photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Everyone who knows us,

knows that our

primary passion is

our family…..

and….

our family has

just expanded in

the most wonderful way-

alright… it’s the ~usual~ way….

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

But, for us, this is the first grandchild,

so we are riding a tsunami wave of joy

and awe,

and tears

and laughter

and exhaustion

and pride at the magnificent

way that our beautiful daughter

gave birth to her son,

and at the way that

her wonderful husband

lead the birthing team

(yep, I was one of the birth team)

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

to a completely successful

and excellent birth.

The hospital staff

were sublime,

and were so impressed

with Chloe and Clancy

and said many many

very nice things to us.

Friends who are

already grandparents

have told us

over and over, that becoming

photo by Jim Findlay copyright

a grandparent

is the most incredible

experience of your life,

but even so, I had

NO IDEA!

I am sooooooo in love

with this wee one!

We had a lovely

little birthday

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

party, after

New Daddy

had given James

his first bath.

It was a fine

birthday,

and may

it be the first of

many, many, many more!

And, so, a new life begins- not only for our grandson…. but for the entire family. He changes everything.

Bless him. 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Bless her heart,

she gave me a couple more

of the fab wire baskets

that she made a few years ago.

Here’s one of the

new ones,

sitting on the

shelf that lives

on my knitting machine

table.

When I was

busy admiring

the new baskets,

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I realized how  much

I love using baskets

for organizing studio

stuff, and that I have

baskets by the dozens.

(There’s another one of

Chloe’s baskets in this

pic, too)

So, I started taking

photos of some of

the baskets in

my studio,

and before long

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I had taken

almost 50 photos….

I won’t bore you

with photos of

all the studio

baskets, but

there are a few

baskets that are

dear to my heart…..

The blue wicker basket

is an old one that I bought

when I was a teenager. I painted a sheet of masonite with a homage to oriental carpets, and wired it to the top and used the basket as a table. Now, it holds a huge whopper of a melon basket that I found at a garage sale this summer. They are both great for yarn storage.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I thought that I would

also include a pic

of Ms Kitty examining

a couple baskets

that I have just recently

made.

I posted a tutorial

on how to spool knit

the basket that is full

of spool knitters.

The crocheted basket is made

with yarn that I spun from

paper streamers from the Blue Man Group show last month.

Baskets are one of the most ancient ways of organizing the stuff of our lives.  They are also a wonderful way of expressing creativity, because every handmade basket is, by it’s very nature, completely unique.

Do you have any favorite baskets?

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It’s a little

robot with

lots of  articulations

that allow the

arms to be

manipulated into

any position

that you need.

The little robot

introduced me

to the wonders of the

alligator clip.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t truly an introduction to the alligator clip…. wikipedia says that alligator clips are often used by dentists to clip the bib around the victim …erm… patient’s neck.

So, I guess I would have been in close contact with alligator clips before my husband’s spiffy little gift revealed the wonders of the alligator clip to me. But, I am a whole lot more relaxed in the studio than the dentist’s chair, so I am not in the least bit surprised that the dental use of the alligator clip seemed particularly novel to me when I looked them up on wiki.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I googled to see

if alligator clips are

available online,

and yes they are.

You can also get

them in hobby shops

and hardware stores.

This is good because

they are so handy.

See how I have a

curtain hook in one of them?

Why?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

That’s because I like

being able to hang

things that I am

painting or

varnishing while

they dry.

The alligator clip

holds things beautifully

in it’s fierce little jaws.

This makes drying

paint and varish

so much easier.

Many hands make light work.

My mother always used to say that, and I agree, but if you only have 2 hands, adding  a few alligator clips will also make light work!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

For instance: Alligator clips are great at

holding onto

paper and small objects.

I glued the alligator clips

into the heavy wire from

wire coat hangers.

Then I cut and decorated

the bases, and glued the wire

into the base.

The clip holds papers, jewelry,

(and other goodies)

securely.

Ms Kitty approves.  And, so do I.

So, there you have it. Another great little tool that helps to make life flow more easily in the studio.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Yup. He’s a kamakaze sneak thief who  has super natural powers.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The problem is that he has psycho-kinesis down pat .

He can gaze at an object until

it simply drops off the table or desk

and lands in his mouth.

Then….

he takes off like a

shot with us in wild

pursuit.

He’s small, but

has jaws of iron,

and the 1/2 of him

that is chihuahua

makes him very large and fierce.

And the 1/2 of him that is dachshund makes him VERY determined…. so you could loose your arm if you just grabbed the purloined object.  (BTW, in the pic, he’s sitting closer to my husband, who took the pic, than he is to me, so he looks bigger than he is. But, that’s okay, because he is convinced that he is a VERY LARGE dog.   Oh, and did you see how nice my hair looks in the pic? It’s pics like this that keep me humble.)

Anyhow… when we hear the stealthy keeerunch, chomp, pause-  (Can you see that I have just stolen your ____?)

our feet hit the ground running, and we don’t head for him…. we head for the cat food dish.

Blush.

We grab a few pieces of kitty food, and throw it madly so he’ll drop the stolen object and we can grab it up.

Sigh.

And, oh, did I mention that he is in total kahoots with Ms Kitty? Ms Kitty is the cat that lives on my shoulder.

This cat and dog hate each other, but she will scoop things out of drawers and off any surface, and drop them on the floor for him.

Seriously.

So, not only is he able to levitate stuff off my work spaces….

but he’s got the cat trained to commit wickedness for his nefarious ways, too.

Sheesh.

The other day,  I was deep in thought, working hard on a manuscript, and I heard that specific, ‘Oh oh’  sound….

Oh no no no, Small Dog!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The little booger

had grabbed one of my

Cordelia Cord makers

and was chewing it

while running and

snickering at me

over his shoulder.

Oh no no no!

I thought that it was toast,

but, I was able to file and sand

and re-paint it.

It’s rescued, and it’s mine for life, I guess….

You can see the ‘distressed’ toothmarks where he has left his mark.

Ah, never a dull moment.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Last week,

my daughter-in-law

fell at work and

schmorked her

ankle right properly.

The doctor x-rayed

it and gave her

the option of

putting a cast on it.

She thought about it

and decided to wait on it.

The next day, it seemed

like a good idea to get it

casted…. (It was agony, to put it politely)

and she and her hubby (that would be my son) spent the day in various medical facilities, but came home exhausted, without cast, because of staffing issues in said facilities.

(Funding cuts are not a good thing!)

Today, I took her into a medicenter where the doctor DOES do casts.

We spent several dreary centuries in the waiting room (okay, it was only a few hours, but it felt like a solar system or two could have evolved in that time).

Eventually, we were plunked into a room in the nether regions of the clinic, which was good, as a change of scene is always welcome in these situations. It holds so much promise. A new life form may appear, or a black hole or something equally entertaining might materialize – you never know!

The frazzled doctor eventually appeared with his assistant in close pursuit.

Imagine my surprise when the doctor sent his assistant to go take care of another patient.

He said he didn’t need her, because ‘Mum’ was going to help him put on the cast.  I thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

He said: ‘You’re an artist, right?’

Yup.

‘So, you’ve worked with plaster cast material, right?’

Um, why, yes, actually, quite a lot of it, in fact.

‘Good! Put on these rubber gloves!’

I was so astonished that I immediately sprouted several extra fingers- why, no! There were only five of them, um, four and 2 thumbs…. and I tried valiantly to get all the fingers and several thumbs, to fit into just one finger of the rubber glove. Flap flap.

Once I managed to get just one digit into each finger of the gloves,  we got to work.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The doctor

is a really sweet guy

and he actually listened

to me when I wanted to cut

the stockinette material and

smooth it out….

cool….

I was amazed by how

little mess the fiberglas

material makes.

Kinda stinky though.

The fiber artist in me quite enjoyed all the layering- knit fabric, then quilt batting and then fiberglas.  Whee! textile sculpture!

“Take pictures! This is too wild to not blog  about….”, I kept chirruping at my daughter-in-law.

So, the poor lamb was holding her breath, and clicking away with her phone,  while the doc made me hold  her very tender foot in the correct position. What a trouper!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Wow… putting on a

cast is hard work!

We went like blazes

and then he left me

squatting over her

foot, with my hands

inside the cast, holding

it in shape.

‘Bend your knees!’

he called cheerily to me

(rather like a Victorian

Mamma advising her daughter

to close her eyes and think of England).

And, off he zoomed to take care of some other folks and put them out of their misery.  Eegads, what an exhausting life he leads.

This definitely wasn’t what I ~thought~ my day was going to be all about, but, like I said, you just NEVER know!!!

I had plans for blogging about something else entirely, and indeed, will return to normal tomorrow (I hope and pray), but until then, take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Today, we had a baby shower for our daughter.

Oh wow the preparations!

We were turbo charged!

My husband was outside,

busting his chops,

getting the yard tidied,

while one of his visiting

sisters helped with the mowing.

His other sister was vacuuming

and cleaning sinks etc, (bless them both!)

while Darlin’ Daughter-in-law

was baking her world famous

lemon merangue pies.

The house was looking pretty bad,

because I have been quite sick for a couple of weeks, so things had seriously slipped…. so we were all racing around, getting  things organized and cleaned (entertaining is HARD WORK!!!!)  And, whew, now it’s looking very nice indeed!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I decided that I wanted to make little presies for the guests,

so I made little dolly bee pins for everyone….

using acorn caps from the Garry oaks in Sisters yard (thanks, Sisters!).

And then, I had to make flowers to put them on,

and I was so immersed in doing that ,

that I forgot to actually gather ~real~flower

to go into the

darlin’ duckie vase.

Oh well!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I wanted to

create a way

for the baby

to have a memento

of this special event,

so I got out a little

notebook and colored pens.

(That’s my daughter’s

handprint from when she

was 5… I cut it out of wood.)

We are not into doing ‘games’ and stuff, just into eating fabulous food, enjoying lovely company and basking in the warmth of family and friends. It was just perfect.

I asked all the guests to draw around their hand, and to write a message of welcome to the baby.

Well… what a treasure!

Reading the messages, and seeing the outlines of the hands of all these loving friends and family is so moving!

Sob, sniff!  (Sentimental? Who, me?)

I’ll make a nice cover for the book, and will print out the few photos that I actually remembered to take, and include them in the book.

And, hopefully, it will become a treasure that this dear child will cherish, knowing that s/he was loved and welcomed.

Some day, knowing that  people made promises, commitments  and wishes of love and welcome to and for him or her, will help to set this child’s feet upon a path of knowing that life is meant to be lived with love, and feelings of gratitude and blessing.

And seeing all the hands of the family and friends who are giving welcome to this child, will give him or her a sense of the community that  says: You are precious to us, little one…. we wish you a life of joy!

Every child deserves such a welcome….. it would make the world a better place…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I blogged about it

because I was so unhappy

about it.

I am so grateful

because a very

kind reader, Frank,

sent me a couple of

notes, explaining

how to fix my well

loved Crazy Daisy loom.

Here’s how…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Frank said to look

for little dots that

are where the spot

welds hold the layers

together.

Drill them out.

So, here, I have drilled the

welds out, opened up the

layers, and released the

remaining wires. (Some had

fallen out already.)

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, here, I have

carefully

placed the little

bent wires into

their slots and

holes.

Interesting geometry

isn’t it?

After this stage,

I very carefully

clamped the top back on.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Then Jim ground

(oh so carefully)

the drilled out holes,

and then got the

silver solder

and his soldering iron

out….

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

He carefully

soldered each

of the drilled

out  points.

It was a slow

careful process.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, then,

hurrah!

My crazy daisy loom

is now well and whole

and ready to make

flowers again!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

From now on

I will be

very

very

very

gentle

when

making

flowers with it!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Yay…

flowers!

Yay

for

repairing

a broken

but well loved

little tool.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

And, what if you wanted to be able to

pick that house up and take it with you

when things in your life decreed that

moving quickly and efficiently would be

a very good idea?

Well…. I am willing to bet that you would

look at your goats and think…

hmmm…. nice fuzzies!  and start stomping.

I bet you’d make yourself some fine felt,

and embellish it, and I am also willing to

bet that you’d come up with a fairly clever

system of interlacing your precious few pieces of

wood to make them sturdy, light and moveable, and I think that, given a few thousand years, you’d come up with a pretty fine  looking

home that you’d call a ‘Ger’ or maybe ‘yurt’.

And, if you didn’t have your own personal herd of goats, and a broad expanse of Mongolian Steppes to race across with your magnificent horses, you would probably do some googing and find nifty websites like this one: Yurts

If you happened to do a little yurt search on YouTube, you’d find a lovely  video showing how some folks built themselves a yurt without felting the fuzz from their goats:

Ah, yurts! I want one. Or two. Or three…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

It’s my brass Crazy Daisy loom.

I have had this little loomie

since I was a teenager,

which was a very long time ago!

I assumed, that, since it was

brass, that it was sturdy.

Alas, I was wrong….

Now, it was sturdy enough

to rattle along with me

for lo these many years,

but it wasn’t sturdy enough

to stand up to me abusing it with

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too tight yarn today.

Oh, woe is me! Poor little Crazy Daisy!  One little wire squinched over, and that was the beginning of the end.

Now, if it had developed cellulite or baggy jowls or the yarnie gadget equivalent thereof, I would have known to be more gentle.

If Poor Little Crazy Daisy had just said: ‘Excuse me, but I am not the springie little loomie I once was- go lightly!”  I would have remembered that even metal gets fatigued.

But, I got inspired, and energetic, and dear old C. Daisy (I just can’t call this little fallen comrade ‘Crazy’ one more time…. sigh)  just plinked out her little wirey fingers, one after the other, like a thumped boxer letting go of molars.

I’ll miss you, C. Daisy! I tried to resuscitate you,  and so did Jim, but, alas, even his wizardry was not enough for you.

Farewell little loomie. I’ll miss you…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Wine? nah? tastes like cough syrup…. give me tea every time. I often mention my love of tea on Hankering For Yarn.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

In fact, I even blogged about some things that you can do with sheer cloth teabags:

Make yo yo circles,

cut it into ribbon yarn

and make a doll’s tuttu

One thing I have learned:

Don’t try to do any of

those things with

biodegradable corn fabric teabags.

Oops… they will vanish….

taking your hard work with them.

blush…

I didn’t know that when I started upcycling cloth teabags.

After I posted about my passion for tea, and the fun I was having with sheer cloth teabags, I was  delighted when I received a note from a very pleasant lady who works with Dilmah teas.

She asked me if I would like to try their tea. She explained about how it’s an ethically created tea and is really special in many ways.

I googled  Dilmah Tea to read up on them, and was impressed, so said an enthusiastic yes please.

She said that she’d send me some samples.

Of course, I had to ask: Can I play with the teabags?  Alas…. they are bio-degradable, so they won’t work for yarnie explorations.

The box of tea samples has arrived, and I have had a celebratory tea party in the studio.

Actually, I am awash, as I have been guzzling the  teas- they are soooooooooooooooooo delicious! Wowsa….  when they talk about mellow flavor on the website, they are not just whistling a fancy tune!

All of the teas are just wonderful- and I am smitten.

I tried to show in the pic that the dolls all had tea in their little cups, but I couldn’t get all the cups into the picture.

Aren’t the orange and yellow teapots next to the Jimmy doll cute?

They are vintage salt and pepper shakers from our fave thrift store.  I seem to collect doll sized teacups and teapots.

I guess that is a natural outgrowth of my love of designing dolls, and of course, of cherishing  tea.

Receiving a box of gorgeous tea because of blogging about tea love made me want to blog more about it…. and of course, I had to have a fun photo, too…. So, it was a fun excuse to have a dolly’s tea party and to get out some of the dolly teapots and teacups.

For me, tea is one of life’s greatest pleasures…..  and when it all comes together with my love of writing, and designing and doll making and yarncentricity, then it just makes me grin with total delight.  It’s all just so good!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn