Bead Loom, Kit & Class Package

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Elena Zuyok

What’s the perfect gift to give any craft-addict? A Mirrix Loom, Kit and Class package gives any bead lover everything they need to get started weaving including a class that will lead students through everything they need to weave a beautiful beaded bracelet with the kit provided.

The package comes with a 5″ Mini Mirrix Loom, a stunning Desert Beaded Braclet Kit and and the online class.

The class will be offered in January (6th to the 27th), February (3rd to the 24th) and March (3rd to the 24th) of 2013 and will function much-like one of our famous weave-alongs, but private. We will also archive these classes in case someone can’t participate at these times. Once a class date range is chosen, paricipants will get an email once a week for four weeks walking them step-by-step through the set-up, warping and weaving processes. Instructors will be available to answer questions via email throughout the class.

This kit includes:
-One 5″ Mini Mirrix Loom
-One Desert Braclet Kit
-One private online class with Mirrix’s Claudia Chase and Elena Zuyok (a sign-up link will be sent with your package)

You can learn more and purchase the package here.

Soumak Pouch Weave Along #8 Part Two: Design Notes

Posted on September 5, 2012 by tottietalkscrafts

I am sure that everyone who is participating in the Soumak Pouch Weave Along wants to create a finished piece that is completely unique.
So, that’s why I am sharing a few design notes.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

In Part One of the Weave Along LINK I posted my design for the Soumak Pouch.
How did I come up with this design, and how can you make it be a reflection of your personality?
I started the design process by thinking of the rug that was in my grandmother’s dining room when I was a little girl:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I spent many a happy hour on that carpet, when I was a child, playing with my cousins.
The flowers became a deeply ingrained part of my ‘pattern language’.
So, when I was designing the pouch, it was natural to look at the flowers in the carpet and see if there was a starting point there.
Indeed there was, and I sketched and played with variations on carpet flowers:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I traced out lots of copies of the prototype pattern.
I find that tracing the pattern by hand is better for me than scanning and printing the pattern.
When my hand and eyes are quietly engaged in tracing the design, then connections are made that are really helpful in making creative leaps.
I choose aquarelles (watercolor pencils) that matched my weft colors.
Then, I colored lots and lots of variations on the theme, playing with combinations of colors and trying to push myself to use the weft colors in ways that I might not have considered.
I also would make little sidebar colorways when I was uncertain about a specific motif in the pattern.
And, then, when I was happy, I started weaving.
As I wove the prototype pouches, I discovered a few things: OOPS! The weaving contracts when it’s released from the loom, so it NEEDS a header and footer beyond the pattern!
Also, I felt that making the pattern more geometrical would make it more weaver-friendly, so I re-designed the pattern to make it conform more closely to the warp strands:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I felt constrained to stick to using only the colors of yarn that were in the various kits and packages supplied by the yarn companies.
I didn’t mix and match, BUT… you can feel totally free to use yarn from your stash to personalize your pouch.
The only exception to the ‘no stash’ rule that I was following was that, for the black and white checkered pouch, I did pull white wool from my stash (well, my daughter in law’s stash to be perfectly honest… bless her for her donation to the cause <3 and :D )

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

In this photo, you’ll see that I traced the pattern onto graph paper (4 squares to the inch or 2.5 cm).
(The photo of the pouch at the beginning of this post was woven with the Mirrix Soumak Pouch Kit yarns and this colorway.)
Graph paper is the top of the list of my favorite design tools…. it’s a weaver’s very good friend indeed!
Playing with graph paper allows you to try out all manner of interesting things.
So, in a nutshell, what are the key points of designing a unique project?
1- Look for a starting point in something that you love or are inspired by.
2- Be willing to make mistakes and to start over
3- Trace, don’t print the extra copies of the design.
4- Use colors in ways that you might not usually consider when you are experimenting with your coloring pages.
BUT… if you have signature colors, then, of course, feel free to use them.
5- Make multiple color combination sidebars if you are uncertain about a part of the design.
6- Use graph paper to work out colorways and patterns.
7- The ways that you choose to embellish your pouch will make your pouch TOTALLY unique, as the finishing and embellishment techniques are incredibly expressive :)

Here’s the Design Notes Video:

Happy weaving! :o) Noreen

Two more pouches for the Soumak Pouch Weave Along

Posted on August 26, 2012 by tottietalkscrafts

I’ve been shooting videos for the weave along that begins on September 2nd.
As I was shooting, I was weaving along on a couple of pouches.

Here they are:

A Stripey one, with some beads and other embellishments:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

and the back:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

I wove it with Lion Brand Bonbon yarn- cotton for the body of the pouch and metallic for the embellishment.

The size 8 beads along the sides are from Mirrix and the bone beads at the lower edge were in my stash.

The medallion on the back of the pouch is one that I snitched from a box of stuff that my daughter in law was going to give away.
(She gave it away, but to ~me~ instead of giving it to ‘anonymous’ – I can be shameless when it comes to pretty goodies! )

My daughter in law grinned at me when she saw the finished pouch, and said:
‘This one is yours, isn’t it, Mum?’
‘Yes! but how did you guess?’
She just laughed.
I guess it’s because I adore these colors and use them all the time!
…
I was concerned about this pouch:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Why? Well, because both my daughter and my daughter in law declared that they loved it and would love to have SantaMamma leave it in their Christmas stocking.

I didn’t want to make two pouches that were exactly alike, so I had to have a big old think about it.

And, I came up with the perfect answer!!!!!

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

TADAH!!!! I wove it up in the same colorway, but using the drop dead luscious wool yarn from the Mirrix kit [LINK to purchase]
(and, please note,: I don’t profit by raving about the delicious and gorgeous yarns I am using for these pouches, but I am just tickled pink with them, and VERY happy to say: WHEEEEEEEEEEE about them and to say: Yup… thumbs up, order and love ‘em, too) :o)

Here’s the back of the woolie pouch:

www.kreinik.com supplied me with the gorgeous embroidery thread and edging cord for this pouch.
Here are the links for them:
The edging is 3/8 ” trim: # 170 Natural Pewter
http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=17023&cat=0&page=1

The embroidery thread is: Ombre: http://www.kreinik.com/kshop/product.php?productid=622&cat=0&page=1 1000 – Solid Silver
I love the combination of the soft loftiness of the wool with the sparkle of the metallic embroidery floss. The embroidery thread is soft and lovely to work with. Some metallics can be barky and sharky. This is soft and nooshy.

!AND!

Happy dance!
and ~whew~

My daughter in law (who happens to be an incredibly gifted and talented handspinner, so she is naturally inclined to be more drawn to wool), likes the woolie pouch -

HURRAH! SantaMamma is so relieved!

My girls will have their lovely pouches in their Christmas stockings, and they are ‘sister pouches’…. similar, but each unique!
Alright… time for me to get back to editing video….. :o)
~Noreen~

Oooh Claudia made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches

Posted on August 19, 2012 by tottietalkscrafts

Oooh, Claudia has made gorgeous kits for the Soumak Pouches!

Oh my word!
Claudia has outdone herself in making the kits for the Soumak pouches for the Weave Along in September:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Aren’t the colors and textures gorgeous?
I just went and picked up the text from this page: LINK

If you’re a weave-along 8 participant get $10.oo off this kit with discount code: weavealong8

This package goes with our Weave-Along 8 hosted by Noreen Crone-Findlay.

Learn more about the weave-along and sign-up here today.

Kit Includes:
-30 yards of 10 each of ten colors of wool/mohair yarn
-12 x 6 piece of silk for lining
-A semi precious stone for a clasp
-100 gram tube of Navajo Wool Warp

*Please note, this kit does not come with fiber for the edging or a kumihimo kit to make one.

The kit can be purchased separately.

You will have 4 options for making the edging cord for the pouches:

1- A beaded peyote stitch tubular cord. If you want to make your cord with beads, be sure to add beads to your shopping list. Either #8 or #11 work fine, depending on what your favorite size is. I used the #11.

You can order them from Claudia when you order the kumihimo kit and the pouch kit.

By the way, you will be able to weave more than one pouch from the kit.

OR:

2- A kumihimo cord. You can order it from the link above.

OR:

3- A spool knitted cord. LINK for the ordering information.

OR:

4- A twisted cord. I’ll be showing you how to make a twisted cord with a spool and a crochet hook.

I am rubbing my hands together in delight, as I am having a wonderful time working on a ton of videos to make the Weave Along really fun and super user friendly.

There is a mountain of information, so I am breaking it all down into bites that make sense and are easy to refer to when questions come up.

Happy Weaving!

Noreen

Mirrix Loom Weave Along Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

Posted on August 8, 2012 by tottietalkscrafts

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 -Soumak Pouch- 2- Looms, tools, equipment

This is the second ‘Prelude Post’ for the Mirrix Loom Weave Along for the Soumak Pouch.
The pouches are perfect for both business cards:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

or for cellphones:
My cellphone is one of the smaller, lower tech ones [4inches tall, 2 inches wide, 5/8 inch thick] if yours is larger, then you will want to upsize your pouch, if your pouch is going to be a cellphone pouch.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Alright… now onto the gathering up of tools and equipment:
First of all, you need a loom:

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Most of the photos and videos for the weave along will feature my 8 inch Lani Mirrix loom. (Although I have ordered a Mini and a Little Guy, so hopefully, they will arrive soon, so I can use them in the photos and videos, too.)
The pouch can also be woven on any of the larger Mirrix looms as well- if you are using one of the smaller Mirrix looms, then warp up one pouch at a time. If you are using one of the larger looms, then you can warp and weave 2 pouches at the same time.
Even if you don’t have a Mirrix loom, please feel welcome to join in the Weave Along.
As long as you have a loom that you can get good tight tension on it, then you will be able to weave the pouches.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You will also need: A steam iron, a pressing cloth, a good source of light, pencil crayons or watercolors or some other way of coloring your preliminary pattern colorways, 2 clothespins, scissors, needle and thread for finishing, snap fastener and a swivel clip, you’ll also need paper for tracing out your patterns and trying out different color schemes.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Knitting needles and crochet hooks are very helpful, and a loop turning tool is handy (I bought mine at my local fabric store), a piece of cardboard that is 10 inches tall by 3 inches wide (25 cm tall by 7.5 cm wide), a weaving stick, small paper clamps, a fork or beater, a hole punch, at least a yard of firm yarn or cord, clear tape (packing tape works well); a black fine tip permanent marker

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You’ll need rods for the top and lower edge of the weaving: 6 inch (15 cm) tent pegs or 6 inch (15 cm) lengths of steel or brass rods 1/8 inch in diameter (I bought a 36 inch long one at the hardware store and cut it to 6 inch lengths with a hacksaw); velcro straps (I bought mine from Lee Valley: Link; ‘S’ HOOKS: 25 “S” hooks, either 7/8 inch or 1 inch- opened or closed :[ I had a huge ‘AHA’ when I bought closed ‘S’ hooks…. having one end closed is just GREAT… so if you buy closed ‘S’ hooks, open one end with pliers. If you buy open ‘S’ hooks, squeeze one of the ends closed. Having the closed end keeps the ‘S’ hooks on the rod. :) ] ; 1/4 inch Washers: 54 in total; 1 or 2 pairs of pliers for adjusting the ‘S’ hooks; ruler and tape measure.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

Some of these things have shown up in other photos, so I won’t list them again, but the other things are: A small bowl for holding pins, needles, clamps etc; a bag or box to store and transport the project (that’s Tottie Tomato’s knitting bag); chopsticks are very handy for several things besides your Pad Thai :)

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

You will need at least 5 or 6 blunt tapestry or craft or darning needles. It’s handy to have a needlebook or tin, or cardboard tube or eyeglass case to store them in.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

To line the pouch: Fabric (I upcycled one of my son’s abandoned t shirts for the lining of the first 4 bags), scissors, pins, needle and thread, snap fastener: I used the 15 mm size.

: copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay

To make the edging cord: A kumihimo kit (the cd is a stand in as I haven’t received mine yet) available from Mirrix: LINK
OR a spool knitter: Lion Brand: LINK
or Harrisville: LINK

CHECKLIST at a glance:

- Loom

- steam iron
- pressing cloth
-a good source of light
- pencil crayons or watercolors or some other way of coloring your preliminary pattern colorways
- paper for tracing out your patterns and trying out different color schemes
- 2 clothespins
-scissors
-needle and thread for finishing
-snap fastener 15 mm size

-swivel snap hook (optional)
-knitting needles & crochet hooks
-Optional: a loop turning tool is handy
-a piece of cardboard that is 10 inches tall by 3 inches wide (25 cm tall by 7.5 cm wide)
- a weaving stick
- small paper clamps
-a fork or beater
-a hole punch
-at least a yard of firm yarn or cord
-clear tape (packing tape works well)
-a black fine tip permanent marker
-Rods for the top and lower edge of the weaving: 6 inch (15 cm) tent pegs or 6 inch (15 cm) lengths of steel or brass rods 1/8 inch in diameter
-velcro straps Link
-‘S’ HOOKS: 25 “S” hooks, either 7/8 inch or 1 inch- opened or closed
- 1/4 inch Washers: 54 in total
-1 or 2 pairs of pliers for adjusting the ‘S’ hooks
-ruler and tape measure
- small bowl for holding pins, needles, clamps etc
- a bag or box to store and transport the project
- chopstick (optional)

- At least 5 or 6 blunt tapestry or craft or darning needles and a needlebook or tin, or cardboard tube or eyeglass case to store them in.
-Lining fabric
- Straight pins

-kumihimo kit OR a spool knitter
-any other embellishments, beads, buttons, charms or found objects that you wish to use.
Happy Weaving!
:) Noreen

Mirrix Loom Weave Along #8- Soumak Pouch-1-Warp and Weft

Posted on August 3, 2012 by tottietalkscrafts

Mirrix Loom Weave Along # 8 -

Soumak Pouch- 1- Warp and Weft

In September, I will be leading a Weave Along, using Mirrix Looms.
I will be posting the pattern, video tutorials, instructions and step by step photos for the Weave Along here on Tottie Talks Crafts.

The project is a Business Card Pouch, which also works well as a cellphone pouch, woven in Soumak, embellished with corded edges and chain stitch embroidery.
I have designed it to be welcoming to entry level weavers, but also, with options that will appeal (I hope) to more advanced weavers, too.
Because it can take awhile to get orders cleared and shipped, I am posting some suggested warp and weft yarns, as well as the links for ordering them now.
Hopefully, your yarns will arrive before September first.
Here are a few photos of some of the Business Card pouches that I have woven so far:

This is the first Business card pouch that I wove, using:

copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
Harrisville Warp LINK
and: Wool weft: Harrisville Variety Yarn Pack: Brights LINK

I wove the second pouch with the Harrisville warp and for weft:

Harrisville Variety Yarn Pack Jewels LINK

I quite like both p0uches, but …. OOPS!
They are slightly too small for their intended purpose! EEGADS! Business cards don’t fit in them!

So, I went back to the drawing board, and altered the pattern.
By then, gorgeous yarn had arrived from Lion Brand yarns: LINK TO BONBON YARN

The photo doesn’t convey the scale of the balls of Bonbon…
They are tiny, perfect little balls of loveliness. Each of them is 2 1/2 inches (6cm) tall.
The cotton is simply gorgeous to weave with. I love it.
I wove these Pouches in Bonbon cottons, with Metallic chain stitch embroidery:

I used the ‘Nature’ colorway for the pouch in the photo above, and ‘Beach for the pouch in the photo below:

The Metallic yarns come in six packs, as does the cotton. I used yarns from both colorways: Party and Celebrate, for these pouches.

My daughter in law suggested that I add a swivel snap hook to the upper corner of the pouch.
I thought that it was a great suggestion, and so I have added it.
The swivel clip allows you to clip it to your bag, or the belt loop of blue jeans.
If your cellphone is one of the larger ones, you may need to upsize your pouch if you would rather use it as a cellphone pouch instead of a business card pouch.

I used Lion Cotton for the warp for these two pouches, because I wanted to use yarns that you can order at the same time to make this all easier for you:

I wasn’t sure if it would work for the projects, but it does just fine.
I don’t think that I would use it for tapestry warp for a really large project, because it has a cheerful slightly bouncy nature.
Warp for tapestry really does need to be made of sterner stuff :D None of that youthful springiness!
Speaking of warp- a couple of my Ravelry friends have asked if carpet warp would be okay for the Weave Along, and yes, indeed, it will work fine.

I am going to weave some of the pouches on carpet warp, and also on the green linen that’s on that ginormous spool.
I am waiting for yarn (both Warp and Weft) from Mirrix. When they arrive, I will edit them into this post.
They haven’t arrived yet, but Elena has posted a photo and a link for the kit:

Gorgeous, yes? :D
Here’s the link to order them: MIRRIX KIT LINK
In my next post, I will show you the equipment, materials and tools that you will need to gather up for the Weave Along.
Here’s the link to a post that has all the blog post links, to keep everything quick and easy to refer to : LINK
You are invited to post comments on the blog posts here on Tottie Talks Crafts…. AND….
Please post your photos and join in the discussion on the Facebook group: LINK
And, you can post your weave along photos and chat with the other WAL participants on Ravelry, too: LINK
There’s a sign up on the Mirrix website so you’ll get notifications of the posts. LINK

CHECK LIST FOR WARP AND WEFT:
– warp
-weft
-optional contrast yarn for chain stitch embellishment

You are so welcome to join in!
:) Noreen

Weave-Along 7: Finishing Your Purse

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Elena Zuyok

It’s time to finish your lovely silk purse. After having woven the header (the last few rows of warp material woven in as weft), cut your piece from the loom remembering to leave five inches of fringe to make tying them easier.

It ‘s time to finish your lovely silk purse. After having woven the header (the last few rows of warp material woven in as weft), cut your piece from the loom remembering to leave five inches of fringe to make tying them easier. Weight your piece with something so that while you are tying the fringe the piece is stable. Take two warp ends from the left or right. Tie the first part of a square knot (the one you use to tie your shoes before making the bow). Make sure the knot is flush with the edge of your weaving.

Next, tie an overhand knot. Stick a needle into the knot itself and then guide the knot to the base of your weaving. Do this with the warps on the other side as well as the left and right warps on the other end of your piece. This will prevent the weft from raveling. Next, tie all the warps in this manner.

This is the back of the piece. You want to clean it up a bit. Trim the weft ends so they are a half inch to an inch or so long.

So it looks like this.

Fold the header and footer to the back of the piece and pin down. Use a whip stitch to sew it down to the back.

Lay your piece on top of the silk lining material. Trim the material to look like below photo.

Pin lining to back of piece.

Sew lining to back of piece.

Fold piece together and sew and pin.

Sew two sides together.

Then use groups of three beads to sew all around the sides and top of the piece like so.

Finished piece.

My iphone is very happy although I did promise to give it Elena.

Weave-Along 7: Continuing to Weave

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Elena Zuyok

Today we will weave the rest of the piece. Next week we finish it.

Our first technique will be wavey lines. They are simple to do and have a fun effect. All you do is weave two passes of one color and then two passes of another color. Keep repeating this pattern and you will get the effect of wavey lines. Why? Because, in tapestry, in order to weave an entire line, you need to weave two lines. The first pass covers the odd warps, let’s say; the second pass covers the even warps. And although you essentially have a line, it’s a staggered line. So when you create sets of lines with different colors it creates a wavey pattern. Hence: wavey lines.

After weaving the two passes of pink, I add a blue weft.

The blue weft is woven twice.

Then the pink weft is woven tw ice.

Here you can fully see the effect. It’s easy, fast and pretty.

Below, I have marked the warps to separate ten warps on the left, twenty warps in the middle and ten warps on the right. We are going to make a triangle!

The three wefts will be woven in opposite directions so that their joins are in the right shed. Weave the right weft to the left, the middle weft to the right and the left weft to the left.

Weave each weft until they have passed around both their end warps twice. The triangle is going to be stepped up two lines at a time.

Now it’s time to increase the outer wefts and decrease the middle weft.

Because the wefts were woven in opposite directions, you can encroach on the middle wefts territory and have your weft be in the correct shed.

Keep weaving this pattern making sure each weft passes around its side warps twice before increasing or decreasing.

Done with the triangle. Kill one of the side wefts and take the other weft all the way across the piece. Add more weft if you need to.

I then added some railroad yarn to the single blue weft.

I strung some beads on just the silk. Wove the beads. And then continued with the railroad yarn and silk.

Then

Wove with just silk weft for a while and then added a new color of silk weft.

Added another color of silk weft.

Added some railroad yarn to the silk weft.

Below, I’ve marked the warps at ten, twenty and ten again in order to weave slit tapestry blocks.

The wefts were inserted going in the same direction. They will not be crossing into one another’s territory so it was not necessary to weave them in opposite directions.