Camera death

I did it- I killed the camera, it is official. I adore my camera. sniff.

I managed to get pictures taken of this last update, sorry the pics are kinda sad. My beloved camera cried and sputtered and beeped error messages the entire time and refused to let me use it's flash. I decided to euthanize it. Tomorrow it goes back to Circuit City so they can see if they can fix it. (Yay for extended warranties). I will be buying a new one I suppose in the meantime.

So-- An update-- hooray!

Here is a glimpse:

AND...... we got the dye room all set up and functional (ha- and it's messy already-snort).

I have a wonderful wash sink that Paul installed and my microwaves set up. There is a big table to mix dyes and such and we have 2 propane burners set up outside! It is so nice. sigh. What wonderful Christmas gift!

Gremlins~

I swear the electronic gremlin geeks have descended upon my house and studio and are using my stuff when I sleep.

My PC has been showing it's age lately. Last month I had to replace the hard drive (gasp-- that was a bit traumatic), this month I had to replace the monitor, the power source and the video card! sheesh. Now my camera is on the fritz. I did a graceful smack into the studio door frame with camera in hand and it flew across the UNcarpeted floor. I think I killed the flash, it has been computer-error-ing and sputtering all over since. Good thing it is still under the extended warranty plan I purchased.

So my Holiday pictures are sad and grainy and blurry, as will the yarn update pics I plan to take tomorrow. Please be patient with me while I set the gremlin traps. Maybe I shall shave them and spin them into a yarn?

Hope your holidays have been relaxing-- mine have been divine.

Stay tuned for new yarns! I do not want to promise a day yet (due to the camera crapping out) but it will not be long.

Pic of Rex the dude-cat sleeping next to me on the couch on my day-of-knitting last week

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Our Tree!

Tacky tacky glittery blue pointsettias!

LOVE them!

Happy Winter Solstice~

Today is Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

Enjoy the shortest day of the year!

Stop & Knit~

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I decided to slow down a bit until after Christmas. I tend to be a TAD obsessive about my work, because I love it so. However, it is that time of the year to stop and chill.

I am going to knit and make cookies and play with the girls and chill out and knit (did I mention knit?). I am making several exciting projects using MW yarns and working on prototypes for new 'free with purchase' patterns, as well as from free patterns from the web that work well with my yarns.

Please know that the shop is still open and any orders placed will be filled the end of next week.

Now I am going to make coffee and knit and look at my tree and schnubble my belly-up fat cat.

Pics of projects coming later!

MERRYMERRYMERRY (jinglejingle)

reenie

The colors of this yarn reminded me of the hard Christmas candy my Pop-Pop used to buy, it had chocolate straws and multi-colored candies in it, along with ribbon candy! Similar to this.

Spun from red and cream merino and plied with a cotton flannel and a red rayon thread.

Plied a second time the other direction with a black novelty yarn with multi-colored hairy poufs.

I then plied it yet again (I know-- it's crazy~) back the opposite way with the same poufy novelty yarn.

A bulky and delicious yarn!

Going Green!

Introducing Material Whirled's new line of yarn!

Spun from as much foraged and recycled materials as possible.

First I take a wool and/or merino fiber. Then I add fiber scraps and yarn scraps and mix them all together! They are then plied with mostly recycled or mill-ends threads.

Each stitch is an adventure that will send you into dizzying heights of vertigo!

Click the picture above to see more!

Red Sox!

I finished the custom-ordered Red Sox yarn.

It was made for Adina Klein, editor extraordinaire of the Vogue Knitting magazines.

(she gave me to go-ahead to name drop). Adina rocks.

She is making her BIL a hat for the holidays and he is a Red Sox fiend.

I knit the socks in 2D from red alpaca yarn.

I also finished another pile of orders and got them all shipped out.

AND- I got my light tent all set up and ready to go! I LOVE THIS THING!

No more hauling my updates outside looking for indirect sunlight, which I gotta say, is rare here in the Pac NW.

It is in the office area of the main studio room. I decided to put it in front of one of the 3 doors! No shortage of doors here.

Back to work!

Twinkle Twinkle~

This house is near our neighborhood. I almost posted and said "Phew we finally got all of the outdoor decorations up"! haha

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is all of the kitsch. This is the mother load of Christmas Kitsch! So much work!

It was hard to photograph, but there is a display inside each and every window!

This is a shot of in the garage.

Each time we drive by there is an addition. Yesterday's addition was the giant blow-up carousel in the middle of the yard. There is layer upon layer of stuff!

Wish I could get all of this festivity into one skein of yarn!

Merry Merry Jingle Jingle!

Ann's Elf Hat~

Annie wanted me to make her a new hat this year so she picked out the colors and ply and I spun a skein for her.

It is in blues and purples with an opalescent glitz. I found a navajo plied skein in my stash that I had made a few years ago so I used that also. I made the hat in rows of knit and purl, using the navajo for the purled rows.

Crochet~

This evening I whipped up a crochet version of the "Utterly Magnificent Cowl" pattern. I will get it written up and get some pics taken asap.

I am really happy with it!

heehee

Red Sox Socks

I knit these tiny 2D socks for a very special custom order.

I will post pics of the yarn when it is completed.

Too cute- and hilarious!

Red Socks (Sox)-- get it?

Yarn piles and still unpacking!

Hiya!

It's been busy as usual here in the Material Whirled, with many orders to fill.

Here are some pics of yarn piles and the yarn sauna!

I finally got the back studio room unpacked and functioning, it is a DREAM in there, with a fiber wall and a shipping area, and a photo area! sigh... I may move a bed in there and never leave!

Here is a before shot, Jackie came over and helped me figure things out and organize.

It was embarrassingly trashed. bad. fiber tribbles all OVER, piles and mayhem!

Here the fiber wall is starting to take shape, but there were still piles and bins to deal with.

I decided to move the big ole counter in the center of the room to optimize its vastness, this way we can get all around it to work. I need to hit Goodwill to find some retro bar stools.

Here is Battman hard at work on a day off. We made the area behind him an art workspace for the girls. I will take more pics once I get the photo studio complete and the curtains hung.

For now-- more spinning to do!

reenie

Updates and bad pictures

Hiya!

I spent the afternoon building a 'photo studio' only to take many horrible photos.

It seems it is a tad overcast here in the pacific northwest (go figure!).

I need to tweak the photo studio a bit I believe and figure out what the issue is.

For now I will update the yarns that I have decent photos of and put the rest up tomorrow after I reshoot.

Turkey and updates~

Hello!

Hope everyone had a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Look for a yarn shop update this weekend!

Nov. 9th Yarn update!

I just updated the One-of-a-Kind Gallery with 12 new skeins!

Here is a link to the Flickr Gallery so you can see all of the yarns in one place.

They will be removed from the shop as they sell.

Phew!Time for some couch with knitting!

Maeve is the yarn made from the batt shown in yesterday's post.

Creativity!

It has been so long since I have spun for the mere sake of creating. I have had so many orders to fill, which is fantastic & phenomenal (yay orders!), but I miss spinning for the mere sake of creating.

So, after picking up the biggest fiber-gasm EVER, 75 lb of heaven....

I spent the day designing, carding and spinning a one-of-a-kind pile of skeins, which will go on the site for sale Fri. or Sat. so stay tuned!

Here is one of the batts, for a teaser.

Back to the wheel!

Crochet

Crochet crochet crochet crochet

I have many ideas for crochet patterns for the site, but need help getting them written up and tested, etc.

Anyone out there willing to tackle this drop me a line, I pay in yarn.

Reenie

Busy fall~

It's been a busy month of custom orders and shop orders, in case you have been wondering why the shop updates have been sparse.

Here are some pics of yarns from the past few days including the ATTACK of the Tree hat Kits! I swear I have been seeing green and hearing jingle bells in my sleep.

phew!

back to work

Gremlins and lessons learned....

It's been a hectic few weeks here in Material Whirled!

Tree Hat kits are selling like hotcakes! I make a point to where mine when I spin them, keeps me in the spirit!

I plan to update the Yarn Shop today, sorry for those who were watching this weekend for the posted update. I seem to have gotten a nasty gremlin infection in my hard drive and had to install a brand spanking new one! Needless to say it took a hefty chunk of time out of my schedule. Now I am back up and running with triple the drive space I previously had AND a shiny, pretty new external BACKUP drive. snort. lesson learned.

I only lost a months worth of pictures, including the pics from our trip to the Pacific, and my bookmarks.

My mom was here for a 10 day visit and we had a great time. This is her first trip to our new home and she helped me prep tree skein ornaments and made curtains for the girls cottage/fort. I will post pics of them in my personal blog soon.

Well, back to the wheel!

Reenie

Back!

Hello!

I am back home from our sad trip back east and getting back at the wheel~ I really missed it while I was in PA. Funny how much it relaxes me. As if I am ever really relaxed. haha

Wish there was a way to spin on an airplane, seems like such a waste of time, although its hard to do anything with two bored wiggly little girls.

So--- guess what??

THERE IS AN UPDATE COMING!

Planned for Sat. Sept. 29th ~

Want to join our update list? Send an email to sales@materialwhirled.com and I will add you.

Here are some pictures of some yarn and projects made with MW skeins.

"Caraway Golden Clone", a custom order for Rhonda, who makes the cutest collars for her whippets!

A scarf I made for a prototype, from Pomona Skein. Made with our Drop Stitch Scarf pattern that comes free with each yarn purchase!

Later!

Reenie

Sad time~

A yarn update is planned for the end of next week. I need to fly home for my gram's funeral. :(

Bye Memaw...

Reenie

Cool free scarf pattern!

This pattern would work really well with our yarns. And it's free!

Bias Knit Scarf~

It's on Craftzine.com! Craftzine ROCKS!

If you knit one up send me pics for the Customer Gallery....

Reenie

Yarns and adjusting~

Hello,

We are adjusting to life in the pacific northwest. It's taking longer than I expected to get settled, but we are having a great time.

Here is a family shot of us at Multnomah Falls in OR.

Here is a shot of some custom ordered skeins.

Well,

Back to work!

xo

Reenie

Return of the Dark Princessessess ~

BWA-hahaha......Cackle Cackle

So it seems I have this dark streak. I have always had an evil sense of humor and this streak is totally harmless but I suppose it has to come out SOME way. I 'see' all of these female witchy personalities. If I see a certain color scheme or a trinket or bauble or bead I immediately can see a feisty girl in it. Sundday the girls and I visited our first craft store in Vancouver, Craft Warehouse. They have an amazing bead section and they had these wooden skull bead s and the bad girls just started talking to me.

Once they reveal themselves to me they introduce their friends....and it goes on and on.

Now this does not suit my image. I am a blond, giggly, 'fluffy' mom from PA, not some goth queen. I am sure there is some sort of psychological theory behind this. Maybe it's best to not go there.

Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of the first 3 Dark Princesses of the season. They have yet to reveal their full names to me, but we have had our chats and I know them well.....

Stay tuned to the site for a yarn update in the next week..... when I will introduce them to you formally.

Reenie >:)

Rambunctious

Rambunctious

ram·bunc·tious /ræmˈbʌŋkʃəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ram-buhngk-shuhs] Pronunciation Key - –adjective

1.	difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous.

2.	turbulently active and noisy.