photo by NoreenCrone-Findlay copyright

I had no doubt that

Little Gnome Girl

belonged on the

gigantic spool knitter,

but once I finished

painting her,

I was totally

stumped.

I was convinced

that she

was supposed to

be in a garden,

but  just couldn’t

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bring myself to draw

a garden on the spool knitter.

So, the little Gnome Girl

sat on the top shelf of

a bookcase in my studio,

looking rather sad and

unfinished for more than

18 months.

I showed her to a friend,

who fell in love

with the little Gnome Girl.

photo by NoreenCrone-Findlay copyright

I suddenly realized

that she needed

to have a Fairy Door.

So  I painted

a Fairy Door, and

then,

I thought….

oh!

Gnome Girl

really needs a

special friend!

Don’t we all?

photo by NoreenCrone-Findlay copyright

And, so,

I painted

a laughing

Star Baby

and some

stars.

The friend

that I had shown

the little Gnome Girl

to had a question for me:

Would you make me a

spool knitter that has

Wynken, Blynken and Nod on it?

We both thought that they would be perfect for the little Gnome Girl spool knitter, and so:

photo by NoreenCrone-Findlay copyright

Wynken,

Blynken

and Nod

now sail

their

wooden shoe

boat across the

starry, magical

night.

And,  inside the

spool knitter,

the moon smiles

at schools of little

photo by NoreenCrone-Findlay copyright

fishies, who

are actually

stars,

caught in

the nets

cast out

by

Wynken,

Blynken

and

Nod.

I took this photo before I varnished the spool knitter, because the varnish flashes too much.

I can never get the true luster to show up in photographs, but it’s amazing….. it just glows.

This is one of those pieces that has taken years to complete, but it is totally worth the wait.

I had thought that this would be my spool knitter, but I was wrong.It has turned into a commission, so it won’t be living on my bookcase in the studio anymore.

It took the inspiration of my friend remembering a favorite childhood poem to ignite my imagination, so that I could finish painting the spool knitter. I love how a conversation can sometimes trigger a huge outpouring of creativity. It’s pure magic!

That magic took me in a most unexpected direction with this spool knitter and I love it.  I am completely delighted with it, and hope that it will bring joy to my friend for years!

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photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

They are useful,

and can be embellished

in endless ways

to make them one of a kind.

There are a million ways to make a basket.

One of the most fun

ways of making

baskets is to spool knit them.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

To make a

spool knitted

basket,

you’ll need to

spool knit a heap

of cord.

Luckily, this is a

very pleasant and

contemplative task.

Make a couple

of yards each of

2 contrasting colors.

I like to use my 2 peg

Cordelia spool knitters

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

as they are so speedy

when I’m spooling up lots of cord.

Making a basket

is much easier if

you have a mold

to shape it over.

So, for this basket,

I used an empty

olive oil tin.

Trace the bottom of

the tin onto graph paper

and draw lines at the center.

Find a chunk of foam or

use several pieces of

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

cardboard so

you can stick pins in it.

Pin the 2 cords to the center

of the pattern.

Bring one of the cords around

the other,

and then,

coil them

in a spiral,

until you fill

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

in all the lines.

It’s a good idea

to pin the cords to

the pattern,

but you might

prefer to not

pin….

you’ll begin

the stitching

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

process at the

center of the

coils.

Stitch through 3 cords

at a time, working

your way around

the coils.

Place the stitches fairly

close together for

sturdiness.  As you stitch,

the shape of  the base of

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

the basket

is being established,

so squinch and

squeeze to make

the base fit the pattern.

When the base is

complete,

lift it off the foam

and continue wrapping

2 cords around the tin.

Stitch through both of them, and through the last cord of the previous round. (Remember, you always stitch through 3 cords at a time).

What do you do if you run out of cord?  Grab your spool knitter and spool knit some more!

You can weave in the ends later, so don’t worry!

Finish the basket by cutting the last round of spool knitting, taking the end through the stitches at the end of the cord, and weaving them into the basket.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And, before

you know it-

Voila!

Or as some people

say it: Wallah! LOL!

you have made

yourself the

most wonderful

little basket…

perfect for holding

your spool knitters

and spool knitting or

other fab yarnie projects!

I made a little video about basket making , for those who like to see things in motion:

Happy Spool knitting! and Happy Basket Making!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I search second hand stores for vintage spools and buy them whenever I find them:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

You can see in the photo what I have mostly been using the vintage spools for: Yep… spool knitters.

BUT…. other people are doing amazing and wonderful things with vintage and repro spools.

For instance:

Creating from the Heart on Etsy, is using spools and clothespins to create the most enchanting little dolls and critters!  The craftsmanship in these little dolls is superb!

Erica Daley is another doll maker on Etsy who is using spools in a delightful and engaging way to create a collection of magical dolls.

Recently, I profiled Phillipa England, who makes scrolls with vintage spools. They are heart rendingly exquisite!

AND… here’s a VERY clever tutorial on how to make a holder for circular knitting needles:

Jennifer Tallapaneni on PieKnits used spools in a whole new way – oh so creative!

Spools – they are soooooooooo wonderful! sigh.

What have you come up with to showcase your wonderful vintage wooden spools?

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They can stretch and stretch and stretch. Not so good.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

So, I use a couple of techniques to get around that problem.

Spool knitting with 2 interlocking colors works well.

Another way  to make a spool knitted handle that doesn’t stretch

is to spool knit over a stabilizing core of non stretchy yarn or cord.

I have been working on a bag that I have woven on the Lily Speed-O-Weave Loom.

I decided that I wanted to spool knit the handle and have the handle become the sides and bottom of the bag, too.

To make handles like this, you need to make a loop that is the desired length of the handle plus the measurement of the sides and lower part of the bag. Having a continuous loop for the handles and outside of the bag gives a really nice finish to a bag.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I used 2 strands of Lily Sugar’n Cream in black and one of my larger 6 peg spool knitted cords.

I spool knitted 86 inches.   Then, I cut 2 strands of parachute style cord that are each 180 inches long.

I folded them in half and put a large safety pin through the fold. Before I took the spool knitting off the spool knitter, I slid the safety pin into the spool knitting, drawing the parachute cords through the spool knitting:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I folded the ends of the parachute cord through the loops, and then used duct tape to secure the ends:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

When the ends were secured, forming a big loop, I slipped the ends of the spool knitted cord together. I stitched the ends to each other.

And, now, it was a spool knitted loop that would not stretch.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And then, I pinned the loop around the  back panel of the bag.  I stitched the loop to the back of the bag:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

And then pinned and stitched the front of the bag to the spool knitted cord:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The Butterfly fairy on the front of the bag ended up with a few changes.  I included 2 tatted fairies in the butterfly wings, too.

Here is the bag that I made using the Lily Speed-O-Weave loom, spool knitting, vintage flower looms, crochet, tatting and hand sewing.

Lots and lots of techniques in a fun new bag:

photo and project by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

How do you make this excellent cord? With the humble little 4 peg spool knitter – a tool that is under appreciated in it’s capacity for creating oh so nifty components for your needlework and yarnie happiness.

Spool knitting with 2 colors of yarn in the crossover sequence that I show in the video results in a cord that has 4 lines of color running the length of the cord.

It can be a little confusing to work out the sequence, so I have made a video tutorial that shows how to keep it all straight.

Of course, there are hints and tips about the whole process.

This cord is part of the series of tutorials that I am presenting about working with the Lily Speed-O-Weave Loom, so stay tuned for more videos!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I have spun up some wonderful yarn for it, but can’t find the photo of the spindle  with the gorgeous yarn, so this one will have to do for now….

I keep trying different ways of weaving the scarf, but am debating about what to do for it. I think I am just going to give in and just get on with it!

The one thing that I know for sure about the scarf is that I want to use a spool knitted edge for it.

The yarn that I spun for the edging is ridiculously thin, so one strand would make a pretty lame spool knitted cord.

Well, that is, if I just use one strand of it.

Because the yarn is self striping, I don’t want to loose that pattern by doubling the yarn strands and holding extra strands with it.

So, I had to use a sneaky little handy dandy trick to make the yarn turn into a sturdy cord suitable for edging a woven scarf.

And, of course, while I was making magic with my spool knitter, I thought….

I really ought to do a video tutorial on how to do this. It’s sooooooooooo simple, but it makes SUCH a difference.

And so, here’s the video tutorial:

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I hope you have had a wonderful day that included lots of lovely green living

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and eco projects, and that you are going to do something special for Earth Day tomorrow.

We are going to plant some baby trees.  That’s them in the pic to the right.

The Spool knitter is one that I made from a chunk of old wood that we found in Jim’s Dad’s workshop 10 or so years ago. Jim’s Dad was a champion recycler.

He would upcycle stuff in the neatest ways…. nothing much got thrown away around Mum and Dad’s house. If it could be re-used, repaired, re-purposed, reclaimed, or restored or renewed, you know it would be!

In amongst the things we found in the workshop after Dad passed away was a very old handle from some kind of gardening or maybe woodworking tool.  The wood is super hard and wonderfully worn.  You can feel the years of use that have gone into wearing the grain into the wood.

So, I have been really enjoying being able to upcycle that old handle into spool knitters for jewelry makers to create wonderful treasures with.

Today, as an ‘almost Earth Day’ project, I finished up  a bracelet that uses a fun bit of upcycling and reclaiming: (as well as the upcycled wood in the spool knitter itself, that is!)  I spool knitted a bracelet with copper wire, and pushed a vintage marble into the center of the spool knitted wire cord:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I bought the marble at our favorite second hand store, because it looks so much like the earth.

How perfect for an Earth Day bracelet.

Spool knitting with wire is somewhat tricky, as wire has no give. It’s worth it, though, as you can do fab things with wire!

There are a few things that I have found over the years that make spool knitting with wire much easier, and so I have made a video to help show these special hints and tips:

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The questioner had just gotten a fab deal on 24 gauge copper wire and snapped it up.

When she experimented with crocheting it, she found it to be not very pleasant to work with.  24 gauge is pretty energized, and fairly stiff.

Crocheting with it is mighty tough on the tendons.

She had seen that someone else had asked me to make them sturdy spool knitters for spool knitting wire and wondered if  the 24 gauge could be spool knitted.

Why would you spool knit wire?

Because you can make absolutely gorgeous jewelry with it!  Scrumptious!

I tend to use mostly 26 gauge wire for crochet and spool knitting, so I figured I had better give 24 gauge wire a try.

I tried it on the spool knitters that I had already made, and yes, it worked. BUT…. it seemed to me that it would work better with a different configuration on the spool knitter. One size doesn’t always fit all with spool knitters. In fact, it’s really helpful to have a selection of spool knitters in different sizes and shapes, with different numbers of pegs or nails.

By the way…. don’t try to spool knit wire on a plastic spool knitter, or on one with wooden pegs.

You’ll regret it…. plink, plink, plink…. the sound of breaking pegs…

I went out to the workshop and started working on a spool knitter that would work better for the 24 gauge wire.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I used  some wonderful old wood that we had inherited from my husband’s Dad (Earth friendly… it’s an upcycled very very old handle that had parted company from it’s original tool. I have no idea how old it is, but it’s O L D and incredibly hard wood!)

Anyhow, I made her a different configuration spool knitter, with a larger hole and the pegs spread further out, and it works a fair treat with the 24 gauge wire!

It’s slow going to work with such heavy wire, but worth it.

I decided that I had better make a video tutorial about spool knitting with wire, because it’s a whole other kettle of fish than spool knitting with yarn.

But, I had also been working on getting the soundtrack re-recorded and edited on a couple of other videos that I have just made, and ran into frustrating techno glitches (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).  So… it’s way late, now, and when I tried shooting the spool knitting wire video under artificial light, it looked baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

I need to wait for daylight to shoot it.

Some things are worth waiting for…. and sunlight is one of them.

So is a tutorial sharing secrets of spool knitting with wire, so stay tuned!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

You’ll need: A ball of pink yarn (I used Bernat Denimstyle in Weathered Rose)

A Potholder Loom,a weaving hook, a chopstick,a crochet hook,

a 4 peg spool knitter, a loop lifter,

a craft needle, a ruler, a dime, scissors, about an ounce of polyester stuffing,

about 10 inches of red yarn, a paper punch for circles, a paper punch for the heart,

or cut it out of junk mail freehand, thick craft glue, a bee button (ONLY for older children – NEVER use buttons, charms or beads on any toy or doll that you give to any child that is under the age of 7 years old), about 2 square inches (5 cm) of black felt for eyes.

Weave one square on your potholder loom, using two strands of yarn held together.

Spool knit the following  cords with all 4 pegs, using only 1 strand of yarn:

For the ears: 2 cords that are each 4 inches (10 cm) long

For the paws: 4 cords that are each 2 inches (5 cm) long.

Now, click on the video, and make yourself a Springtime Plushie Potholder Loom and Spool knitted Bunny!

All images, text, video and layout are copyright.  Video and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I was so excited I could hardly stand it.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Last week, a very kind person sent me a note, saying that she had found a book on her shelf.  She knew that I would love it, and was sending it to me.

She also laughed about some of the rather strange projects in the book.

Needless to say, I was intrigued.

The title sounded vaguely familiar, so I googled it and discovered that it was uploaded on several websites.

Wow! I was about to own a copy! I could hardly wait until it arrived!

I have been peering into the mailbox each day in anticipation, and today, the mailbox contained this treasure!

To actually get to hold this 100 year old book in my hands was a thrill.

It amazes me that Mary McCormack wrote about spool knitting with 2 peg spool knitters 100 years ago.

I had never seen anyone doing this (yes, I had seen lucets, but not 2 peg spool knitters), and had, through a process of reduction, worked my way back to working with and designing and making 2 peg spool knitters over several years of trial and error.

I really love the speed of working with 2 peg spool knitters, as you can produce miles and miles of cord really quickly when zooming along on just 2 pegs.  (For some projects, you WANT miles and miles, really quickly).

When I flipped the book open, I saw what  I think the sender of the book had meant by

‘odd’ projects….

Um…. what the heck?  The book lists it as a ‘muffler’.

A ‘muffler’? Okay….  well it doesn’t look like any scarf I have ever seen… but things may have changed in 100 years.

you just never know…..

Anyhow…. it’s an utterly charming book and I am thrilled to have it in my collection. It’s a real treasure!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn