TT22 and Linda are sending their warmest holiday wishes from Iowa!
Shortly after TT22 arrived in the Driftless Area, the snow set in … time for Linda to take TT22 on a test run …
Linda is experimenting … for the cute Christmas basket she put 8 random hexagons of her pretty wool together (2 rows of 4 hexagons sewn together, then closed along the short sides to form a tube. Sew the tips on one end of the tube together to shape the bottom … it’s a 4-hexagons-in-the-round basket). Then, full the basket and let it dry over a small wooden square. Santa surely seems to be pleased!
Best wishes from all of us for a joyous, peaceful holiday weekend.
(Photo credits: All photos by Linda Canton. Used with permission. All rights reserved.)
Howdy! I would like to share the exciting news that our TURTLE looms are now available at Weft Blown, a weaving and spinning supplier in West Kilbride, Scotland, which is also known as Craft Town Scotland.
Some of you know store owner Ange Sewell and her team, who for years have welcomed pin-loom weavers in person at their store near the beautiful North Ayrshire Coast, as well as online. Ange plans to relocate in 2023 , but will still be in West Kilbride.
To celebrate Weft Blown as a new stockist, I designed a quick and easy cowl, inspired by the Firth of Clyde and the impressive island scenery, like the Isle of Arran, right off the shore near West Kilbride.
When Ange and I were chatting about yarns that have something to do with Scotland (but are also available in the United States), The Croft yarns from West Yorkshire Spinners came up. I had sampled those yarns a few years ago and fallen in love with them, and using them in a welcome project seemed a delightful choice.
And here are a few suggestions for how to wear your cowl
The cowl measures about 27″ in the round and about 11″ tall, without measuring the hexagons tips (with tips it measures about 13″).
Just slide it over your head and tug it into a comfy position, or …
… wear it over your head.
If you do that, it’s almost like a hoodie …
… or a kerchief.
You can also fold it in half, like a turtle neck (no pun intended).
That way you have a smooth edging at the top, and playful tips at the bottom.
Or you can use the cowl as garden decoration … well, we hope you don’t!
Thank you for celebrating with us! Maybe some of you will get a chance to visit Weft Blown. And to those who will make a Firth of Clyde cowl, make sure to share some pictures!
Congratulations! Linda Canton in Iowa will be our last TT22 host this year, for December.
Linda and her husband Dan live in the very unique Driftless Area of north-east Iowa. She writes about herself “We are an off-grid family, living in a fixed up timber-frame barn (well, still working on it). We are both recently retired (mostly … I substitute as a bus driver), and loving it.”
They share their home with “pandemic puppy” Tex (he just turned 2), a Texas Heeler who keeps them on their toes and outside, hiking their woods and trails. Linda’s comment on the photo: “He barely tolerated the photo session…can’t you hear him thinking – you gotta be kidding, Mom …”
Linda on the topic of hobbies: “How long do you have? Fixing up old places (a turn of the century Norwegian log cabin, our barn/home), cutting wood, stacking wood, hauling wood, burning wood (just kidding … we heat with wood), spinning fiber, knitting (see my favorite felted mittens from last year), making braided rugs, sewing … learner of much, master of none. But it sure is fun to try!
Some of Linda’s handspun yarn.
Linda’s favorite knitted, felted mittens.
Linda and her husband love fixing old places, including this Norwegian cabin.
About her pin-loom experience and plans Linda writes “Never used a hexagon loom, have tried to buy one, but they are (always) out of stock! Popular buggers. I do have an old 2 inch and 4 inch Weavette, along with a pile of squares. After reading a Little Looms magazine, I have set my sights a bit higher than acrylic squares … What would I like to make with the TURTLE? Don’t know yet … make some hexagons and see what shapes I can put together … a hat? Mittens? A sweater? I’m excited to see what I may make! I certainly have lots of yarn …”
TT22’s adventures of living off-the-grid with Linda, Dan, and Tex this December will be shared here on the blog … stay tuned!
(Photo credits: All photos except title are by Linda Canton. Used with permission. All rights reserved.)
Here we are … 2022 is coming to an end … there is one more opportunity to host TT22 during the final month of the year, December !
If you are interested and available to “entertain” TT22 for a month, please leave a comment in the comments section below.
No hexagon weaving experience necessary … anyone who wants to weave hexagons is welcome.
Signup is open now, and will end Thursday, December 1st, at 6 pm US CDT. I will contact the new host and make the announcement shortly after I hear back from him/her.
If you would like to know more about how this challenge works, please see the plan.
Meanwhile … In case you’re wondering why we’re running a little bit late … TT22 is currently on a 4-day cruise, visiting Catalina! TT22 and Charleen want to share this photo with us, and they write “The tile and the turtle card were two things we purchased on Catalina, and the towel animal is something that the cabin stewards make for the guests and put in the cabins. Tomorrow we’re going to see Ensenada …”
Photo credits: All photos are by Charleen Rice. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
It was during one of the Covid lockdowns when our CNC Meister and I were bored and decided to tackle a question that had been on our minds for a while: How “fine sett” can we get?
Our pin supplier joined in and provided a variety of thinner steel wires, and the testing began.
The CNC router kept routing and drilling until it got to a point where we had to use a magnifying glass to see the holes.
Trying thinner pins convinced us very quickly that what we’re currently using for the Square fine sett looms is the closest to what can be woven comfortably, without having to add a supply of band aides for pricked fingers to each loom kit.
We decided to settle on a loom that is “fine” enough to weave “finer” sock and fingering yarns, like this Lion Brand Sock-Ease.
Several popular sock and fingering yarns list a gauge of 30 sts/4″, which weaves up a nice but light fabric on the fine sett looms. We wanted an “extra fine” option, where the fabric is dense enough for clothing and similar projects.
Above pictures show the yarn example Rico Design Superba Bamboo Uni, available through Universal Yarn, on the new XF loom (left); fabric comparison XF (left) and F ( right); hexie off the XF loom. The header picture also shows that yarn, woven on all three Original TURTLE looms.
Another example is Lang Jawoll, shown woven on the XF extra fine sett on the left, and the F fine sett on the right.
The Original TURTLE loom XF expands the use of thinner yarns without jeopardizing the comfort of weaving.
6/2 cotton yarns like the popular Bluegreass Mills, available through the Woolery, now enter the category of yarns that weave well on TURTLE looms at about 12 epi, and with that the doors open to create a new range of beautiful kitchen items like hand towels and accessories.
Weaving single stranded Size 10 crochet thread on this loom still generates a light fabric, but it now generates a nice, light density for curtains or lacy table toppers.
When will the Original TURTLE Loom XF be available?
Congratulations to Meredith and Denise CP (check your emails, please)! They are the winners of our treasure hunt contest and will be the first to receive a new Original TURTLE Loom XF.
