Gearing up as an exhibitor!

Yes, gearing up for my first art show as an exhibitor with FibersStudio. I am excited also because I am getting to help with special exhibits for children. I will be teaching weaving—a simple coin/treasure pouch on a cardboard loom. I have been making the looms for days! Should have 100 packets that include the loom, instructions and yarn for the project ready by Sunday.

The Art Expo 2010 has painting, pottery, photography, digital photography, jewelry & clothes designing, etc. A lot for people to do with many age ranges in mind.

I am not nervous at all. Basically I am looking to this experience as just that...experience. It's hard to gage how much to take or even what will sell. I am fully aware that I may sell nothing, but just getting my name out there is going to help me in the long run. That is part of the reason why I am doing this. So my business will grow a bit.

So, I have my knitted scarves ready to go, and woven shawl with hand-painted glass beads, a hand-dyed & hand-woven wall hanging, and finally a wide woven table runner. Plus 6 woven baby blankets. I'll probably go ahead and take the few bits of paper products too. So there is some variety.

What I am trying to decide on is if I want to take orders on items-most likely shawls and scarves. So tonight and tomorrow I will be figuring out if I should attempt this. If I do, I will most likely have a picture of the end product and then samples of the yarn next to it to choose from.

I think though I'm most excited to see people I haven't for a while. This is taking place in Charleston, WV and I grew up there from 8th grade on and went to Marshall University. So I am hoping to see some friends.

I'll let you know how things went and take pictures too!

Ralvery - a knit and crochet community

Ralvery.com is a fabulous resource for free patterns and finding others interested in the same things you are when it comes to knitting and crochet. Seeing it is a community of people who post their designs and ideas on their own pages or within other group pages you can easily find a group you will fit into. You also can keep your inventory of needles, hooks and yarns or the projects you are working on with the progress you have made on the project.  You can find other people with the same yarns and ask if they would like to sell also.  I have found it a very nice community and love the flexibility of it. Also, if I am out and about buying yarn or needles...I can look up my stash online with my iPhone and see if I already have something or not. I cannot tell you how much this helps me! Check it out today!

Cowls are all the rage these days

Really, I have seen more cowls in the past year than I have in all my life! Big huge ones you can loop around your neck a couple times to small knit ones that fit nicely around your neck. All in different types of yarn from big thick yarn to sock yarn. Some even just over the shoulder or up over your head like a hood. I do like the versatility of the look and can see how they would be very nice to wear keeping you warm and snug on an outdoor day.

Now, I hear from some of my fans on facebook that they are interested so I am going to take a stab at this with my knitting needles. I do know I need to use circular needles and I will probably start out with a chunky styled one.  Seems simple enough. I might even give it a go on my knitting loom - the biggest one which I think is yellow. I'll have to dig that out, but basically instead of working back and forth like for a scarf or rectangular object I am going to work in the round. I use safety pins as markers so that way I know where my beginning stitches are (plus safety pins are a lot cheaper than markers you can buy in the store).

There are also several nice and easy patterns out there with Lion Brand Yarn and Ravelry. You might like to look around and try one for yourself. If you don't  know what Ravelry.com is then I suggest you go and find out! What a valuable too this is to do so many things from keeping track of your yarns, needles and such to finding patterns and groups/friends to connect with online.

So I'll be plotting and planning my cowls to knit over the summer as to have them ready for the cool weather in the fall. I'm sure they will still be around next fall and winter seasons. Usually things like this stick for a year or two. At least that is what I am banking on!

Welcome Spring - Welcome New Projects!

Oh, can you smell it!? Can you hear it!? Spring is coming. It really is! The birds are chipping, the breeze smells of light rain and the flowers are starting to push up through the Earth. It really is coming. FibersStudio is also adjusting to the warmer weather with new projects on the horizon.

I've worked out a new spring banner for starters for this blog and FibersStudio.etsy.com.  Projects like shawls are being worked on in knitting and charted for weaving. These are light and airy shawls being knitted in deep pinks and natural colors. Plus woven table linens for your home are in the works in the form of drawings. So much to do! Thank goodness the days are filled with more sun!

But before I get to the new projects I am enjoying finishing up weaving baby blankets for now.  I am weaving one that has a pink weft with muted blue, yellow and white warp stripes. The pattern I am using is an 8-harness twill woven with Simply Soft yarn by Caron. It's a 100% acrylic yarn and not your 1980's yarn either that was itchy. It is soft and flows well for the blankets.

The shawls to be woven are to be in three different colors: dusty pink, deep violet and cream for the loom. The yarns are rayon, cotton and flax for pink and violet and a cotton slub for the cream. Light weight and woven at about 2 feet by 6 feet I think. Tassels that will be twisted for a nice finished look and beads added where I will knot the warp threads to finish it off.

For knitting I am continuing to work on the deep pink ladder ribbon shawl-very open and light. I put this aside for months not meaning too. Amazing how things get shoved back and almost forgotten! It is a drop stitch pattern that is pretty simple over all, but finishes with an elegant drape to it. The ladder ribbon does feel like liquid fabric in the end.

I am itching to get to the table linens - table runners and place mats with possible matching napkins. I have a lot of Maysville Warp left over from years gone by. Plus I want to use up all the material and older clothes I have collected to use as rag. I don't particularly enjoy weaving rag, but I do like the possibilities of recycling materials and this is a great way to do it! I will cut all the materials down to somewhere between 1/2 to 1 inch wide and then sew all the strips together to form a nice long rag to weave with.

So much to do! But like I said the days are a little longer each day and that helps me to continue working longer. I need to build my inventory back up after having a successful holiday season. Enjoy the warmer weather, the birds singing and tackling new projects for the spring!

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!

Born to Create

Often I get this question, "When did you decide to become an artist Valerie?" 

I suppose at some point I did have to make the decision to actually be an artist in this life, but honestly I feel I was born an artist. That may be a bold statement, but it's exactly how I am. I was born this way. I know it and have felt it all my life. 

Very early in my life I began creating. I was a kid that just picked up pencils, crayons, or whatever I could find and manipulated materials. I created with clay out of the creek that I would gather myself. I drew in the dirt. I did whatever I could to use my hands to make something, anything. Sewing along beside my grandma, great grandma and mom gave me my first exposure to fibers.

Encouraged by my family to create I drew or painted my world around me. My grandmother put me in front of an easel with paintbrushes, oil paints and turp at age 4. Exposure to materials early on in my life made it a lot easier for me to pick them up when I got to school. I felt comfortable and did not hesitate in picking up and trying new ideas because of it. I won art competitions or placed in each show I've entered throughout my childhood and up through college because I was not intimidated to try.  I knew how to manipulate the materials to create what I was seeing in front of me. or what was in my mind.

How do I continue to nourish this creative energy though? I've dabbled in many different mediums with many different tools in school through college graduate classes. Once I entered into grad school I had to choose my main focus as an artist. Many, many people thought I would pick painting as my concentration, but I did not. I picked weaving (textiles) and landscape drawing. 

To this day I do not regret this decision. I feel a complete connection to fibers/textiles and I've always enjoyed drawing. The connection is to that I physically touch. I enjoy feeling materials and tools in my hands. I love smelling the newness of unwashed wool with the lanolin intact that is so very soft to hold. I feel the threads I pass through the shed of my loom as I throw the shuttle from left to right and back again. So it's a very hands on approach that I like and makes me feel good as I create. This is what keeps me coming back over and over again.

I am also drawn deeply to process. Not necessarily the beginning or end of a project/product, but the in between of it all - be it knitting, tatting, sewing, weaving. Watching the cloth grow with each move I make, each loop I knit, each pass of the shuttle, or each treadle I change with my feet to create a pattern. I feel most alive with this movement and somehow a part of me is in every single thread I pass. That's the connection that also makes me want to perfect a technique I am working on each time I set down to go about creating a new piece.

Some people never really know what they want to be in life. I am one who knew as soon as my feet hit the ground running. I believe this as a gift and feel an obligation to be committed to perfecting my art as I walk through this life. It's really as simple as this - I was born to create.

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!