New Looms and Amelia …

Posted on by texasgabi

Maybe the world does not need more square and triangle looms, but I want:

  • Matching square and triangle looms that will allow me to comfortably weave larger projects without wearing out my wrists,
  • enjoy speedy progress, and
  • not give up on the modularity that pin looms offer to make interesting designs. And yes,
  • I want to be able to use the same pretty yarns that work so well on all of our other looms, so the looms need the same pin spacing.

Meet the Square 6″ (R) square pin loom and the matching RightTri 6″ (R) right triangle pin loom for worsted weight yarns!

And then Amelia entered the stage when I recently strolled through The Rogue Skein local yarn store and discovered Tensan, a new Noro yarn that pairs well with an established favorite, Silk Garden Solo.

Quilt inspiration struck again, and I decided to adapt the traditional Flying Geese quilt pattern for a first project with the new square and triangle looms.

Meet Amelia, a new garment pattern for (any) 6″ square and triangle looms! Amelia is a tasteful minimalist design that combines ease of making and versatility to wear, and it invites to use interesting yarns like the Tensan.

The generous sleeve openings and the smooth V-neck allow you to style the vest in many ways: Try it with jeans for a relaxed outdoor stroll or with a festive blouse for a special occasion!

A button closure allows you to wear the vest open or close.

Get the looms and the pattern in the Bluebonnet Crafters’ Etsy store:

Not ready to make a large project? You can use the looms for any project you like. Try your new looms on a project as small as a coaster: Weave a square or two triangles and finish up with a single row of crochet ([sc 2, skip one] repeat all around; sc1, ch1, sc1 into each corner). Celebrate your coaster with a hot cocoa or beverage of your choice!

If you are not sure and just want to try out one loom, I recommend that you start with the Square. You can still make triangles! Here is the link to the video that shows you how you can weave a triangle on a square loom. This method works well, but if you plan to make a larger number of triangles, having a dedicated loom makes the task definitely more comfortable.

Any questions? Please leave a comment below or contact us!

A Holiday Guide and Giveaway!

Posted on by texasgabi

This year, the TURTLEs decided to participate in Long Thread Media’s Holiday Guide. 17 companies are coming together in a showcase of inspiration with fiber related gifts for your loved ones … or yourself. Get inspired with giving ideas, and at the same time you can sign up to win.

One of these prizes is our bestselling Original TURTLE Loom™, R-regular sett for worsted weight yarns. That could be your opportunity to finally getting started, or if you already have one, it makes a perfect gift to introduce a fiber-loving friend to pin-loom weaving.

Hop over to the holiday guide, indulge exploring all the options, and sign up to win prizes! The giveaway ends on November 7th, which means if you don’t win you can still order your favorite picks in time for the holidays.

Good luck!

International Quilt Festival 2025

Posted on by texasgabi

Next week I’ll be doing something a little bit different … I’ll be presenting pin-loom weaving at the International Quilt Festival 2025 in Houston!

A few weeks ago, Quilt Festival’s Bob Ruggiero interviewed me, and you can read about it on the Friends@Festival website.

The interview resulted in two amazing opportunities for me to talk about pin-loom weaving and how I use this yarn craft to create quilt-inspired projects:

I will be showcasing my work at the Open Studio (Create section) on Thursday, October 9th, from 2 – 4 pm. This includes a one-and-only opportunity for you to see my Flower Garden Throw that was published in “Easy Weaving with Little Looms” Winter 2025 right next to the original Depression-aera Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt that inspired my work.

Saturday, October 11, 2025 is the official “I Love Yarn” day, and I cannot thing of a better way to celebrate than to invite you to weave a little something with yarn.

I will be hosting a Make-and-Take event at the brand-new Sit & Stitch Lounge. Come and sit down and I’ll teach you how to weave a hexagon (using the sample looms at the table), and you will take home a little bag charm. I have Make-and-Take kits prepared to make a little pumpkin charm as pictured (free of charge, while supplies last). I will also have a variety of yarns available for you to sample, or feel free to bring your own!

Over the next few days, I will blog about some of the projects that I’ve made to celebrate the Festival, including the table topper that was inspired by this year’s Festival logo.

I invite you to subscribe to this blog so that you don’t miss any of those stories!

Like a Chat With a Friend

Posted on by texasgabi

A few weeks ago I received an email from Long Thread Media co-founder Anne Merrow with an invitation to participate in her podcast.

For eleven seasons, Long Thread Media has been “telling the stories of cloth, thread, and their makers”, and this time Anne had chosen me to tell my story about the TURTLE looms.

I humbly and excitedly agreed.

The recording session felt like catching up with a good friend that I had not seen for a long time, Anne is a fantastic moderator. I hope that you will enjoy that experience when you listen.

The podcast is now available on the Long Thread Media website and you can also listen to it through any podcast aggregator (such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon).

If you are curious to see some of the customer projects that have impressed me, as mentioned during the podcast, you can see a selection in these posts. There are many more and I hope to find the time to post more customer projects going forward.

Lastly, here is an example for what I mention in the podcast about designing looms, where I occasionally move away from “plain math” and make looms more comfortable to work with and improve weaving results:

Several of our looms have a slightly widened opening that will make it easier to guide the weaving tool, and it will also compensate just a little bit for the typical, slightly tighter weave on the last rows (when you take the piece off the loom, the weaving bounces into a more perfect shape).

I hope that you will enjoy listening, but I’d like to encourage you to not stop with this podcast: I have listened to previous episodes when I needed some “downtime with inspiration”, which means I want some time away from the world, but with a little bit more than just relaxing background music. It has always been a delight to learn about other people in the fiber world, what they do and how they do it … interesting methods, projects, experiences. Grab your pin loom and a beverage, then relax and explore more.

Happy listening and weaving!

Photo credits: Podcast title graphics from @longthreadmedia, used with permission.

Let’s Weave Some Half Hexagons!

Posted on by texasgabi

We published “Six Ways to Make Half Hexagons” a few years ago to show crafters how to weave half hexagons on their TURTLE hexagon pin looms. This is a good solution for straightening edgings on some projects, but fellow pin-loom weavers told us that they would like to have a dedicated and convenient half hexagon loom when a project asks for more than just a few half hexagons.

Welcome the Original Trapezoid looms in R-regular and F-fine sett, a shape that is most commonly used for half-hexagons. Use these looms on their own or together with any other “Original”-sized TURTLE loom.

Original Trapezoid, R-regular sett
Original Trapezoid, F-fine sett

Many quilting patterns use trapezoid half hexagons, either on their own or combined with other shapes. Find inspiration at our Pinterest board “Trapezoids … Half Hexagons”! I have only sampled a few ideas so far … take a look:

  • Bordered hexagons. Use on their own as coaster or put multi-colored units together to make a blanket.
  • Pinwheel or whirligig. Start with six trapezoids in the center, then fill in the border with more trapezoids. Use as table topper or put more units together for a blanket.
  • Opposite hexagons or hourglass. Put two halves together along the small bottom sides. Use for table runners, pillow cases, blankets.
  • The “classic” half hexagon quilt pattern … any or many colors, sometimes patchwork effect or with one solid color opposing several colors.
  • “Classic” half hexagon quilt pattern, using the half hexagons in a slanted direction.
  • “Braided” half hexagons. A fun way to make strips that can be used on their own or put together to make larger items like blankets.

If you have been thinking of making the Lemon Drop Kitchen Towel from Little Looms Summer 2023, you may want to think again and consider. As a Long Thread Media Little Looms or All Access subscriber, you have instant access to the digital pattern in the Little Looms Library. You can also find a print copy of this issue in our Etsy store.

Pin-loom weaving trapezoids opens the doors to even more applications, be it 3D shapes or an intricate shaping of accessories and garments as shown in the new Rhinebeck Headscarf.

To get you started on exploring trapezoids, here is a small project that you can try out on your new loom: For this Christmas Alpaca ornament I used two half hexagons to stage a landscape for an alpaca sew-on patch. Super-easy, and you “could” make a bunch of them for the upcoming holiday season:

Make a Christmas Alpaca Ornament

  • I used dishcloth cotton (3.4 yds each for ‘sky’ and ‘pasture’ ) on the new Original Trapezoid R. You can of course use the Original Trapezoid F and thinner yarn as well, but remember to adjust the amount of yarn needed. Weave one half hexagon in light blue for the sky and one in green for the pasture.
  • Weave one hexagon (6 yds in color of your choice) on the Original TURTLE Loom™, R, as backing. Optionally you can embroider the year or some initials on the back (I prefer to embroider while the hexagon is still on the loom; use the photo for guidance.)
  • Sew the two half hexagons together to make a full hexagon. Sew on an alpaca patch or embroider your own design onto the landscape.
  • Sew the two hexagons together (right sides facing out; use whip stitch)
  • The cotton is stiff enough that it doesn’t need any stuffing or support. If you use other yarns, you may need to slightly stuff the ornament like a hexie puff or you can cut out a hexagon from cardboard or plastic canvas.
  • Add a hanger of your choice.

I didn’t realize how addictive making things with trapezoid shapes can be, and I know that only time is the limit to exploring this new realm. My advice to you:

Enter the world of trapezoid weaving at your own risk … awesome fun awaits!