Our turtle mascot Charlene has been capturing the hearts of stuffed animal lovers of all ages, everywhere, and now we are making the pattern available so that you can make your own!
This pattern includes three sizes … the instructions are the same, just different looms are used.
Explore possibilities … thick or thin yarn … one color or many … medium head on a large turtle … make your turtle(s) unique! Use the “tummy” to embroider a name or date to make it extra special for the recipient.
To celebrate our 6th anniversary we decided that it is time to start honoring customers who are making pretty and practical projects with their TURTLE looms. TURTLE weavers who have turned at least 100 hexagons and/or jewels into finished projects can contact us and request their Weaving Buddy badge!
Read on to see how to be eligible:
You have woven at least 100 hexagons and/or jewels and turned them into a finished project. This could be a single project, for example a garment or a blanket, or multiple projects that add up to at least 100 hexagons/jewels.
Your count may include regular and elongated hexagons of any size as well as jewels.
Make any project(s) you want. Use any pattern or your imagination. Use any yarn you wish.
Contact us when you are readyand we will discuss the details. We will ask you to send us photos that we can add to the Weaving Buddy Wall here on this site and a little info about which looms and yarns you used.
We will ask for your permission to post your project picture(s) here on this website on the Weaving Buddy Wall (we will set that up when we receive the first submissions).
Upon acceptance, we will send you a Weaving Buddy pin that we have made just for this purpose and a certificate that confirms your accomplishment.
We have a little over 400 badges to grant. There is no time limit … we will grant the badges until we run out.
We also have a small number of “honorary” badges to give to people who are dedicated TURTLE fans and deserve recognition just for that. For example, my husband will probably never weave and assemble 100 hexagons, but he got the very first badge because he patiently endures me and all the looms! If you know of a person who you think deserves an honorary badge, please contact us with your suggestion!
The certificate will mention your name and the unique badge number.
The badge is an antique die struck pin, measuring about 1 1/4″ point-to-point, with a magnetic back (it will ship with two magnets to help it hold better).
We are probably as excited about this program as you are, but that doesn’t mean that it will be perfect from the beginning! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or contact us.
Spring is springing these days, isn’t it? A friend wrote me that it is sunny and warm today where she lives, and 29F and snow in the forecast for the next day. The good thing is that any weather is weaving weather! This month we have two projects, a how-to tip, and an announcement or two …
I hope that you saw my mosaic Bee Queen table topper in the new Little Looms Summer 2023? If you’re not up to making that many hexagons right now but want to “bee busy”, you could make something like Susanne Eakin’s bee hive wall hanging, using the Tiny TURTLE F … and don’t forget the adorable (PennyTURTLE) flower!
I always like when people contact me and share their weaving stories, as Linda Aprin did! Linda watched the video “Weaving with one hand” and then shared a few ideas about things that she did differently. I appreciate that she allowed me to spread the word to others who may find this useful!
Linda writes: “Instead of clamping the loom, stabilize it with Dycem, the blue stuff in the picture. That lets you easily turn the loom. Also, instead of a clothes pin, use a clip like the one in the picture. It lets the yarn slide and helps the work flow instead of starting and stopping.”
Jane Grogan has for many years made Christmas tree ornaments for her family and friends. One year she made 30 adorable little turtles! Jane wove two TinyTURTLE R hexagons and added felted feet, head, and tail. She decorated with a little ribbon, added a hanger, and ready is a cute turtle ornament!
ETA April 30, 2023: Jane saw your comments! She provided a pattern – with template for the body – for you all to make your own adorable turtle ornaments. Leave a shoutout thank you in the comments section of this post if you plan to make some turtles! Here is the pattern for you:
That said, there is a “Turtle Weave-Along” coming up this May! The WAL will be from May 1-23, and ALL turtle makers will be welcome. More details will become available shortly on the TexasGabi blog.
One more announcement … I’d like to invite you to come back and read our blog on April 19 (hint, hint … signing up on the right to be notified about new blogs will make it real easy). We will celebrate our 6th TURTLE anniversary with launching a Weaving Buddy program … see you then!
(Photo credits: All project photos are by their respective project owners. Used with permission. All rights reserved.)
I owe you several blogs, for example an update on the 2023 temperature blanket, the next customer projects showcase, more info for the Garment WAL, but how do I explain this blog? … You can call it a confession of an addict.
Fellow pin-loom weaver Glorian posted a picture of the cutest little purse that she discovered at a thrift store, and she added that she bought it because it reminded her of pin-loom weaving.
A closer look at this stunning little treasure revealed that it is a “summer and winter” pattern, something that has enchanted “big loom” weavers for centuries.
What is “Summer and Winter”?
Weavezine explains it well … “Summer and Winter is a block weave. This means that you can create designs by building up blocks of pattern against a background cloth. Summer and Winter uses four warp threads for each unit of design. These four threads comprise both tie-down and pattern threads.”
On occasion it had crossed my mind to see how such complex patterns like “summer and winter” do on pin looms. Glorian’s post however made me decide to try it out “right now”.
This blog summarizes very humble beginnings. Unlike my usual blogs, this is more a WIP notebook. I hope that sharing my ideas and observations may inspire others to try it out as well, and that together we may bring this beautiful pattern approach to the smallest of looms.
How I Wove my “Summer and Winter” Sample
Block patterns require 4 warps. To achieve that I wove two hexagons on top of each other: The first hexagon is in the pattern colors rose and lavender, the next hexagon on top of that is in the “background” color gray. I used the TexaTURTLE R-regular loom to have enough space in the center for one framed flower. I used DK weight yarn to make it easier to move the threads between layers (I used Yarnspirations Caron Little Crafties, which proved to be perfect for the job). For both hexagons, I wove the first part in rounds as usual, to establish the “warped” centers of the hexagons.
Sorry, no pattern … I counted the threads on the picture and tried to get as close as possible. There is enough space for one framed flower, and I added some sidebars.
Each row is woven twice. First, using the pattern color thread, I worked the pattern by bringing the threads from the underlying hexagon to the top and wove a regular plain weave for each patterned area. Each second weave is done with the “background” color … filling in the background, and diving down under any pattern threads to proceed with a plain weave there for the areas where the background should not be visible.
Here is the finished sample on the loom, off the loom, and with a crocheted border. The yarn ends can be stuffed into the space between the layers instead of weaving them in.If done right (which in many instances I didn’t for my sample weave), the back of the fabric is an inverse of the front.
This picture shows on the finished piece how the threads have switched layers during the weaving.
“Further Research Required” …
The sample is merely a proof of concept, a lot can be improved. For example:
Proper “over/under” needs to be worked out, particularly when changing colors.
Pattern writing and charting options need to be explored.
For the next samples, simpler patterns than a flower in a wavy frame will help to better understand the mechanics.
A Few More Thoughts
If you are a knitter, you may know the concept of double knitting or reversible colorwork, where you knit two layers of fabric in different colors, and switch the colors between the layers to work reversible patterns. The knowledge that you may have from this knitting approach may come in handy for “summer and winter” weaving.
This method will work well on square or rectangle pin looms. When weaving, use any traditional warp/weft method (wind the warp only before you weave). Just wind the warp threads to get ready to weave. I suggest to weave 2 rows of plain weave before starting any patterns.
Usage: Because this method requires a lot of concentration and patience, it is unlikely to expect a lot of people making king-size blanketsl However, as the sample shows, just one simple weavie can be a welcome treat. It’s a great learning experience, and … any “summer and winter” project will certainly make people wonder how you made it!
If you like the pattern but don’t want to deal with a complicated weaving pattern … you can always embroider it!
Did you enjoy reading this very different type of blog? Leave a comment below!
