High Five Fridays! - Inventory is LOW!

Wow, what a fun year it's been! Lots to be said about just jumping in and going for it since April 1, 2009.  Over half of my inventory sold. Now mind you it was around 30 items. Not that much, but it is a start for a gal who is a wife, a mom of 3, and also a design contractor working part time. Whew! 

So what is on my create list for 2010? 

Weaving: In general I would like to do more of this. On my loom I am going to weave 2-3 more baby blankets. Then set up the loom for a few rectangular twill shawls with nice twisted tassels. I'll move toward weaving some table linens - using rag from castaway clothing, etc. and onto some out of just tread too. Finally I'll be weaving some lovely scarves out of many threads in the warp that I need to be using up from other projects. 

You might notice I am going from largest to smallest as I progress here. It makes sense really to do this with weaving all these projects. That way I do not have to rethread the heddles each time I change to a new project. I can leave the threads tied in the heddles (in front and in back of the heddles in groups of eight as an example) and when I move toward wider items again...I just pick up those threads that I had left behind, simply tie on the new warp in a square knot and pull through the heddles. Saves time and keeps you from rethreading constantly. Now this is only if you keep the same threading pattern! Of course you know.

Knitting: I am going to go forward with some wire and bead experiments. I will try out different gauges and techniques and see if I can come up with something that makes sense to create for my shop on Etsy. I'll continue with scarves I am sure and I have enough material to do several simple shawls. I have one in progress now. It's a lovely thin ladder yarn in a nice blend of pinks. 

Paper creations: I really want to focus on working with creating small multiples. Like tags for gifts, small thank you cards, etc. I have several brown paper bags to dissect and create with. I will still sew paper and fabrics/ribbons together somehow, but maybe use simple shapes like hearts, flowers, cakes, etc. 

I think I will go now and finish up my order I got in on Wednesday night now so I can put it in the mail tomorrow. Two more ribbons scarves just flew off my Etsy wall! I am off to create more to replenish the supply!

Enjoy the weekend and all the possibilities for creating!

Beads, Wire and Needles

A few days ago I decided to pick up some 28-gauge wire to knit on #2 needles. Just as an experiment and to see if I liked it at all.

I loved it! This was a lot of fun.

I began by threading many beads onto the wire and started by casting on the wire to the needles. Knitting one row and then purling another. At first I held everything too tight, but finally loosened up and got the hang of the new material. I think that is pretty typical when you have not used a material.

I do like the way the transparency and opaqueness of the beads shows up in these photos. They seem to work on the wire by not being too big or too showy for this project.

This experiment ended up becoming a bracelet after all, but I can see this being a nice choker if lengthened a bit and finding a nice clasp or chain with clasp. 

I have a lot of different beads that have been passed onto me also. So I think I will try them out and see what I can come up with - probably several bracelets for now.

Sometimes testing your skill with new materials turns into a great new way to express yourself. This would be one of them for me. I'm usually not intimidated when trying new ideas. I just jump in and make the mistakes. It's the only real way I learn. I am such a hands on person anyway and I don't think I could ever just read a book and say..oh, I can't do that! I read the book, look at the examples and dive right on it.

So jewelry might just become part of my life if I keep going at this and it might just be a passing fancy. Time will tell, but for now I am just going to enjoy the process.

Why for the love of fibers?

What on Earth possesses me to create with fibers...

Well, it's simple really. I have been involved in some sort of fiber art since I was a very young girl learning to quilt & sew with my grandma and great-grandma in Missouri during my summer breaks. When I was at home I was also surrounded by my mom's crochet and macramè projects. It was wonderful growing up at the end of the fibers arts boom! And as a child it was so comfortable for me to just pick up a pencil and start drawing the world around me, paint with oil paints or piece a pattern by hand for a quilt.

Since I was in college though either paper or yarn has been my main choice to create with: either by weaving it, drawing on it, or sewing both together on my sewing machine. Simply sitting with knitting needles passing the time with yarn intertwined around my fingers makes me feel whole. I just love working with my hands! I believe it is something that is within me and seeing it all around me when I was growing up ~ it is so natural just to choose it. So you see my environment instilled a love & passion of fibers and the idea of something being handmade that has never really left me.

I was never dissuaded from being an artist by my family either. But I was encouraged to branch out and do different things. So that's just what I did. Knowing I would have to make a living I successfully completed a bachelor of fine arts in Graphic Design and a masters of arts in Weaving (textiles) from Marshall University. I got the best of both worlds you see. Plus I even worked as a production weaver for a while too. But for the last 15 years I have worked steadily as a graphic designer and on top of that since 2000 as a web designer/architect.

But between my work, marriage and having beautiful children I was lacking something along the way. I was craving fibers again and I just wasn't taking time to create in that matter. So last year I picked up some knitting needles, dusted off my loom and sewing machine and set some goals. I basically took over my dining room which is now decorated with large baskets and bowls of yarns with knitting needles sticking out of them. My loom is threaded and ready to weave a blanket and my sewing machine is just waiting for me to be inspired.

I brought my love of weaving, knitting & paper creations (stationery, etc.) to my own line of fiber-related arts called FibersStudio by Valerie J. Asbury. FibersStudio was launched on April 1st, 2009 on etsy.com. I have started with simple scarves, woven baby blankets and a few pieces of simple stationery. My love of color and textures are combined with a sense of fashion and design that mixes with the highest craftsmanship I can achieve. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and a must-have for any home or just that special gift to give to someone you love...that might even be you!

And that's where I am at for now. Visit my current creations at fiberstudio.etsy.com. There are many new projects on the horizon and I'll take you though process of creating them very soon! Plus I plan to talk a bit about that connection of graphic design and fibers that I believe is in every piece I work on.