Treasure Pouches woven by kids!

FestivALL in Charleston, WV was so much fun this past June. I had the pleasure of teaching weaving to children on cardboard looms I had made for them. 

What is GREAT is that some of the kids I taught have sent in photos. I also included other photos to show you what we did those fun days in late June.

In two days in I introduced approximately 120 children to weaving. That's a lot! I am so happy I was a part of FestivALL. It was a great experience and I would completely do it all over again!  Enjoy!

Completed Treasure Pouches! 

Made by Xander, 5-years-old, Charleston, WV

Made by Emma M., WV

Another made by Emma M., WV

Made by Maggie, 4-years-old, Lexington, KY

 

Here's some photos from two days of fun!

Setting up for the crowds!

My Mom measuring out some of the yarn.

Starting at the bottom of the loom and going around, up and over...

Here I am working with the kids and parents.

Kid working hard with their parents assisting.

Close up of a child weaving on the cardboard loom.

Working on the flap for the pouch! Very close to done.

A child working on the flap for the pouch. Almost done!

Ready to slip off the loom!

One of the kids stayed pretty much all day and here's what she did! 

Almost done! 

Completely finished. She had the biggest smile!

Remembering Fall Wall Hanging - Hand-dyed wool yarn

When I was in grad school I had the wonderful experience of taking a spinning and dyeing class. What a world of information I learned, and was completely turned on to dyeing yarns. The class focused on wool, and I was amazed at the amount of colors we came up with. This is nothing new. People have been dyeing wool and other fibers for centuries, but what fun it was for me.

Here are some examples of what I learned. I created these cards as a recipe box to keep, and glad I did that I seeing I want to do this again soon!

Hand-dyeing yarn is a slow process, but a very rewarding one. You don't have to do a project like this one where I used many, many colors together. You can simply dye one skein of yarn and weave, knit or crochet a scarf or any project you choose! With dying your own yarn you get the exact color you like and that is the benefit once you know the technique of which natural dye to use. No one else's art will look like yours because you benefit from the knowledge you gained in dyeing wool. 

"Remembering Fall" is simply an elegant addition to your home. Creatively hand-woven in an eight-harness twill pattern. Each color has been dyed individually by me to achieve the color palette I desired. I designed the weaving as I wove it grabbing the color I thought I wanted to go next to the other and so forth. I finished the wall hanging by twisting the tassels.

The color palette is reminiscent of the soft dull hues of fall. Think of walking through a field, forest or along a pond for color inspirations for this art piece during an early fall day.

This should be hung in your stair well or on a wall away from direct sunlight or artificial light so that the colors do not fade. It could also be a wide table runner or placed over another piece of furniture like an upright piano as a runner. "Remembering Fall" was lovingly created to enhance your home and bring joy to your life every day.

The size of this wall hanging is 22" (approximately) x 72" (approximately - tassels included).

FibersStudio branches out to Children's Accessories...

Yes, it's true! I posted a fun children's scarf today on my Etsy shop. I had some left over yarns from other projects, not enough really for an adult scarf, but perfect for a child! This has been coming for a while and just finally finished up the first one.

"Purple Bling Scarf" is made from Fun Fur (Lion Brand Yarn) and combined with a nice silvery purple yarn called Glittalllic (Patons). Sparkles in the light and super fun for that imaginative little girl. This should be worn by a princess and host her own tea party. I would have loved to have such a fun scarf to play with as a child and make believe in. Of course it could be worn everyday for warmth too!

The width is approximately 2.5" and the length is approximately 64" (including fringe). I would say any little one from age 2-5 would probably be able to wear this.

I do have another one in the making with the same Fun Fur, but a little bit different purple yarn to combine with it. It should be going up tomorrow also on the Etsy site. Plus, there are several on the way in many color ranges & styles after that.  Keep checking back for more styles and many new items to arrive this year at FibersStudio. (FibersStudio.esty.com)

Thank you for all the support in the last 11 months!

My Great Grandmother's Hands

I often think of how much my great grandmother, "Ninnie", used her hands. She was an avid quilter. She also sewed, crocheted and tatted. As a child, a young lady and a wife she made every stitch of clothing for her family. She would create patterns out of newspaper based on drawings in the Sear's catalog. Blankets, sheets, clothing were made or mended also. She tatted making beautiful lace for her graduation dress from school. Her's had the most lace on it.  She could make anything even with three children clinging to her everyday.

She lived on a farm all her life up until she was well into her 80's and worked with chickens, pigs, cows, etc. She had gardens to die for: an acre of flowers, an acre of tomatoes, an acre of berries and fruit trees. She baked with the best of them too. This lady's knowledge I wish I had. She knew exactly how to bring a plant back to life when others would have gladly toss it in the compost. She knew what nutrients each plant or flower needed. She was amazing to me.

Her hands were strong and precise. Every stitch was perfect. Everything she touched seem so effortless. And when you are young you think it is effortless until you try to do what you see and realize that those hands are a work in progress. That those hands worked and worked until they got whatever they were doing right. It took years to perfect some things like the perfect stitches that she would quilt. All hand-pieced, hand-quilted quilts using clothing from years past. And nothing simple, no, not at all, but all very beautiful in their own accord.

By the time I came along her hands were rough and gnarled from arthritis.  Age spots and wrinkles graced her hands. They looked like they had worked from sun up to sun down all her life. To me they were beautiful.

I look at my hands now and think the wrinkles are starting, the spots aren't there yet.  I think of all my hands have learned to do and still learn everyday as I explore the fiber arts I love. Repetition will take it's tole on them and maybe someday someone will look at my hands as I looked at my great grandma's and think: simply beautiful.

The never ending shawl project...

Gosh, I really bit off more than I could chew with this project. I thought oh, wonderful a shawl to create that is simple! But what I didn't anticipate was how hard working with this material would be. I found this Bernat Matrix yarn at a discount shop and bought loads of it. It is a discontinued yarn now, but a fabulous material. Shimmers and shines, very light and is ribbon like.

So I started this at the beginning of summer because it was such a light material and it wouldn't be a project that would make you too hot while working on it during the warmer months. I made many mistakes and it took me a while to get use to working with the material at hand. But in the end this has turned out beautiful. I just finished it in early November.

I like the way the material is almost liquid like and flows so nicely over your shoulder. This shawl would be absolutely stunning over  a simple black dress or suit. Would add a touch of warmth on a cool day. I can see this on going with someone on a cruise or even for New Year's Even parties!

Since I had loads of this yarn...I will be making more shawls and light scarfs. I am postitive the next one will go much quicker now that I have some ideas of how to manipulate the yarn. Look to http://FibersStudio.etsy.com for more items for sale!

Multiple projects...

Does anyone else have this problem? I always have 3-5 projects going at once! I don't know why I feel compelled to do things in this manner, but I always do. I have tried to do one project at a time, but I always add another one on. It's like my brain can't focus.

Right now I have a little girl's capelet made out of 4 different fun fur yarns, a chenille wine colored ribbed scarf and a city lights ribbon scarf going all at the same time.

I know I start a project and then think...oh...I should do this with this yarn and that is really how it starts. Or I will go buy yarn and can't wait to get started on the project I am planning it for.

This doesn't hinder me in getting the projects done overall, but it does slow me down a bit.

I am just going to keep creating as long as the desire drives me and all will come out in the end just fine I am sure. We must follow our passions in life for they are the fuel of our soul. So if this is my fate...to create in this manner then I will just accept this and go forward.

Have a great fiber loaded day and enjoy the process as best you can ~ they way your mind wants it to be!

Yarn has been delivered!

Oh, what a day yesterday was! I was graced by the yarn gods! I went out to get my mail and the treasures I had found online were on my doorsteps left by the postman. So very happy!

I am a pretty open minded yarn shopper. So I am constantly looking for 2-3 skeins to make or combine with other yarns to make into a nice scarf.  I am also on a budget so I am always looking at clearances and such for my loot. So I shop and search for supplies on Etsy.com, Webbs.com and even eBay somedays. But these I just got were from Etsy and Webbs. A really nice ribbon yarn,  a beautifully hand-dyed yarn from the Andes and several multicolored yarns with 50% wool and acrylic blend too.

<<<  Can you say beautiful!? They were also all under $3 per skein! So there you go ~ I had a great day, enjoying my new yarn and dreaming of the possibilites there are with them.  Once I have made something out of them I will post pictures and explain how I used/manipulated the materials.

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.