Whirlwend

Marimekko to the rescue . . .

2012-01-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

Decided to use ALL of my Marimekko fabric remnants to create a new wall display over my living room mantel. Want to see how it turned out? . . .

Happy to have it all tie together now.

P.S. Happy New Year! May everything come together happily for you and yours this year.

Season's Greetings ❤

2011-12-15T16:47:00.001-05:00

A Stack of My Holiday Postcards (Front), a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

Tried to make my cards simpler to produce this year. Decided to make postcards. All was good until I realized the die-cut heart, that relates to the message on the front and back, could not be punched. Tore apart my favorite heart hand puncher to try to hammer out of paper instead with no avail. After running around town looking for a solution this morning, the best was to die-cut two 1/8 inch holes then hand cut a V. Sending extra ❤ out to everyone this year!!!

Spiced Apple Whirlscarf

2011-11-20T07:12:00.001-05:00

colors . . . remind me of an autumn barrel of apples before becoming spiced cider . . .
candy apple reds mixed with cinnamon browns and bright granny smith apple greens.

This one-of-a-kind scarf was handspun on my wheel, plied with complimentary thread,
then freeform knit by hand. Made from a wonderful corriedale blend wool, kettle
dyed by neauveau.

The cozy petal-like form connects to wrap interestingly around for a cozy fit and look.

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length = 40 inches / 102 cm.
width = 5 inches / 10 cm.
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Go ahead, spice things up!

Boo! ... I mean, Hoorah!

2011-10-30T10:07:00.001-04:00

Gorgeous glow, a photo by whirlwendy on Flickr.

Hoorah for October + all the gorgeousness it brings! Get out there and enjoy the day.

For My ❤ LOVE of Color ::

2011-09-20T13:54:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite artists, Lisa Hannigan, debuts her new album Passenger today.

Birds of a Feather

2010-11-30T09:27:00.003-05:00

colors . . . remind me of a crest/fringe/plume of shiny feathers . . . blues, purples, white, black and brown.

These one-of-a kind little bowls hope to make you happy by catching your goodies inside for safe keeping.

And they also nest nicely together ~ as birds of a feather flock together.

It was hand spun, knit, fulled then finished with care by me, Wendy. Made from wonderful hand painted Rambouillet wool yarn in a gorgeous colorway named Pigeon by fellow Fiberista, Cloudlover.

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Plume = 5 x 5.5 inches wide + 3 inches tall.
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Take flight for the Winter and enjoy!

How my garden grows . . .

2010-10-19T22:29:00.002-04:00

82 degrees in mid-October has pushed a bloom on the Endless Summer Hydrangea.

Magic Geranium Whirlpurse

2010-10-15T08:11:00.003-04:00

colors . . . remind me of vibrant geraniums that seem to magically keep on blooming . . . bright pinks, purples, blues and greens.

This one-of-a-kind purse was hand knit, fulled, needlefelted then finished by me, Wendy. Made with wonderful handspun + dyed merino wool yarn in a gorgeous colorway by fellow Etsian, Cloudlover69.

A magnetic clasp, handsewn with coordinating fabric, keeps essentials happy inside.

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12 inches width at bottom.
10 inches width at top.
9 inches height.
11 inches height strap.
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Want to see what it looked like before it's transformation.

Visit my online shop to see some magic in bloom!

Enjoy.

Boom Boom Whirlscarf

2010-10-13T10:25:00.002-04:00

colors . . . remind me of high energy music . . . a blend of turquoise, blue and purple.

This super-soft one-of-a-kind scarf was handspun + knit by me, Wendy, with handpainted merino wool by Cloudlover.

The colors + textures + looped knit shape work together to wrap interestingly around for a cozy fit and unique look every time.

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length when hanging as necklace style = 46 inches / 117 cm.
width varies.
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Visit my online shop to feel the music!

Inspired by Spring

2010-04-07T12:23:00.004-04:00

Needle-felted illustrations are starting to sprout up on Whirlwend items.

Inspired by Autumn

2009-11-06T09:21:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I visited a nearby arboretum and forest.

It was a gorgeous sun-filled day, perfect for taking in all the colors of the season.

Hope you enjoy.

Enjoy Today!

2009-07-03T12:14:00.010-04:00

Giant Pile of To Do:

2009-01-04T17:09:00.009-05:00

I am determined to get a better grip on all my TO DO lists this year ... oy!

Introducing Hugimals™ = Huggable Animals

2007-10-27T13:09:00.000-04:00

Zebits, Churtles, and Tiraffes, OH MY!
are now available for sale at my Etsy shop.

[ zebit™ ]

[ churtle™ ]

[ tiraffe™ ]

Full grown and baby ones need good homes.

I had so much fun creating these.

Watch for Elefish™ , Macows™ and other original safari hybrids to come :)

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© 2007 Whirlwend

WhirlFlowers are sprouting-up

2007-10-01T20:44:00.000-04:00

Some before and after photos...

Creating Goodness Again

2007-09-04T21:21:00.001-04:00

Want to pop-in and say hello. Have made enough progress on my craft room that I have been able to get out my sewing machine to play a bit. Shelves are up. Love having everything at my fingertips now.

My favorite way of organizing my fabric stash is to wrap the yardage around a piece of illustration board which I got at the comic book store in bulk. Then I can stand them up like books to see what I have quickly.

It is a tight fit, but the love seat is nice for sitting with my computer and creating new goodies for Whirlwend. Hope to share some of it soon. But first I need to finish painting ... this wall will be a pale avocado.

Happy to be creating handcrafted goodness again.

What a Whirlwend!

2007-08-21T20:23:00.000-04:00

My crafting room is such a mess...took a photo of the current chaos. I am in the process of getting everything under control. Considering wall colors. My husband has even said he would build wall shelves for all my jars of crafting goodies. Think he is tired of seeing it all over the house. All I have to do is mark the walls with painters tape where I want them, he said. Of course, I am doing this instead :) Progress is slow at Whirlwend tonight.

A Little Odd Forest

2007-07-22T11:49:00.006-04:00

As a handmade lover and crafty connoisseurs, Singaporean designer, Lynda Lye's Little Odd Forest makes me smile. She also has an Etsy Shop.

(image from Forestprints Design)

"Inspired by the wonderful childhood fantasies of bizarre fairytale adventure stories set in magical forests, resplendent with quirky images and wonderful illustrations of talking monsters, animals and trees."

And her equally wonderful bags are as quirky and colorful as her imaginative forest.

Hope this little odd forest brings a smile to your face as well.

Whirlwend has Entered

2007-07-18T06:25:00.000-04:00

Whirlwend has finally entered into the Belknap Fall Festival 2007. Not sure why I waited until the last minute to get my entry together. I had grandiose ideas. Thinking I'd make another hand-crafted book of my stuff like last year. Ended-up using old purse photos all on one sheet (see below). Happy to say they have all found happy homes except one.

Japanese Goodness

2007-07-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

I have been loving Japenese goodies for a while now. From toys to origami to fabric. I mean how can you resist Sanrio's Chococate? Just way too adorable! Yesterday I could not resist this Japanese cookbook. And if you know me, you know I do NOT cook much (though I am working on it).

A blog I love by wee wonderfuls has a bunch of wonderful links to these Japanese craft sites: Atelier Akiko (which has amazing quilts and purses) ; Ripple ; and Anano Cafe (which has huggable animals and other cute products).

(image from atelier akiko)

Last but not least, I want to share a sweet little online shop called re:makeables. It has the cutest Japanense fabrics (the cottage print is on it's way to me as I type), plus trims, buttons, beads and books.

(image from re:markeables)

Wow...that was alot for my second post. Enjoy!

WELCOME!

2007-07-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

My name is Wendy and I am Whirlwend. By-day, a Graphic Designer for over
15 years. And in spare moments, I use my crafty skills to create one-of-a-kind handcrafted goodness. Watch for my new creations at whirlwend.com. Enjoy!

This is a new product I started making this Spring and Summer...I call it a Whirlflower. It is hand knit from wool, then felted and constructed to make a cute one-of-a-kind brooch. For springing-up an outfit or whatever else and brightening the day. I have a million flower peices to put together and felt. I definitely like the knitting part of the process the best :) Enjoy my new blog.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5904509