We all know that February is a short month, but it seemed extra short to me! I hope you all enjoy following TT22’s stay with Angela on Instagram.
Charlene is excited to find out where TT22 will go next … It’s time to determine our next host, for the month of March. If you are interested and available to “entertain” TT22 for a month, please leave a comment in the comments section.
Signup is open now, and will end Sunday, February 27th, 6 pm US CT. I will contact the new host and make the announcement shortly after I hear back from him/her.
Meanwhile … if you have noticed that the shop is low on stock on several looms … we are making looms as fast as we can, but right now the weather is not cooperative. We like the temperature in our workshop to be above 50F for lacquering … and there hasn’t been much of that recently. But the weather will get there soon … we’re confident!
TT22 said his goodbyes in Arizona and is now in Pennsylvania to meet Angela … and a lot of snow!
TT22 made a lot of friends during his January stay in Arizona, and the month just seemed to have flown by.
Lots of loom hugs for Terry, who has been a fabulous first Travel Turtle host.
Ice and wind and snow don’t make it easy to get to the next destination, Pennsylvania, where TT22 will meet our new host, Angela.
Angela is a well-known fiber arts designer and instructor who has published many knit and pin loom designs in a broad variety of publications. In her free time, she loves to craft beautiful pottery.
TT22 feels honored to be able to spend some time with her.
About pin looms Angela writes “In 2010 I got my first pin loom and loved weaving with it immediately. It was a 4 inch pin loom. I seamed the squares together to make a doll blanket. And I continue to collect different sizes and shapes of pin looms.”
TT22 got very excited when he heard that Angela may want to make a coaster or a hot pad during his visit. His favorite from her previous work has always been this one, with the tiny little embroidery heart.
Oh, he can hardly wait to get started!
Charlene is very jealous that TT22 will meet Angela in person! But she knows that the next-best-thing-to-do is to follow Angela’s amazing social media posts. If you wish to follow Angela and TT22 during his February visit, look for Angela on Instagram and/or visit Angela’s Facebook page.
(Photo credits: 1-3, Terry Neal. 4-7, Angela Tong. All rights reserved.)
Are you enjoying the Travel Turtle reporton Terry’s Instagram account? Lot’s of looms, pretty yarns, unusual “freeform” project inspiration, nice people, good food, and stunning Arizona sightseeing make it a perfect vacation retreat! Terry is an amazing host, and I think we’ll probably have to rope Travel Turtle ’22 out of Arizona.
That said, TT22’s visit to Arizona will be coming to an end next week, so it’s time to look for a host for the month of February.
If you are interested in hosting the Travel Turtle 2022 during February, please leave a note in the comments section of this post.
Sign-up is open now and will close Sunday, January 23rd, 9 pm US CT. The winner will be announced after I had a chance to talk with the future host.
Do you have a question about this adventure? You can see what the Travel Turtle adventure is about in the January post. If you have further questions, please contact us.
While you’re waiting … here are some highlights from TT22’s travel report so far(All photos are courtesy of Terry Neal, all rights reserved. See full report on Instagram):
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?
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 …
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.
How has 2021 worked out for you? Quite a roller coaster, wasn’t it? But here we are.
My 2021 no-stress patchwork project has been repurposed to become a regular project . I’ve enjoyed weaving up single skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca, and I still have one and a half skeins to go. I will keep it “no stress”, weave up the remaining yarn for more hexagons to join the 200+ that I have so far. Then … I think those hexagons will become a “cape blanket”: A round blanket with an opening along the radius, so that it can be worn like a cape.
With that, my “official” 2021 projects turned into one-weavie coasters! These coasters are also meant as an encouragement to those of you who had big plans this year, but then life happened. Whatever you have, and even if it is just one weavie, call it your 2021 project and enjoy!
What about 2022?Another no-stress patchwork project … absolutely! I will start by putting together sample hexagons from yarns that I tried out, and leftover hexagons from some projects.
But there has also been increased interest in doingmore temperature blankets. If you would like to learn more about that, consider joining us on Facebook (any pin loom is fine!)
2022 promises to become a good pin loom weaving year with lots of inspiration. This will be the first year with four (!) Little Looms publications, and each of them will contain at least one hexagon pin loom project. The first one might already be in your mailbox, so fasten your seatbelts!
We’re doing a “Quick Release” to give this loom the best chance possible to be with you for the holidays. Shipping speed and timely delivery cannot be guaranteed, that is out of our control. But we can get the first batch on its way asap.
If the looms are sold out, you can sign up to be notified on Etsy so that you will know right away when we list more. Please note that the sign-up features is not available on the Etsy app. Just go to the shop through a browser app.
The TexaTURTLE™ is currently the largest TURTLE, measuring about 6″ side to side. The loom kit ships as usual with everything you need: The loom, weaving tools (Afghan crochet hook, 8″ weaving needle, packing comb), and instructions.
Just add yarn! The fine sett pin spacing allows you to use thinner yarns of sock/fingering weight. Yarns with a knitting gauge of 24-28 sts/4″ typically work well. Like all of our fine sett looms, the weaving results in a fabric with about 10 epi (ends per inch).
A note about the larger amount of yarn that is needed to weave the center section (about 6.4 yards):
Default TURTLE method: Wrap the full amount of yarn (11 times for the TexaTURTLE F, see stamp on loom back), then weave back and forth as usual. In the beginning you will have a lot of yarn to pull through, though!
Partial weave: Wrap 6 times and weave up the yarn. Then wrap a little bit more than the remaining 5 times and weave the remaining part. For the first row, overlap the the new and old yarn by weaving one row where both yarns have the same over/under movement, “sharing the same shed”.)
Use the weaving method as shown for the Janus hexagons (just all in one color). We plan to provide photo-guided instructions that will show how to use the method on the TexaTURTLE F here on the blog.
There is no locker hook option for this loom. Aluminum hooks that long won’t be sturdy enough to stay straight. If you like to use a locker hook and don’t mind weaving the longer rows in sections, the 2.75mm locker hook (6.5″ long) works for all TURTLE fine-sett looms.
Ready, set, loom! We’re looking forward to seeing your creations!
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:
The Woolery now carries the Original TURTLE Loom™ in fine-settThey are running a Black Friday special on the loom kit … please know that supplies are limited
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.
It is showtime for the TURTLE Elongon 2″ R in this issue, with Edith’s adorable Foxy Birch Blanket in one of her favorite yarns, Blue Sky Fiber Woolstok, and my Painted Pillow, in one of my favorite “doodle” yarns Noro Kureyon.
But because this is a “holiday” issue, we also decided to treat you to a free project, as it was announced in our advertisement: The Raffia Danish Medallions Ornaments are an interesting way to explore a classic hand-manipulated weaving method that looks great on both sides.
Universal Yarn’s Yashi raffia is the perfect fiber for the ornaments, because it creates an instant stiffened fabric that stays flat without further treatment.
The ornaments are designed so that once you take them off the loom, they are (almost) ready to go onto the tree.
