photo by Jim Findlay copyright

So, I am going to make a short list

of some of the posts

that I loved the most this year.

Hands down, my absolutely

MOST favorite post has to be

the announcement that:

I am a granny!

Sweet Baby James

changes

E V E R Y T H I N G for us….

Sigh… a moment out for blissing…. okay, I’m back…

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Albert Einstein says that

being creative

means looking at the world

and seeing it in new ways.

Well… I saw the creative potential

in the paper streamers that the

Blue Man Group fired out

of a special effects canon

and ended up

spinning them into paper yarn

and then designing

a wonderful Shadow Scarf….

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

One of my most popular YouTube videos

this year was the one

on how to make

Flowers on the

Vintage Flower Loom.

Here’s the link to the

post and the video:

Vintage Flower Looms

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Another really popular

video is a tutorial

that I made on

how to wind yarn with a

nostepinne.

Here’s the link

to the post and

video tute:

Nostepinne

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

This year, I have switched

formats in the way that

I self publish my

designs.

I am focusing on

the pdf format,

because readers have

told me that this is

how they want to

purchase their books.

So, Spooligarumi,  and so are Weavagarumi and Virtuoso Vests.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Sock knitting is one of my great passions.

I live in clogs and crocs,

which are really

really hard on socks,

so I am constantly darning

my socks.

Another of my most popular

video tutes is

‘A new way of darning socks’

So, there you have it… a few of my favorite posts from 2009- I have more fave posts, so will gather them up for you, soon!

I hope that you have lots of lovely memories from this year, too, and not just painful ones because of the economy.

Things will get better. And all shall be well…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

You can make a right proper

hodgepodge of most things

‘fiber artery’,

and mostly,

not booger the blazes out of the yarn.

And the best part is…

with most of the fiber arts

(except for tatting, which

is lametably un-rip it rip it rip it-able)

you can ‘frog’ that

messed up project

right back down to it’s yarnie little zero state, and start all over again, no harm done, kiss and make up and better luck next time!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I did some

serious ‘frogging’

today…..

‘rip it rip it rip it’

(ribbit ribbit=frog it).

Several years ago,

I wove a couple of

boring, bland, unlovely

3 inch wide weft faced bands.

Why?

I have absolutely no idea.

Obviously, I recognized that I had gone off the rails, because I cut the warp off the loom, rolled the poor misbegotten mess up and stuck it away in a drawer.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I’ve been working on

a ’stash buster’ piece,

and have busted my stash

quite effectively.

As I was rooting

around the studio,

convinced that I had

more #10 crochet cotton

in my stash (I am sure I do!

WHERE did I put it? ack!)

I discovered the horrible

roll of pathetic weaving.

Most sane people would have tossed it.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Not me.

Nosirreee….

I wanted stash busting cotton,

and by gum,

stash busting cotton was right at hand,

although,

it  kind of got out of hand

every once in a snaggly while,

as I patiently, obsessively

un-wove the bands (there were 2 of the dadgummed things!

I ask you…. what ever possessed me?)

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Anyhow,

with patience

and persistance,

and yes,

a whole bunch of

forgiveness,

I have ended up

with some

deliciously enticing

cotton, just beckoning

me to play with it.

And, no, I will not be making a frog with it.

Yes, frogs and frogging  are definitely a wonderful metaphor for forgiveness:

After all, how often do we get a second chance to weave something new from the tatters of an old mistake?

Sure, it might have knots and wavey bits, but those are just a reminder that we can indeed let go of our ‘oopses’ and make something new, in a new way. Here’s to forgiveness!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The flowers from

flower looms work

beautifully  in combination

with crochet.

I quite like using

unusual yarns with

the flower looms.

This is slubbly quite

hefty silk handspun

in a shawl.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here are a

bunch of flower loom

flowers in another

shawl- also all

made in handspun yarns.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The rainbow  flower

was made with

spool knitted cord

on a flower loom.

The white flower

was made with chained

yarn…..

so you can really play with

your yarn before you use it

with a flower loom.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

What are those flowers part of?

Well…

a wild and wonderful

freeform crocheted, spool knitted,

tatted, woven, sewn, sculpted

doll made with all manner of

found objects.

Yes…. her

head REALLY is a vintage

shaving brush.

Aren’t her shoes cute?

The red square was made with a

magic loom and soft ribbon.

flower looms and freeform crochet photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here’s the back of the doll.

I used black  ribbon with

the flower loom,

and with the magic loom,

and a fair amount of spool knitting,

and crochet, with lots

of vintage buttons, a little lego,

beads, and found objects.

Putting together

all the diverse elements

in a cohesive way

can be challenging.

flower looms and freeform crochet photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

But, seeing the possibilities

for creative adaptive re-use,

aka: Upcycling found and

discarded objects and

using them to create

wild and funky dolls

that are an expression

of human experience

is one of the great joys of

my life….

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Well, okay,

for me,

the gift making

has already started.

I’ve been having

a lovely time

working on

Sunbonnet Sue Needlebooks.

I just love making them, and I hope that the friends and family that are receiving them will love them, too!

Here’s the link: Sunbonnet Sue

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

If  needle books

aren’t your cup of tea,

maybe making

a bracelet or two

might appeal?

Here’s a tutorial

for how to spool

knit with wire.

Spool knitted wire bracelet

Spool knitting wire

is a great way to

showcase a favorite bead,

button, stone or found object and turn it into a one of a kind bracelet.

Photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

One of my favorite

tiny gifts to make

and to receive

is a bookmark.

This bookmark

combines  little

squares woven on

a vintage Weave it

loom, trimmed with

tatting.

Here’s the link for the how to:

Bookmark

Hope you’ll enjoy making some small, but precious gifts for the people that you love… I’ll be posting more tutorials and lots of links for great ideas for yarncentric gifts!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There are also tutorials

on the web

for spectacular

masks for

crocheters and

tatters.

Here are links for some dazzlers:

Have you seen the tutorial for the exquisite Tatted Mask on Instructables? Awe inspiring!

And, here’s a link for a gorgeous Hairpin Lace  Mask from Stitch Diva.

If you are looking for something a little more whimsical, then Melissa Mall’s crocheted critter  1/2 masks on Crochet Me might be just perfect: Critter masks

If you would like to be inspired  by the sculptural potential of crochet, then definitely check out the crocheted mask gallery of

Nicki Hitz Edson: Gallery

The woven masks of Susan Barrett Merrill are breathtaking. They are an exploration of spirit and soul: Zati Masks.

And what if you need a snoozy little mask to ease your naptime? Ah, then, the  Goodnight Mask by Regina Rioux Gonzalez is the answer.

So…. there you have it… yarn is unmasked as the secret ingredient of all manner of masks, from giddy to glorious!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

I promised to show what I have been doing with the upcycled paper yarn.

Well…

I’ve been working on a couple of things.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I knitted a little pocket doll with the yarn.

Myeh.  It wasn’t magical.

So I frogged it.

And, then, I followed my intuition. One of the b5 bloggers wrote recently that her little girl was saddened by being told that Unicorns are not real.

I thought…. hmmm…. why not show her that the realm of imagination is alive and well?

So, I got out my potholder loom, and started weaving the paper yarn.

and guess what I wove?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

A Unicorn, of course!

Weaving the paper yarn

is a lot like weaving wire.

Neither of them have

any give, so it’s essential

to warp the loom so loosely

that it is almost crazy making.

BUT…

the completed weaving

is wonderfully maleable

and sculptable, so

the pain in the neck-ed-ness

of weaving with it is worth it.

Although, weaving with normal ‘yarn’ yarn is infinitely easier!

The  paper yarn crochets well too and I quite like the way it can be sculpted. I am working on a crocheted piece that I am making with the paper yarn that I upcycled from the Blue Man streamers. Stay tuned! I’ll post pics of it.

The pattern for the woven unicorn is available at: Potholder Loom Magical Creatures because, yes, the world of imagination is indeed essential, important and must be cherished!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I finished a little sampler,

which you see to the left.

There are all manner

of wonderful sites

about card  and tablet weaving

on the web.

I need you to know

that I don’t profit

in any way, shape or

form by listing them.

There’s a new law being

enacted that is making

sure that bloggers

are totally upfront

about getting paid and given products and all that. So,  now, that’s taken care of.

Just a heap of nifty and interesting links that aren’t related to me in any way:

:Here’s the link to end all links: The Twist (Tablet Weaver’s International Studies and Techniques) site, with a monster load of  inspiring links:  Twist

Linda Hendrickson is a master of tablet weaving. She designed a couple of phenomenal dog leashes for Interweave.

Here’s the link to the ‘Haiku Dog Leash’: Leash

and here’s her website (which is delicious, so be prepared to be awestruck): Linda Hendrickson

Ruth MacGregor has a charming little tablet weaving kit to get you started: spinningforth

Here’s a page that gives some basic instructions: Basics

And, here’s another lodestone of link pages with instructions for historical re-enactors, too:  Tablet Weaving

The pattern for this Viking band from Birka in Sweden is just too lovely for words: Birka

Hmmm…. the Birka Band is so beautiful that I may just have to get my craft knife out and make some more cards.

Of course… I immediately start thinking: oooooh… I should make ~wooden~ tablet weaving cards.

It’s the lure of the woodworking shop.

Have you ever noticed how wood and wool call out to one another? Ah, wood and wool… I hanker after both of them!

http://www.spinningforth.com/products/weave_tools.html

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

warping up tablet cards photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I wasn’t in love with it,

so I gave the book and cards away.

Last year, my best friend, who is also a weaver,

offered me a little pile of

tablet weaving cards

that she wasn’t using anymore.

I thought…. hmmmm…. why not?

I brought them home

and hung them on a ring

on one of the carts in the studio.

They’ve been calling out to me, but I have been resisting them.

Then, last week, when I was noodling through Ruth MacGregor’s website, I saw that she had written a booklet about continuous warping of tablet cards.

I thought…. hmmmm…. perhaps this is the key that will make me fall in love with tablet weaving. I hit the paypal button and began peering anxiously into my mailbox.

The booklet arrived yesterday, and today, I gave myself a little holiday by taking it for a test drive.

I clamped some clamps to the workbench, and got out some cones and bobbins of yarn. The first pic is a long shot of the warping process.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I had a few

‘eh’????

moments,

when I wanted

MORE information,

but decided to

trust that

everything

would turn out okay…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

and if it didn’t

then -

so what?

It’s all just string

and it can be untangled

and used again.

I was going to put

the tablet weaving onto

my inkle loom,

but decided that I use

my Cricket loom instead.

Getting it onto the Cricket required a whole bunch of effort from me and my daughter-in-law, as well as one small dog and one large cat both offering their advice.

She had taken her broken ankle to bed, so she lay there, (foot elevated),  holding onto the end of the warp strands and  laughed. Meanwhile I juggled the Cricket in mid air, over the head of  the sceptical dog and  fascinated cat, flailing with brown paper strips, trying to maintain the tension on the warp while winding on the warp.

Whew! that was distinctly challenging!

Well…… I have done something slightly off kilter,  (given the loom juggling, I am not all that surprised) so, this first band is wonky.

I am used to warping the tablet cards in the way shown in this pdf: Non continuous warping

so the continuous method feels uncomfortable to me.

Weaving narrow bands is fascinating.

There is  a long history of humanity weaving narrow bands and using them to construct other fabrics, other objects.

It’s worthwhile to explore the different ways of weaving those little bands, and then, to see what potential, what possibilities, they hold.

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Give me a butterfly, a bee, a ladybug, a dragonfly any day, but spiders…. eep… the closest I like to get to spiders is at the end of the  ‘pick up the spider and take it outside‘ tool  in the photo.

It’s even better if it’s my husband who is the one picking up the spider and marching it outside. erg.

Have you heard about the spider silk tapestry that is on display at the  American Museum of Natural History?

Two artists, Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley, have worked out a way to put spiders (special big honkin’ ones in Madagascar- they are big enough for people to eat them. erg.) into a harness (!) and milk the silk out the spider’s spinerettes like milking a cow. (The mind boggles).  And, yes, the people who were putting the spiders in the harnesses got bitten. Which is saying a lot, as the spiders are at least 4 inches across. erg erg erg.

The spiders have to be caught and kept away from each other because they’ll eat each other if they are given the chance. Nice.

So,  1 million, 63 thousand of these boogers were caught and ’silked’ to create the strands of silk to weave the spectacular tapestry that is one of a kind.  It took almost 5 years to spin the sticky, light, soft and highly elastic, golden colored strands of protein.

Every single thread in the tapestry is made up of 96 single strands of spider silk!

Not ONE strand was broken in the weaving! wow….

Will it ever be done again. Nope.

Here is the link to the press release: spider silk tapestry

I was pleased to see a pic of the loom, but have been frustrated by not seeing how the spinning and weaving were done.

Here’s the youtube video about the tapestry:

There is also an exhibition about the silk road coming soon… it looks fabulous.

Have you ever wondered exactly how  a spider spins silk? Now you know…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

We use yarn as a blessing.

Is there a baby on the way?

Get out the knitting needles

and crochet hooks to

celebrate!

Is someone ill?

Knit or crochet or weave

them a prayer or blessing

shawl.

Is there a rite of passage or significant spiritual event? Chances are good that textiles will enter into it, somehow, somewhere.

We swaddle our babies and wrap them in soft cloths. And, when the time comes, and we leave this life and are born into the next, someone will wrap our bodies in cloth again.

Cloth, and the ways we create it, whether we knit, crochet, weave or make it in some other way (or have someone else make it for us) is intertwined with our lives from the moment we emerge from the womb until after we leave this life.

So, doesn’t it make sense to find ways to make some of that cloth be significant to us? How do we do that?

By paying attention to what we make, and how we make it and why we make it…. then,  hopefully…. those things that we knit, crochet, weave, spin, and whirl out of our imaginations, hearts, minds and hands, will become the source of joy, sustenance and healing.

Ah,  Joy….. that’s what yarn and thread and creativity can bring….. joy……

Post from: Hankering for Yarn