Travel Turtle ’22 en Route to First Destination

Posted on by texasgabi

Travel Turtle ’22 is all packed up and on its way to Gilbert, Arizona, a small farm town that grew into a city on the outskirts of Phoenix. There, it will meet our first host Terry, a dedicated fiber enthusiast.

January host Terry is an indie dyer by profession, and her hobbies include knitting, spinning, and art weaving. Terry has been pin loom weaving for long enough that she doesn’t remember when and how it started. And yes, she has woven on TURTLEs before and has several fine-sett hexagon looms in her collection, and Squares, too. When asked what she’s made with those looms so far she replies:

“Mostly I have been experimenting with all the different yarns, including some of my hand dyed yarns.  It’s fascinating to see how the squares and hexagons work up different when you change yarns.
I am currently working on making enough elongated hexagons to do a scarf or cowl of some sort.  The way I work my projects is to collect a lot of the pieces and let them tell me what they want to be.
The best part of using the Turtle looms is that I make one piece and something is completed, a finished piece. I get instant gratification by making one hexagon.”

  • Experimenting with different yarns.
  • One of Terry’s shawl designs.
  • WIP in progress!
  • A piece of art: Tea cozy.

Asked about her plans for TT’s visit Terry contemplates that she is still thinking about it (but there are already rumors that she might engage her husband in some small sightseeing around Gilbert):
“I have some wonderful small skeins of worsted weight yarn that I have been stashing in great colors.  Since this will be my first experience with a regular sett loom, I want to make as many hexagons as I can, and then let them become something more grown up over the next year.”

I think we are now ALL looking forward to following along! Terry will be reporting TT’22s travel adventures directly through her Instagram account, you can follow her here: Spinfiber on Instagram. Also, look for hashtag #travelturtleloom2022 on other social media.

Last not least, I certainly felt happy to have Charlene around to help with the travel preparations …

  • Charlene has been a tremendous help in getting everything ready.
  • All packed up and ready to go!
  • Charlene?? Charlene!!! No, no, no! Not you, too!
  • Pouting does not help.
  • Remember that you will have your own story to tell soon?
  • Good Charlene!

Travel Turtle ’22: Announcing the First Host

Posted on by texasgabi

Congratulations!
Terry Neal from Gilbert, Arizona
will be our first host, for the month of January!

Our new mascot Charlene instantly started to help Travel Turtle to learn a little bit about Arizona, while I work on travel arrangements … it is all very exciting.

The interest in hosting Turtle has exceeded our expectations … if your name didn’t get drawn, please follow along Turtle’s journey, and we hope that you will sign up again for hosting Turtle in upcoming months.

In a few days we will share a little bit about our January host and also report about Travel Turtle’s departure … stay tuned …

2022 Travel Turtle Adventure

Posted on by texasgabi

Let’s work on some fun, good times for 2022! We made a one-of-a-kind TinyTURTLE that we will send on its way to travel across the United States this year. And you can become part of the adventure! Here’s how …

The Plan

  • Every month, the Travel Turtle 2022 will visit a new pin loom weaver.
  • The “Travel Turtle host” will be determined via a random drawing every month.
  • The “Travel Turtle host” will at least weave one hexagon (but make as many as you want), post at least one picture during that month (but post as many as you want), autograph the travel host page in the instructions booklet, and then send the Travel Turtle off to it’s next destination.

How It Works

  • Each end of the month we will hold a signup here on the blog to enter to win to be the next host.
  • You do not have to be a TURTLE customer, and you can be new to pin loom weaving, as long as you are willing to learn (we’ll help!)
  • The loom is not for keeping … the loom will travel all year and (hopefully) come back to Texas in the end. If you’re a host, we’d like to ask that in the interest of all you’ll do your very best to take good care of the Travel Turtle. If something happens (lost, stolen, damaged) you are not held responsible, though. We’ll work on our end to keep the adventure going, if possible.
  • The first year’s adventure is limited to hosts in the United States … we’ll see if we can manage international shipping time in the future.
  • TT22 will visit a state more than once! If you live in a state that TT22 has already visited, NO PROBLEM!
  • The Travel Turtle 2022 kit includes a unique TinyTURTLE “R” for worsted weight yarn, a locker hook weaving tool, and an instructions booklet. The new TURTLE mascot Charlene that’s in the picture (from our Little Looms Spring 2022 ad) will not travel along … she will be busy telling her own story later this month.
  • Paying for shipping to the next host … if you wish to help with that, fine. But we’ve set a budget aside to pay for it, so no worries … you can participate as a host either way.
  • Yarn … any worsted weight yarn is fine. If you don’t have any, we’ll work it out when your name is drawn.
  • Sharing on social media … Yes, please! I suggest hashtag #travelturtleloom2022 to make it easy for others to follow the adventure. Positive, on topic vibes only, please … if you have any problems or concerns, please contact us directly.
  • We will moderate the travel adventure through the turtleloom blog (I suggest that you sign up to be notified about new blog posts).
  • Our travel map shows where TT22 has been. As the host, please send in a hexagon, woven on TT22. Please note that throughout the year it is ok to have more than one host in the same state.

This is indeed an adventure, but I hope that it will be fun for many, and that you will all enjoy following the journey. Since this is the first time we’re doing this, please ask any questions that you may have, and I’ll update the information on this blog if needed.

Ready, Set, Enter for January!

If you would like to be the first host for the month of January, leave a comment on this blog, indicating that you are interested in becoming the January host for Travel Turtle. Enter before Tuesday, 01/04/2022 6pm US CT. We’ll use random.org to determine the winner. I’ll contact the winner, and when everything is set, the first journey will be announced here on the blog.

Black Friday at the Woolery

Posted on by texasgabi

I love traditional Black Friday sales … well, except standing in line at 3 am in the cold rain (which – for the records – I never did). Therefore I was really excited when the Woolery chose to take on another TURTLE loom and celebrate that with a Black Friday deal!

I assume you don’t have much time to read at the moment, so here is everything in a nutshell:

I made a sample project with this yarn, a Super Easy Sock Yarn Cowl, and recorded a project walk-through that shows how to make it:

You can find written instructions for the cowl on the original blog post for the Super-Easy Sock Yarn Cowl.

I also want to show that many patterns that work on one TURTLE loom will work on another TURTLE loom. I used the Elf Basket from last year’s 12 Fiber Gift of Christmas at the Woolery as showcase. For the sample I used URTH Uneek Cotton yarn:

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving ... 
I'm thankful that I can share my love for weaving with people like you.

Weaving A Triangle On The Square Loom

Posted on by texasgabi

Weaving fellow Deborah Carpenter Bagley recently started a “2021 Mystery Weave Along – Quilt Edition” in the Facebook Pin Loom Weaving Support Group. It’s a three week weave along towards a small quilt-style project, made of triangles and squares that can be woven on any pin loom(s) that make those shapes.

I decided to participate in this relaxing event. I chose the Square 2″ F-fine sett loom that weaves up quickly, and some Paintbox Cotton 4-ply yarn from my bucket with yarns that I want to sample. Deborah offers 2 – 4 color options, and I chose the two color option to keep it doable as a small project aside.

Weaving a triangle on a square loom with equidistant pins (pins are distributed evenly along the sides) is like weaving a continuous strand triangle … all you need is a spare needle along the hypothenuse (the longest side of the triangle) to support the weaving process.

While there are many, good instructions for that type of triangle weaving available on the Internet, I received several requests from fellow pin loom weavers who wanted to see a triangle woven on the Square loom. For all of you who asked …

Weaving squares goes fast, and weaving triangles goes faster. No surprise that the desire to weave more is taking shape. Deborah’s three color version might make a seasonally timely “red, white, and blue” theme, and the four color version makes me think of Amish-style quilting …

You can still join the weave along on Facebook. Great opportunity to practice your new triangle weaving skills. See you there!