There are so many focuses in the Fiber/Textile world that it would seem that there would be a clear deliniation between them all- so when you looked at something you say "That is design. That is art. And there is technology." But textiles have a way of blurring the boundaries of these worlds (much like other craft arenas).

A resource that I use frequently are images that I have that were taken on trips and outings. One extremely influential trip in my life was to Ullapool, Scotland. I went a couple years ago when I had received an Undergraduate Summer Research Grant through Buffalo State College for my project "Felting as a Sustainable Media". With the grant I received I traveled to Scotland to take a workshop on creating felt and learning about natural dye processes.

So for Fiber Friday I am going to post a bunch of links from some of my favorite tumblr pages. I am a very visual person so I enjoy looking at amazing historical and contemporary works of textiles to get my creative noggin jumpstarted, so here are a few of my favorite "jump starters"

Deep down, I think I want to be Scottish and live by the sea weaving away as the winds howl. Following in deep traditions and using wool only dyed from plants and lichens, blended together to create fabric that not only unites Scotland, but the love of tradition and fine craftsmanship.

The past few nights I have been staying up really late in photoshop, meticulously selecting colors from scanned images to create a digital color palette for Harrisville Designs yarn. I am working on developing patterns and colors for my Spring collection of scarves and shawls. So now I am in the research and and inspiration stage. I thought to share some images and textures that are going to inspire my next collection of weavings.

So, this past week has been a little bit crazy. I have been focusing on getting product off the loom and setting up arrangements at work to get ready to move in a couple months. It has been stressful. So to alleviate some of this stress here is an artist who I love. Stephanie Metz.

Fridays are the time to rejuvenate, get excited, and start all the awesome things that the weekend allows you! The things that are inspiring me right now is getting stacked up for something awesome in the future. So, they will be in my back pocket for a while before I start letting you in my plans for fiber-awesomeness.

I am part of a generation that has a very difficult time creating in absolute silence. Although I do enjoy the rhythmic beat of my loom as I work- I tend to lose focus and then the beat gets off and the pattern created has a glitch in it. When it requires true concentration I put on some music. But when I am doing a task that doesn't require every single neuron to fire in my mind- I turn on a podcast or a video on my computer. I usually watch or listen to one or two and then my heart is pounding my mind is racing and I have this unrelenting need to create something awesome.

This blog is a little late because I was polishing up this very special entry for this week. It is snippet into the life and creative mind of a weaving artist that I am extremely fond of: Tien Chiu. She is an inspiration to me to push harder and think more critically about my own hand weaving. I sent her an email correspondence with a list of questions that I always want to know about weavers (or other textile artisans) that I read about, and she graciously sent me back some great insights into her work and what she is passionate about. Below is a short bio that can also be found on her Creating Craft Blog.

Today's post we have a lovely profile on the weaver Laura Fry! Laura Fry has been a professional weaver since 1975 and in 1997 received certification as one of Canada's Master Weavers. She has written Magic in the Water which is a wonderful book about wet finishing your handwoven cloth. As she likes to say "it isn't finished until it is wet finished!" Her book is a must have for book shelves and her woven work I just admire.