Magical Feather Garland~

The past few days, my creative time was spent printing out 8x10 copies of my art.

I traced four sizes of chicken feathers and made templates.

(click images to see larger versions)

I traced them on to the art prints, along with some sheets of funky scrapbook paper

 & some painted papers in my stash.

Doodled on them with paint makers and added some magical words of prayers and intentions.

Stapled the tips to an amazing pink neon nylon cord I found at the hardware store and

 I hung them in my studio window, sorry for the bad photos of them hanging, the shot was back lit by the sun.

 I LOVE them!

Have another few garlands to make to hang all over, and a few for gifts.

Master Bedroom Remodel~ Before and After

Master Bedroom Remodel... Before and After

We bought our 1915/1950 farmhouse last fall from a sweet elderly couple who last remodeled in the 70s.

As you can see, it came with striped shag carpets, dark paneling,

acoustical ceiling tiles and interesting (ahem) wallpaper.

Here are the before and after shots of the first room we have pretty much "completed"(although I think we many never be completely finished) with new drywall, carpet, trim and doors.

Closet... seems to have been added to the room as an after thought, making furniture placement pretty awkward. Closet doors were very heavy sheets of plywood.

  We replaced the plywood with wooded bi-fold doors (which still need to be stained).

This is the awkward space left next to the closet, complete with really crooked walls.

  After drywall and window treatment (Ikea curtains). Perfect spot for our tv.

Front window and heater.

  New curtains hide the heater and can be moved aside in the winter. We hardly used this heater last winter, our wood stove put off plenty of heat and we prefer the bedroom on the colder side to sleep.

Left view of front window before...

 And after... painting is from art school, a long time ago. Quilt is from the Company Store.

Bedroom door before.

  And after... need to find a smaller (thinner?) nightstand so the door can open fully.

New glass doors knobs throughout the downstairs was my bling anniversary gift from Paul.

We LOVE our bedroom. Full of light and just the right size.

Eve's Kerrera Sweater

Introducing... Eve's Kererra Sweater! (ravelry link)


This turned out perfect. The colors, the style, the energy of this sweater is total “Eve”.
I LOVE this, a knitter’s ultimate goal is to create something with love that captures that person’s essence. So everyone is happy. :D

She has not taken this off. It’s Aug here in the PNW and in the low 60s.

Knit from Malabrigo Twist in the color way "Indecienta"~

Phew! Was afraid I did not have enough yarn to complete this… ended up with one skein left of a 10 skein bag. (Beware the color differences even within the same dyelot!)

LOVE the pattern… modified by eliminating the double garter at the cuffs and edges, replaced with straight garter instead. (to conserve yarn). 

Also eliminated the pockets.

Washed on “handwash” cycle on front loader… DUH. Should have used wool setting or done by hand (and I KNOW BETTER). Felted just a weee bit but did not alter the size. PHEW. The slight felting did eliminate that wool halo that loves to pill so much with Malabrigo though. So all is well.

A huge success!

Major Case of Start-itis~

This morning I finished Eve's Kerrera (details) (ravelry link), which triggered a serious case of start-itis!
This is a good AND a bad thing. Good because it's cool to have several projects on the needles, having options never hurts. Bad because I am not sure how to stop myself.... ha (maniacal laughter).

On the needles still are...

The Five Year Socks. Lorna's Laces in Amish. Almost to the toe of sock #2, but not in the mood for tiny needles right now so it is in time out. Hopefully they will not turn into six year socks. haha.

My Atelier ~ On sleeve #1 and it is boring me stupid right now. I save that for tune-out knitting when I cannot think anymore and just need to, well... tune out. Fantastic pattern, highly recommended and I am excited to complete and wear it, but zzzzzzz.

NEW projects...
Red Alpaca Dragonfly Cowl~ Just cast on this morning out of nummy Alpaca yarn Co. Paca Peds. (color way is one of their experiments from the lab). This cowl is amazing to wear. I made myself one two years ago and wear it a LOT in the fall and winter. Quick and satisfying project.  Knit about two inches and saw this...

Saroyan scarf~ Researching right now but I am pretty sure I have enough yardage left from my Blue top-down creation to make it. PERFECT yarn for it... Miss Babs Yowza! 

I think blogging about all of this broke the start-itis madness. phew!

The End of an Era~

Today marks the end of an era... 

We are very VERY excited at all of the new changes, this is not a sad time, 

but a time for NEW BEGINNINGS! and how can that ever be a sad thing?

Material Whirled is being phased into our new farm business,  Peculiar Ambitions!

We will no longer be using our shopping cart to sell products.

(This site will only remain active until I get all of my free patterns transferred to the Ravelry.com pattern database.)

Around the beginning of September 2011 the Material Whirled url will forward to my personal blog where you can follow our antics and receive updates.

Link to Reenie's Blog

Link to Peculiar Ambitions' Blog

Link to Reenie's Facebook Page

In the future I will be offering products in our farm's etsy site, but for now we are taking our time through the transition.

Thanks to ALL who have supported Material Whirled over the past SIX years!

We love you and thank you for staying in touch!

xoxoxoxo