Val Weaves Like She's Playing the Piano

That is what my friend told her grandma the other day after watching me work at my loom. It hit home with me. I talk about this all the time to people who will listen. Like everything in life, there is a rhythm to weaving with the treadling of harness changes and passing of the shuttles. I can see where she could see that in weaving.

That passing back and forth, working the loom, and watching the weaving grow into my art is relaxing for me. Once you get the rhythm down you fly. Before you know it you've woven several feet of material. It's like I fall into this zone and the music I set in the background helps me keep pace with what I am doing.  I always have music on, or I am thinking of music in my head, or singing when weaving.

There are days I do not find that ease and grace...there are days I struggle with just how much to beat the material into place and those days drive me nuts! I recently had one. I was weaving with my favorite ~ pearl cotton. Beautiful material ~ deep violet, but for me who was trained and worked as a rug weaver was finding it hard to do that "lack" of whacking the reed against the material. Meaning I needed to be more gentle and consistently softer with the material. So I achieved this awful banding in the material. It's where your beating is not consistent and then you end up with this uneven beaten effect. NOT GOOD!

See the darker areas where I beat the material more? makes banding...

So, in order to get my project done on time I switched material. I chose a cotton yarn, but mixed in with a little flax and rayon to help me out. It's not as soft and smooth, but it worked. Because truth be told even though I am a weaver and worked as a weaver I have not woven consistently for a long time...since about 1998 exactly.  So, I unwove the material which was about 22 inches and started all over. And guess what? It worked. The new material worked out much better for me and I am happy with the result!

Switching material and using a color that was closer to the warp color helped.

This just goes to show that practice makes perfect and everyone needs to practice their technique. Everyone can improve on what they are good at. And I play the piano also...which I haven't played or practiced in a long time. Maybe I should get back to that and find that rhythm I need for the more delicate work I would like to achieve on the loom. I see scales in my near future!

I'll Probably Die with Fiber in Hand

I told that above to a friend yesterday and I am completely convinced I will. You know it's true. I know it's true. Fibers are becoming more and more a part of my life because I want them to be.

But have you ever loved something so much it's very hard to put it down? Think about it. Music in your headphones as you run down a beautiful path or a book that has you captivated. That's how I am with fibers. There's something to making something by hand. I put myself into every stitch I make. A part of me is in every pass of the shuttle when it flies through the shed as I weave. Creating is an extension of me.

I am completely drawn to the feel of some yarns and threads. They are just incredible. Some are soft and relaxed while others are more rigid and refined. Some have slubs, bumps, lumps in them that make for a fun texture. They are all unique and have their own characteristics that defines what they will be made into. It's up to the artist to figure out how to manipulate them and make them into something new.

I will probably create as long as I live and I figure I'll die creating. Because really living means doing what you absolutely love. You should do what you love as long as you can. That is exactly what I intend to do.

Autumn Cowl hot off the needles!

Paper Woven Cards

My second activity I provided at FestivALL in Charleston, WV this past June was weaving with paper. This was the shorter and simpler project to choose from for the children. They could do both if they wanted.

I cut slits in blank cards to weave narrow pieces of handmade paper through. The paper we wove with was hand-made and a very wide variety of colors. Loads of glitter were on a lot of the pages too. Extra sparkle is always hard to pass over!

Here are some fun photos from the those two hot days in June!

Getting started, over and under!

Couldn't have done this all without Mom and Stephanie!

A parent assisting their child

What a fun time we had!

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!

I'm back baby!

Oh, what a long hot summer this has been. I took the summer off blogging to spend with my kids at the pool, traveling and learning new fiber related arts. Had a lot of fun this summer and I am glad I had the opportunity to do what I did! 

At the beginning of summer I had the pleasure of working in the tents at FestivALL in my old stomping grounds of Charleston, WV. I taught kids how to weave Treasure Pouches on cardboard looms. I also had an optional project of hand-woven paper cards. I could not have done it with out the help from my mom and my sister-in-law Stephanie. We had a lot of fun in the humid, hot tents! My next two posts will focus what the kids made. I am so excited to share them.

School has begun for all my children and it's now time to get back to what I love. I am changing my focus a bit on this blog. I will be blogging about new things I have been working on for FibersStudio, projects I have planned and all the things that I am passionate about which includes some subjects that aren't fibers related. So you will be getting a bit larger view of my world.

Hope you have enjoyed your summer and getting ready to find projects to focus on in the shorter days with me. Are you ready?

Woven Cards for the Kids of FestivALL!

I am happy to have finally made an example of this woven card to show you. It's a great example of what the woven cards that kids of any age will be creating by hand at FestivALL! I am really excited to be working with the kids and this is a free activity in the Children's "Make and Take" tents. I will be demonstrating on Saturday the 26th of June from 10-6 and then on Sunday the 27th of June from 11-5 in Charleston, WV in front of the library downtown.

I start from a simple card that comes with an envelope. I then cut 1/2" inch slits horizontally in the card so you can weave paper vertically though them. I have cut the papers down to 1/2" strips. Here is the basic example:

I am also cutting a frame to go around the woven area. Or I may just cut paper so kids can glue stick four different papers around as a frame. Might be easier over all to just plan on the latter.

To also give it a nice finish there will be a blank sheet we place on the inside of the card to hide the woven paper from the inside.  Here is just a small example of the papers from which the kids get to choose.:

A lot of the papers are hand-made and have glitter, too. It's a fun and quick project that I hope just let's kids play with paper and learn to simply weave. You can use it as a thank you card, birthday card, etc.

Hope to see you there and can't wait to be in the tents!

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).