here’s a pic of the 2 shades of yarn that I spun for it, as well as the Butterfly loom, a spool knitter, my Nostepinne, and a flower loom (I think I will add flowers soon….)

The instructions that come with the loom show how to stitch the layers of yarn together with a blunt craft needle. I use a different  technique to  interlock the layers of yarn:

I really like to use spool knitting for the edges of ButterflyLoom pieces.  This is how I attach the spool knitting to the fabric:

Make several rectangles on the Butterfly loom and join them, to create a very spiffy narrow scarf :

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I am in the process of making a series of ‘how to work with the Lily Speed-O-Weave’ loom video tutorials.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The first one is an introduction, showing how to wrap the loom with the warp strand layers.

The yarn in the video is Lily Sugar’n Cream in Black and Lily Sugar’n Cream in white. I hold 2 strands of yarn together as one strand throughout the whole project.

In the video, I  wrap the pegs twice.

If you were working with a thicker yarn, you could just go around the pegs once.

If you were working with a thinner yarn, you might want to go around the pegs more times.

In the video, take note of the sequence of the wrapping.

The direction in which you wrap the pairs of pegs really does matter.

In this introductory video, I also show a few of the many projects that I have made with the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom. I forgot to mention that you can make wonderful placemats with the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

In the video,  I show several bags that I made with the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here is the Introduction to Working with the Lily Speed-O-Weave Loom:

Stay tuned… I am working like crazy on the next video!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

doll and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Crocheted Pocket Dolls are excellent as comfort dolls.

If you have a friend or family member who is in need of comfort or a little extra love, why not crochet a  little pocket doll for them?

Add wings and it’s an angel….

I am going to share my design for a super simple crocheted pocket doll that you can make as plain as you would like, or you can embellish and make it as wild as you can imagine.

You can stitch a pin on the back so it can be worn on a hat or bag or lapel.

Or leave the pin off, and it can be slipped into a pocket whenever it’s wanted – but can still be pinned on things….

The finished size of the Crocheted Pocket doll is determined by the size of the hook and the thickness of the yarn that you use.

This doll can be made absolutely tiny or really quite large. It’s up to you!

It’s a great choice to use up small scraps or yarn or embroidery floss.

I’ve added charms and buttons to this little doll, but that is totally optional, too.

I use the Crocheted Pocket doll frequently in freeform crochet bags, shawls, jackets and vests:

doll and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

doll and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here’s the pattern for Noreen Crone-Findlay’s Crocheted Pocket Comfort Doll (copyright)

Beginning at toes of first  leg: Ch 7.

Row 1: 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch. (6 sc), ch 1 and turn.

Rows 2- 17: 6 sc, ch 1,  turn. At end of 17th row, cut yarn, pull end through last loop on hook. Set aside.

Second leg: Make the same as the first, but don’t cut the yarn at the end of Row 15, ch 1 and turn.

Body:

Row 18: 6 sc across 2nd leg, pick up 1st leg, and work 6 sc across 1st leg. (12 sc), ch 1 and turn.

Rows 19 – 26: 12 sc, ch 1 and turn.

Row 27: [Draw up a loop in each of the next 2 sc, yo, pull through all 3 loops on hook] 6 times, ch 1 and turn. (6 sc)

Rows 28 & 29: 6 sc, ch 1 and turn.

Row 30: 2 sc in each sc of prev. row, ch 1 and turn. (12 sc)

Rows 31 – 33 : 12 sc, ch 1 and turn.

Row 34: Repeat Row 27, ch 1 and turn. (6 sc)

Row 34: Repeat Row 27 to decrease to 3 sc.  Cut yarn, leaving at least 12 inches (30 cm) for stitching.

Hold the edges together and stitch the center back edge closed. You may need to put a little stuffing in the head and body, but you may not.  Write a little blessing or poem or prayer on a bit of paper or scrap of fabric and put it inside the body. Stitch edges of legs closed.

Arms: Make 2:

Beginning at shoulder: Ch 6

Row 1: 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and each remaining ch. (5 sc), ch 1 and turn.

Rows 2- 15: 5 sc, ch 1,  turn. At end of 15th row, cut yarn, pull end through last loop on hook.

Insert yarn end into darning needle, gather last row, stitch long edges together.  Gather shoulder edge and stitch to doll.

Please remember: This is Noreen Crone-Findlay’s original work. Please don’t copy or share it without permission- share the link, share the love, but don’t copy without permission!

And, here’s the video on how to add bullion stitch hair to the Crocheted Pocket or Comfort Doll:

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

This is kind of inconvenient for some readers, who like to have things organized all together, so I’ll post the tutes to Hankering for Yarn.

The potholder loom is a wonderfully simple loom that has been under estimated for it’s creative potential.

I suspect that is because most people associate them with loops, which have -ahem- severe limitations (to say the least).

Yarn is so wonderful and colorful and textural and ubiquitous and so unlimited!

So, I say: Ditch the loops! grab your yarn and weave with it!

Here is Part One of How to Weave with Yarn on the Potholder Loom:

I’ll  upload the second tute in my next post – having 2 videos in the same post makes it too slow to open.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn