The new Little Looms Fall 2022 magazine is stealing the show! It makes it difficult to squeeze in the announcement that “Hey, we have a couple of new looms!”
First, there is the new Elongon 3″ R… a larger elongated hexagon loom with regular pin spacing for worsted weight yarns.
With 3″ side length this loom is great to make quick progress on larger projects, like the Cathedral Window blanket, but it is still very comfortable to hold and to work with.
Next, there is the new Square 3″ R loom, to match the above Elongon and also with regular pin spacing for worsted weight yarns.
The squares work up quickly and can be used on their own or together with any other looms that work with or complement a side length of 3″.
I enjoyed making the Cathedral Blanket with these looms, using a wonderful wool, Berroco Lanas.
I hope to chat about working the “stained glass” effect a bit more in the near future, because I think pin loom weaving is naturally perfect for that.
Of course the usability of the new looms goes far beyond stained glass effects. You can use them for pretty much any other project on any other Elongon … the results are “just a little bit bigger”!
Side by side hexagons woven on the Elongon 1″ and Elongon 3″
Did you see it? We’re tickled pink and humbled to see that the Cathedral Window blanket made the cover!
To share the happiness, Charlene suggested to give away three printed issues of “Little Looms Fall 2022”, one each day of this (long) weekend.
THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Thank you for your participation!
All you need to do is leave a comment below and name your favorite projects in this issue (and there is no wrong answer, if you ask us).
We will randomly draw a name, once a day, this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, at random times, out of all comments available at that time and post your name right here if you win.
How it works:
Leave a comment below. What are your favorite projects in this issue?
Leave only one comment. Multiple comments do not increase your chance to win.
You can enter now until Monday, July 4th, 2022 when at some point of our choosing we will draw the last winner.
The giveaway is for (3) Little Looms Fall 2022 magazine issues, one per day.
The winner will be determined randomly from comments left on this post.
The winners will be announced every day, here on the blog.
No substitutes, no cash.
This giveaway is open to fiber enthusiasts internationally, unless there are legal or other restrictions in your country that prevent us from shipping to you. (Note: In case you win we will pay for USPS International First Class shipping or contribute to the postage in the equivalent amount of that. You will have to pay for any extra shipping cost and any custom and/or tax incurred by your country.)
We will use the comments/contacts information only to determine the winner.
In case you win, you agree that we may post your name as stated in the comments here on this blog when we announce the winners.
Charlene wishes you good luck!
And the winners are: Day 1: Linda Canton Day 2: Tammy Day 3: Jessie (please check your email for details)
There is a rumor that one enthusiastic TURTLE loom lover (Hi, Melinda!) significantly influenced this: Welcome to our new TURTLE retailer, Tempe Yarn & Fiber in Tempe, Arizona!
In Germany, toadstools are a symbol of good luck, so I decided to design a toadstool mug rug (or stuffed toadstool!) for the occasion, to wish the team at Tempe Yarn all the best.
Let’s celebrate all together! Read on for the toadstool instructions!
Use any worsted weight yarn. Tempe Yarn offers a broad variety of high quality commercial yarns, but they also feature a line of unique to the store “Dyelicious” yarns. I used their Desert Oasis, a worsted weight wool that works perfectly with regular sett TURTLE looms, for the toadstool mug rugs.
I used the new Original Jewel R loom that you can now buy at Tempe Yarn, or online in our Etsy store if you’re not within driving distance to Tempe. The “dots” are optional, but if you wish to add them, I used the BabyTURTLE™ loom for those.
How to make a toadstool mug rug:
Weave 3 jewels in the “cap” color. Weave 1 jewel in the “stem” color. (Optional) Weave 3 – 5 Baby hexagons for the “dots”.
Layout the three cap jewels as shown and sew them together, using the tail ends.
Sew the “stem” jewel into place as shown.
Weave in all ends. Optionally, add the “dots” to the right side of the toadstool. The finished toadstool mug rug measures about 9.5″ tall and 8.5″ wide.
Serve with a beverage and cookie of your choice.
You can also make a stuffed toadstool …
Make two toadstools.
Right sides facing, sew them together, leaving a small opening. Turn. Stuff. Close the remaining opening.
It doesn’t have to be a toadstool! Use different yarn colors to make different mushrooms, for example an all natural “Steinpilz” (porcini mushroom) with a brown cap and beige stem, or choose your favorite colors to create your own mushroom, dotted or not!
Toadstool with 4 random dots, in Desert Oasis Sangria and Whisper.
Mug rug or stuffed toadstool!
All natural “Steinpilz” (porcini mushroom), in Desert Oasis Grounded and Whisper.
“Create your own mushroom”, in Desert Oasis Amethyst, stem in Ships Gray, dots in Dusty Rose.
“Create your own mushroom” in Desert Oasis Dusty Rose, Stem in Ships Grey.
Party of Four!
Be inspired …
If you live in or near Tempe, stop by the store. If you travel through Arizona, consider adding a visit at Tempe Yarn to your itinerary! Either way … Happy weaving to all!
Did you see the awesome loom party that Debbie organized for TT22? Just wow!
Another WOW for the lovely Heart and Flowers Mat that Debbie and TT22 crafted this month.
Debbie in her own words: “Hearts and flowers are my theme”, and with that she makes the chart for her project available to all fellow pin loom weavers who would like to make this project.
Debbie used scrap yarns from her stash, but you can of course use any yarn and colors to your liking. Thank you, Debbie!
But now it’s time to determine where TT22 will spend the month of May … 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 Thursday, April 28th, 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 … Charlene seems to be a little bit pre-occupied (or should we say distracted) by Bonnie’s new Jewel gnome, but more about that later. For now she did do her duty and added Debbie’s adorable heart hexagon to the map. Charlene thinks that the heart is from TT22 to her … JUST her …
(Photo credits: All Heart and Flowers Mat photos by Debbie Shelmidine. Used with permission. All rights reserved.)
Did you get the new Little Looms Summer 2022 magazine yet? If so, was it almost like it stops time and gets you in a slow, comfortable, relaxed, soothing, time-for-yourself kinda mood? It sure did for me.
The magazine includes 18 projects to make your vacation a better one, whether it’s staycation or going places.
Two of those projects are made using TURTLE hexagon pin looms …
There is the Summer Breeze shawl, a lightweight piece, woven on the Elongon 2″ F. It’s an easy weave that keeps interest with special fiber … or have you woven banana fiber before? The Uneek Cotton yarn and its non repetitive color development within a skein is used to “frame” the shawl.
Shopping resources:
Elongon™ 2″ Fhexagon pin loom for fingering/sock yarn.
A hexagon seahorsehad been on my mind for a long time, and finally all things came together in the Horsing Around Toddler Towel: The yarn, the project, and the seahorse.
Shopping resources:
TinyTURTLE™ R hexagon pin loom for worsted weight yarn
WE ARE SORRY! Most of the first batch sold out in half a day … there will be more! Sign up to be notified(click on “Let me know when it’s back”). If you have special requests, please contact us.
When we launched the first TURTLE loom on this day in 2017, our business advisor said that “small businesses that make it to five years, are going to make it”. Well, here we are, and we sure hope that many more years will follow.
We’re by far not done with hexagons, but there was that jewel shape that kept itching us, so we decided to add that to the mix. Are you ready?
“Original”, because it matches the size of the Original TURTLE Loom. Those looms can be used together to make even more projects. “Jewel”, because of it’s special, five pointed diamond shape. “R” means that the first Jewel loom is designed to work with worsted weight yarn. (Yes, Bonnie, there will be a fine sett Jewel later this year!)
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and watch this introduction that tells you a little bit more about the loom, how to use it, and what you can do with it (trust me, the latter is just the beginning).
Yes, weaving a Jewel is totally easy. If you are already familiar with weaving TURTLE hexagons, you may find this Quick Start useful, which focuses just on the differences between weaving a hexagon and a jewel shape:
If you are a complete beginner, here are some row-by-row instructions:
Jewel looms are now available in our Etsy store, and don’t worry if they sell out … they are here to stay, just like our small business!
New loom time! At first, it looks like a hexagon with an extra triangle on the top … It makes a special pentagon shape that in the quilting world is often referred to as “jewel”.
Meet the Original Jewel, R, our firstjewel shape pin loom!
Being able to weave jewel shapes, however, goes far beyond that. Let’s take a look at this list:
Two jewels make a heart shape, and because of their geometry you can combine those hearts in all kinds of ways into all kinds of items…
Six jewels make a full circle, or wheel. Now just think about how using colors will make those wheels look different: All in a different color, two iterating colors, three … hearts! Add to that some interesting effects that variegated yarns will add …
Weave a jewel in two colors …
Now go 3D … make a little basket … ta-da!!!! Surprised?
Combine jewels with other shapes like hexagons and diamonds … for example, you can use the new Original Jewel together with the original TURTLE Loom!
How to weave it? It is true that just because you can build a shaped loom doesn’t mean that you can weave it. However, in case of the jewel, it actually turns out to be very easy (once you know how to do it):
You begin by weaving a hexagon, continuous strand in the round, until you have the hexagon shape with the triangle at the top and bottom and the warps in between.
Now you switch to the continuous strand method that is used on triangle looms, weaving in “U” swings.
The last row “locks” the weaving, and you can take the finished jewel off the loom without doing anything else.
The first, Original Jewel loom for worsted weight yarn (R-regular) will start selling in April (on our anniversary, April 19th). Don’t miss the announcement, right here on the blog.
In the meantime, enjoy some of the sample projects below …
Hearts — 3D stuffed heart, scrubbie cloth, and little wash cloth (yarns: Yarnspirations O’Go Big Donut in Spiced Ginger, Rico Design Creative Bubble in color 006, Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton in Rose Bud).
Going 3D — Wavy little basket (yarn: O’Go Caron Big Donut in Spiced Ginger).
Combining shapes — A sunflower to remember the Ukraine … hexagon center with jewel petals and blue hearts border (yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn).
Full circle, or wheel — Each jewel is woven in a different color (yarn: Lion Brand Mandala Ombre in Happy).
Charlene and I are amazed how different the first three months of Travel Turtle have turned out to be, each month with a completely unique, interesting approach!
Now it’s time to determine where TT22 will spend the month of April … 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 Tuesday, March 29th, 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.
In the meantime … Charlene has completely taken ownership of the travel map. She adored the beautiful soft, red hexie that Angela sent from Pennsylvania.
And at first she was puzzled when she receive this “hexie” from Carol, which shows the state flag for Colorado … how did Carol do that?
Of course, TT22 had the answer. Carol wove the hexagon in pieces! TT22 says it tickled quite a bit, particularly when Carol wove the triangles, but the results are certainly worth it.
But now … READY, SET, LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW IF YOU’D LIKE TO APPLY TO BE TT22’S HOST FOR APRIL!
(Photo credits: Last photo by Carol Dowell. Used with permission. All rights reserved.)
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!
