I have, despite my base personality (which is sort of ironic) a very, very low threshold for chaos and a trashed house. I can stand untidy. (I’m actually really comfortable with untidy.) I excel at “pretty cluttered”, having figured out a long time ago that neglecting housework is an excellent way to maximize knitting time… but once we start talking about furniture in the wrong rooms and stuff from bookshelves piled up in other rooms, paint trays in the kitchen and lumber lying around the house I start thinking homicidal thoughts. I don’t know what the difference is for me, because I’m certainly not a great housekeeper or a neatnic. I can have laundry thrown all over the house and I’ll wish someone will clean it up, but it won’t bug me the way that a half laid floor makes me want to strip old paint off of metal railings with my teeth. It is for this reason (the homicidal thoughts) that renovation must occur around here at a breakneck pace if I’m going to be anything resembling sane. There is a limit to how many days I can put up with all of the furniture from Megs new room being crammed into Meg and Sam’s current room with a mattress in the downstairs hall and sawdust through the house, so after a wicked big push, the thing is done.
In a nutshell:
My brother Ian dismantled the loft bed (it was attached to the walls) took down shelves and an old ceiling fan that wobbled in an alarming manner and was therefore never, ever turned on, and he whacked a coat of primer over the whole thing, being sure to leave his mark.
Then the light got swapped out for something less likely to decapitate a member of the family, and Meg picked a colour of paint and helped Ian put it up. She wanted a colour just like chocolate milk. She chose wisely.
Walls done, Ian’s help was up and I was going to lay the new floor by myself. The old floor (a thousand curses on the people who lived here before us) was just plywood, and Joe showed me how to use the big saw…
and he left. Turns out that using a big saw is sort of easy, and that a healthy fear of loosing a knitting finger or three keeps you pretty alert. Also turns out that if you use the big saw inside, it fills the whole house with dust in an instant. so only three boards were cut inside. Then I moved it to the back garden, which worked much, much better except that I needed to run up and down the stairs with about 49873 boards.
New floor down, I installed trim, hung a curtain rod, hemmed curtains, put on a new duvet cover – and Meg moved all of her stuff in – including the furniture, which is now the only ratty thing in the room, but you can’t (as I told Meg) have it all.
Rachel H came over with some tools and Joe cut the bottom off of the old door so it would clear the new (higher) floor, and Rach and I (using my extremely good google skills) hung the door, which totally works just like a door, so we must have done it right. After all that, I give you Meg’s new room:
Which is so beautiful to me that I feel hugely guilty about Sam’s current room, so there will have to be a renovation there soon, since hers can’t be the only room in the house that’s a total trash scene.
Pretty, pretty… and Meg thinks it’s very grown up- despite the fact that she kept a couple of “stuffies” and dollies,
but I guess seventeen isn’t all the way grown up, for which I’m rather grateful. (Meg knit that blanket on the end of the bed herself.) As for me at the end of all that, I’m feeling supremely proud of myself. I learned how to lay a floor, I used big power tools, I cut trim and (with an awful lot of Rachel H’s tools and help) I hung a door. All things I didn’t know I could do, and I feel really empowered with all the new skills. Oddly, this frenzy of learning and exciting change has left me wanting to knit only one thing.
Yup. Two row scarves. I’m on number three – although did entertain ideas about a sock the other day, so maybe I’m almost over it.
Well done! Power tools can do great things in the hands of the knitter! And the scarves are beautiful too; repetition can be quite comforting I find, especially when you get to watch the colors appear like magic.
Gorgeous! There’s nothing like conquering a new skill to make you feel empowered–but I don’t have to tell a knitter that, now do I? By the way, Meg’s choice of wall color is pretty close to my living room walls, painted in a frenzy of frustrated-with-builders-beige one very late night two years ago. I understand project frustration!
Hey, I beat you in one area. I can handle all kinds of half-done projects all over the house. Not that’s such a great thing…
That room is beautiful. Next renovation should be done in the summer, when you can cut wood in the back yard and not have to wear a winter coat.
Looks great — anyone who can do the math to knit, quilt or hang wallpaper can lay a laminate floor. Your’s looks great, too! Congrats (great choice, that chocolate milk)!
I am in awe. I wish I could do work like that. You two can come over to my house anytime! That room is seriously beautiful.
Scarves really are a knitter’s comfort project, aren’t they?
The room looks awesome.
Dude! You are one amazing woman! Those duvet covers always stump me…
Oh my goodness, I want that room… although I think the chocolate milk colour might keep me in a state of perpetual sugar craving!!
Congrats on the room! Love the duvet cover (possibly because I have the same one…).
It’s gorgeous!
LOVE the chocolate milk walls, especially with the bold colors of the duvet and curtains.
Nothing wrong with a few stuffies– some of my best friends are plush.
I’m on my second scarf. Mine is in girlie pinks and rainbows. My husbands is so manly it grunts.
OMG, woman. Is there nothing you can’t do? It’s absolutely gorgeous! Do you hire out for less-talented peoples’ kids’ rooms?
Yup, my 10 y.o. knitting dau. is totally ga-ga over the Noro fun too (see her swirl hats on my blog). She has made 3 so far and has plans for a 4th and 5th. Luckily, she has lots of friends who are enthusiastic recipients!
I wish you’d come and knit my scarf. I agreed to knit it for a (very good) friend, but boy do I hate knitting scarves. Seriously, if one of those annoying non-knitters saw me knitting this scarf, came up to me and said “I don’t know how you have the patience” I would heartily agree!!
I am seriously in love with the colour-scheme in Meg’s new room! And I am green with envy for your mad renovation skills. If/when Meg leaves home, will you please adopt me?…
Oh, never mind. I have to move in the next year or so anyway, so I’ll just start reading the entire DIY home-reno section now and flag these pix so I remember to decorate my new 3-D house of stuff in a lovely chocolate-milk/raj-spices/&raspberry theme.
P.S. clearly we must encourage Meg towards a vocation in some form of colour expression!
Congratulations! It’s a beautiful room – I especially like the floor.
The scarves are pretty, too, and after all that work, I think you’ve earned the right to knit (and blog about) anything as simple as you want.
I love the room and the latest scarf isn’t bad, either!
And I have a wicked craving for chocolate milk now.
Megan did an excellent job choosing that chocolate milk color. It’s dark enough to be warm and cozy for the winter, but still light enough for summer.
And you with the big saw and the flooring? omg Another source for book writing?
Excellent work. The way to know that you are REALLY empowered is when you get power tools for Christmas. (I got an electric chain saw last year.)
Really, really awesome! I don’t know that I could have done the power tools. That’s great.
In the future, when I have run up and down stairs and do a bunch of physical junk that I hate…I just tell myself it’s good for my heart. Or else I think I’d go crazy. Sometimes I still do.
mm, chocolate milk turns out to be a very good colour for walls!
Meg, your bedroom is lovely.
And as someone who has just started her third Narragansett Bay pattern in four days, I’m not saying one word about the scarves.
Power tools are one of the best things ever. They make proper noises, go quick and have a great destruction/creation ratio. I love them. Using them was the best part of my engineering degree.
I am painting trim, witj the help of 2 golden retrievers, the stuff is in the living room, and company comes tomorrow! So it has to be done tonight so I can clean like a madwoman.
Power tools are so… empowering 🙂 We had little money growing up, so all of my mother’s daughters learned how to do home repair on our own. We aren’t afraid to tackle anything from taking down walls to putting down floors to installing entire bathrooms. At this point the only thing I haven’t done is take down a support wall. 🙂 The attitude carries over to knitting. and a lot of life, actually 🙂
Congrats on the beautiful room.
Fantastic and congratulations. All of it looks great, knitting and room.
Very nice room, way to go!
I am so impressed! And Green Eyed Jealous. I moved into my house exactly a year ago (11/29/07) and I am still disorganized, in boxes, and hating it. Past homicide and into learned helplessness. But the much stalled reno (why unpack to repack?) starts on Monday, so there is hope.
And Plastic barriers, FYI, helps manage the dust flow. However, protect your valuables (read: FIBER) at all costs; mine is in protected space in a separate flat!
Good luck. You never fail.
Oh my gosh, I have the same bed!!! And having tried to assemble it myself 4 years ago, I can confirm that it’s definitely a 2 person job.. 😀
Congratulations on a job well done!
Lovely! What a perfect room for a teenage girl. I hope she has many sweet dreams!
Love the room. Love the chocolate milk walls and the orange sheers. What are you superwoman or something? My 13 year old daughter reads this blog and needs a room reno. The old “dad’s too busy” isn’t going to go over at all now.
What a lovely room! 🙂
Power tools are fun, though things to be used with caution.
I bet you totally made Rachel’s day when you called her up and told her to come over with her chisel. Seriously.
Excellent work! The room is beautiful and very grown up. Hell, I’d live in it stuffies, dollies and all.
Big tools aren’t complicated. They can’t be, just think of all the construction workers you’ve ever met. Bet at least one of them was so stupid you wondered how he learned to walk, but he could rip a board in half no problem.
How is it that your renovations always turn out so well? I can’t get mine done in that kind of timeframe, and if I could, they certainly wouldn’t look as well as your do.
Whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it right!
The scarves are lovely too!
I want that same room! The same colors, duvet cover, curtains, everything!!! How lucky your daughters are to have such a cool mom. It’s time for another “When you mum is the yarn harlot” post…
Were they Kureyon or Silk garden two-row striped socks?
Actually I just might have to make those.
You do remember the part where we said ‘soon’ for Sam’s room should really translate into ‘when it’s a whole lot freakin’ warmer than now’, right?
And Renee? Yep. Totally fun to get a call that includes the phrase ‘I bet you’re the kind of woman who owns her own chisels’. Especially coz I am.
CONGRATULATIONS! What a fabulous renovation — and you didn’t commit any crimes along the way! 😉 I clearly need to work on my renovation skills!
I’m forty and still have stuffed animals. (My three year old daughter and I have many great “Mine.” “No, MINE!” discussions over them.) A girl’s never too old for a few stuffies.
Lovely job on the room. And cutting flooring in the back yard in November? Over and above the cause. Bravo.
Meg’s room looks great. You did an awesome job. And yes, using any type of saw outdoors is highly recommended 🙂
Holy Cow! That’s some floor. I’m in awe! Plus, I’m loving the scarves. It’s inspired me to buy yarn for my very own.
Nice work! Congratulations on successful power tool use and creating an amazing room for Megan.
Great job! I can ignore a lot of housekeeping sorts of things, too; however, having rooms disrupted like that drives me nuts. I’m almost put back together enough after the great “paint the living room, dining room, hallway” project of last summer.
We have a garage full of scary woodworking tools and as far as I’m concerned they are all voice activated. I sketch out what I need and then it happens. I can use the tile cutter though..
Wow I’m impressed at your new skills! Good for you for trying and succeeding. Lisa L.
You did a much better job than many of my wood installers when we owned a flooring business. I see no boards rising or gapping. Wooyoo. Good job. Doing a bit of stripped knitting now doesn’t seem hard at all. How are your knees and back doing?
Is that laminate flooring? My husband and I laid about 700 square feet of that in our current house. While it was fun, I’m very glad our new house is being done by someone else.
Love the chocolate milk walls!
Absolutely beautiful room! Congratulations on your new skills, may they continue to serve you well and safely. My cat always wants to help and he’s not nearly as helpful as he thinks he is. He thinks that dipping his paw in the paint and patting the wall (isn’t that what I’m doing after all?) shouldn’t bring on screams or other over-the-top reactions….
Oh, excellent job- it looks terrific!
And I’m exceedingly impressed with the door-hanging- I’ve made my own prehung doors for odd spaces, but I shied away from the chisel and used a router instead. (If you’re curious:
http://practicalcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/07/birth-of-door.html.)
The room looks just gorgeous! Really love the colors and floor. Liked the bit about power tools and knitter’s fingers….so true! But before you start the next renovation, remember, Christmas Eve is a month from today! Just thinking of your stress levels here, Steph!
Love it! Do you realize that it’s nearly Christmas?
Another thing you probably never thought someone would say to you: I totally covet your molding.
Ooooh… Lovely room. Very inspirational. Mr. Happy and I have three rooms that need new floors. I have all the tools (and that healthy fear of losing a finger)and none of the ambition… until now. Perhaps I should get cracking.
That kind of remodeling mess would drive me bonkers, too. The difference is, I think, that the normal house mess one has is composed of stuff that’s normally meant to be there — clothing, mail, knitting projects, etc. Maybe it’s not where it should be, but it’s in the larger container (i.e., the house) where it belongs. But things like pieces of wood and saws and sawdust should, in my opinion, belong in a basement or a garage, not in a bedroom.
It’s odd that I still want to remodel my kitchen in light of this realization, isn’t it?
Wow. Just… wow.
This is what knitting does to people…makes them willing to tackle huge projects and conquer them. Or maybe that’s just the kind of people who knit.
In any case, you are a fantabulous mama. What a gorgeous room.
Meg’s room looks fantastic, you should feel very proud of all your DIY achievements, and well done too for keeping intact all your knitterly digits!
I’m extremely impressed. Also very uncomfortable with picture of hand next to saw.
Very impressive room.
Nice work! And I’m glad you kept all your fingers. When do we move in? 😉
Excellent job! And kudos to Meg for the excellent paint colour selection!
How-to information on the web is the bomb. I’ve laid a new laminate floor (thanks to power tools), ordered and installed a new timer in our washing machine (I love http://www.partselect.com!) as well as ordered and installed all sort sorts of parts for my dishwasher. Very liberating and much cheaper too! The room looks great. Congrats.
Completely understand the homicidal thoughts, having lived in a renovation for almost 20 years. (We did it a room at a time also). It’s like the disorder you don’t know is worse than the disorder you DO know.
anyway, awesome job, very professional looking
Mary E
If I give you my address, will you come help me with my house?Pretty please with beer and chocolate on top!?!And I completely understand about the “previous owner” syndrome.I don’t think there’s a level and/or plumb surface in our entire house.Excellent job though.Maybe some of your renovation motivation will come through the screen in my direction…
You go girl! The room looks fantastic! Finishing a remodel and then standing back and looking at it is always a HUGE moment of pride, bigger than knitting a challenging project. I know I can knit but I am always doubtful about my ability to do home renovation-type tasks. So I am always pleasantly surprised when the house does not fall down on account of my home remodeling activities.
When you run out of rooms to remodel, you would be very welcome to come and exercise your mad skillz on my house. It isn’t quite as old as yours but it’s just as, um, quirky in its own way. You could not only plaster and paint and refinish floors (formerly beautiful but badly abused by previous owner) to your (i.e. my) heart’s content – I’d even let you put up a couple of new ceilings. An irresistible offer, right? 😉
Lucky Meg! What a beautiful room, and everyone still has ten digits! As far as stuffies, a few weeks ago my daughter asked hubby and me to bring her a few things from her old room, and although she hadn’t asked, I grabbed her old teddy bear and took him along. Best Teddy always accompanied her to the hospital each time she went for medical treatment as a child. It was on his ample tummy where she rested her arm when she had IV’s. It’s always nice to keep those childhood friends. I suspect we will soon be seeing Sam’s new room. But maybe not till after Christmas?
Way to go Steph! The floor & trim look awesome! You have every right to be proud. And you didn’t lose any fingers. Brilliant!
Whew! You’re making me feel like a slacker.
Power tools scare the crap out of me. Congrats on using them and not losing something. The room looks great and I’m sure Meg will stay forever. Good job well done . Onward and upward to Sam’s room. It’ll be easier now that you have done this one
Very Pretty room! Impressive!
I’m almost 29 and I have “stuffies and dollies” all over the house. They peek out of corners, from under plants and provide nice TV companions. The room looks great!
It appears to me that the cat has claimed the room as her own. I expect she’ll let Meg share, though. Cats like a warm body to sleep on.
I love the room and am envious of your new skills. I also found a way to knit the scarf in a less expensive version. Thank God for the folks at Ravelry! Now I can be like everyone else, just cheaper.
Are you looking for work? I have a studio that needs some attention. I would just need you for a day or too. There is also no snow here yet. I pay in yarn and booze.
The room looks very nice. You did a great job. I love the scarves as well.
Good lord you folks do a wonderful job!! it’s making me consider changing the color of my bedroom….. Gorgeous.
Congratulations! It looks wonderful. And at 32, I still have more than a few stuffed plush animals in my bedroom. DH doesn’t seem to mind. Guess I’m not all the way grown up either! LOL
Very impressive! Megan’s room looks great.
OK, I’m seriously impressed…with both your new skills and Meg’s choices for the room. You can help me renovate anytime.
The scarves are looking great. It’s your fault I have Silk Garden in my WEBS cart. ALL your fault…..
Great job! The Universe was good to you afterall! My husband and I have decided that before a couple marries they should pass three tests: go on a road trip where map reading is required; hang wallpaper in a room; assemble a piece of furniture from a box. If they can survive those tests, they will be just fine. In modern decorating terms, maybe laying a hardwood floor could replace wallpaper.
Wow. That’s seriously awesome. I love the color scheme. Wanna come to Philly and renovate my bedroom? (Just kidding. Sort of.)
Loving the scarves, but I’m holding strong!
Meg, you have a great colour sense! I love how the chocolate milk brings it all together, as one would expect if it was nice and warm on a cold winter’s day or iced on a hot, humid day.
I have my teddy bear from when I was a baby, kind of bald now, but still so special. Bear is 57 years old! Sometimes, it’s a very good thing to keep stuff from your earlier life. Maybe, it’s for grounding.
OHHHH…It’s BEAU-TI-FUUUUL!!! The colors are so warm and artsy and fun! so fun…..
She might never leave that room….sigh….
I know it may sound silly, but how on earth do your rooms stay warm in a Canadian winter with such thin curtains? And aren’t your heating bills sky high if all the heat goes out of the windows? I speak as a thin-skinned Londoner . . .
Meg, are those matching books Nancy Drew mysteries? Definitely keepers.
WOW~
Meg has great taste. I love the chocolate milk walls! My kitchen is a Hershey’s milk chocolate color and I’m the only person who seems to like it. Meg probably would. Her sheer curtains are just the right touch – very grown up. Good job everyone!
And here I feel empowered because I’ve been working on the Danica scarf from knitty.com. It’s entrelac. It’s very cool in the striping yarn I’m using.
And how’d you know we were all wondering about the blanket at the end of the bed? I looked hard for something else to comment on, but I kept feeling my eyes draw toward that blanket. It’s hard being a knitter.
Well done. Meg’s room looks very grown up. I think we might have the same big stuffed bear and oil radiator. I have a high tolerance for clutter and dust, but a very low threshold for additional crap left lying around. Every once in a while I go on a binge and put it all away, then I can’t find anything for a month. A lifetime of living in controlled chaos has led my son to the conclusion that “only lazy people are neat”.
Excellent work. Hey, we have a bedroom in dire need of a re-do … may I ask your daily rate? I can promise slanty floors and crumbling plaster …
Beautiful job. The Chocolate walls are “in” and the new floor will be there for another 100 years looking beautiful. Renovations that make a house liveable and sellable.
And to think a little ole’ knitter and friends did it without the help of pros—-priceless.
Well done! The room looks fantastic – Meg chose well with the chocolate milk. The curtains really pop next to it.
This makes me jealous – I want a girl room! I am stuck with neutral couple-colors for now. But my boy better be careful – next time, I AM DOING THE DECORATING.
Doesn’t Millie look comfy!
WOW! That is quite a transformation in a short time. I love the chocolate milk color – it really is a nice neutral that makes all those other rich colors on the bed/the curtains, etc pop nicely. Trulyl fab, and go you with the power tools!
I’ll swap you tidying the stash services for floor installation any day of the week. Or the month, honestly. The kitchen really needs new flooring. It’s only about 9’x12′ so not all that large. Can you arrange to be here by about December 1st? It would be so nice to have it all finished before Christmas, you know.
WOW – it looks great AND you used a Very Large Power Tool AND you have all your fingers.
congratulations!
Oh yeah, there is definitely something primal about using power tools. I learned how to use the radial arm saw a couple of years ago and was inordinately proud of myself. Too bad more home renovations can’t be completed with just the radial arm saw … Scarves look lovely. Can’t you hear that sock calling you from way over here? I certainly can!
Creepy. That’s my Meg’s duvet cover. On your Meg’s bed.
And maybe, although sub-floor is not fun to live with, you could look at it another way. They removed whatever was there before. Which means you didn’t have to.
hey, I am 54 and I have “stuffies”. nothing wrong with that!
meg’s room looks lovely!
Looks amazing!
I have the opposite problem in our house – the previous owners put down awesome hardwood, but only in about half the house. If we ever want to do the rest, there’s no way in heck that it’ll ever match – so we’ll have to go contrast which equals crazy quilt house!
Don’t worry about the stuffies, I’m older than you (just a little) and I still have a couple – including the rabbit my dad gave me on the day I was born. Completely unrecognizable now – Bunbun lives in a sock!
Congratulations to everyone involved in the project!
I love my power tools ALMOST as much as I love my fiber….
Girlfriend, you have got to try a chainsaw.
Well done! Good work!
I think it’s how our brains sort things into “tolerable” vs. “unbearable”. I can be a clutter queen, yet hubs putting his t-shirt into the small basket that’s for used tea towels makes me IN SANE. Of course, when you’re dealing with an entire floor, I suppose it steps everything up a notch or three. Kudos to you – I admire your skills & determination!
Oh, BRAVO! It really is beautiful, and I bet Meg will walk in every day for the next two months and smile because of it. (Really great color choices, Meg!) And I am a power tool kind of woman – my husband actually bought me a 10″ compound miter saw for my birthday years ago, and the guy at the store wouldn’t believe that it was for me. My project living room redo will be done in two days (hear that, it WILL be done!) then I can get back to gift knitting, which I am missing and stressing about. Good on ya!
Beautiful! Should you ever decide to abandon the knitting world you could definately get a job as a general carpenter. But please don’t quit the knitting world.
Welcome to the sisterhood of empowered middle aged women!!!
Wanna come and do my house next?
Do me a favor, m’kay? The next time you’re using power tools, put your wedding ring in a safe place that’s not your finger.
The room looks great, by the way. Very almost-grownup!
I changed the battery in a smoke detector today and was feeling pretty darn good about myself until I read your blog.
You rock the free world. Yarn for home renovations?
The black cat – he isn’t stuffed, is he? – He looks real, and really at home!
Your thoughts about housekeeping, what one can easily live with, and total chaos are quite in line with my own. I just wish I could express it half as well as you did. Nice job, too, on the room.
I’m impressed with the home renovations — you guys don’t mess around!! You get it done!
Having just had both of our 2 bedrooms re-floored, I can attest that having one’s bedroom furniture outside of one’s bedroom is about as comfortable as wearing underwear outside your pants. Although we paid for a professional to install ours (“Flooring Guy” is my new hero), there was something both mystical and cathartic about watching two shabby rooms turn into clean and restful havens. It must feel like that 10x magnified to do it yourself. Kudos to you!
if you decide to put down a floor in sam’s room, won’t you drop me a quick line before you do so, and i will tell you something that will save you some time. and also probably a finger (if you feel more comfortable with floor 2). we will call it flooring installation for speed and efficiency. 😉
Lovely work – the room is fabulous!
The room is amazing! Blitzkrieg for sure. Wow.
Better finish the holiday knitting at least before tackling Sam’s room, though. She’s so excited about not having to share, that she won’t mind.
LOVE the new bedroom!!
I must make a scarf like that too…. I’ve been saying that since they first came out tho.
😉
Girl power!! Doesn’t it feel great to look at at that floor and be able to say, “I built that”? Not Joe. Not Ian. YOU.
I once dated a guy who was jealous because I had more power tools than he did.
I still have my MOM’s teddy bear from when she was a kid – Woofy is well over 60 years old. He’s fragile, but I still turn to him when I need reassurance that the big scary world isn’t so bad after all. (And yes, I’m almost 40. Childhood is short, immaturity lasts forever.)
GORGEOUS! Congrats on a WELL JOB DONE 🙂
From the Sock-Shaped State, ==Marjorie
Beautiful beautiful. Chocolate milk + oranges and tangerines. Yum.
So Milly’s set. Where’s Meg sleeping?
Excellent job and taste all around! I hate hanging doors, I’ll call you next year when we have to rehang some.
Wanda
I’ve wondered already how long it would take before you find THESE socks….
http://flashbangfibers.blogspot.com/2008/11/noro-stripey-socks.html
😉
Nice floor! And milk chocolate is a great color for a room. It’s very soothing.
Meg’s room is beautiful! Love the color. Hey Stephanie, I have a whole house that needs renovating and you seem to have the skills. It’s not warm down here anymore, but it’s not snowy either, so if you want to, come on down. 🙂
You rock SO hard! I can’t even stand it!
I am using a big saw and laying a floor the first chance I get. Sooner, if I can convince the husband to buy an old house ;D
Um… would it be out of line for me to mention that I just happen to be available for adoption….?
Wow! That is one beautiful room! You should be proud!
Wow, what a great room! And I feel like such a sloth! I love my floors, but I’ve been meaning to paint the walls in every room in my house ever since I moved in, and get new blinds or curtains or something for the windows, and I just never have the energy to get started. Can you come help? I’ll give you yarn and cook you yummy vegan food!
I’m impressed. I work off and on as a carpenter myself, and reinstalling doors isn’t as annoying as installing them for the first time, but it’s still a pain! It looks wonderful! And now that you’ve done it once, when you decide to do Sam’s room, it should in theory go faster!
I am so impressed with all the projects. Keep up with all the good work.
I love that paint color! And wow, the job you did! But am I ever with you about a torn-up house. It is so disruptive to me and makes me absolutely nuts…even though clutter is something I can usually live with (you see, we have more stuff than house…and really need to get rid of some things, even though my husband is having trouble parting with things that belonged to his late parents…I keep telling him that it’s the memories that count, not the things) but that unsettled feeling that comes from a project going on is too much for me to handle for very long. Oh, and by the way, I have some iron railings on my front porch that need stripping, so next time you get the urge to do so with your teeth, a trip to Baltimore to take care of that for me would be quite appreciated!
I think that’s a really sophisticated wall color for a teenager, and the orangey curtains are great, too! I think I want to redo my entire house now… And aren’t power tools fun???? 😉
You are woman.
So roar, already.
Look at you, Ms Handywoman!! The room looks amazing–the walls are the perfect shade of chocolate milk!
Wow, hardcore! I’ve heard about Ontario Girls being much more hardcore than their Vancouver compatriots, and I see that it is true. I have hung shelves, but have never, ever hung a door.
I will have to learn though. Why? Because I’m moving to ONTARIO. And not just plain old Toronto or Ottowa… but Manitoulin Island. Yes. NORTHERN Ontario. Knitters Unite. I’ll wave from the Train Station.
Wow.
Looks great! I’m trying to figure out how to put Christmas decorations over the drywall patches on the wall of the room we’re redoing….maybe I’ll paint the wall a darker green and put Christmas “ornaments” over the drywall nail circles….I’m with you on the clutter vs. the renovation mess. Getting more gray hair by the day….
Now, how weird is that? I can deal with a completely gutted room, no drywall, plywood floors, holes in the ceiling dripping insulation, bare wires, no problem. I wish I could attach pictures.
But clutter or a messy finished room makes ME get out of bed early on the weekend to clean it. However, the hole in the ceiling from the leaky upstairs shutoff valve has been there for weeks.
All right then! Between re-doing your room and now this, I am officially inspired! The bedrooms in our house haven’t had trim on floors, doors or windows since my husband painted and re-finished the floors (insisting the ugly trim come off so he could do a proper job). And that was 4 years ago. I’ve had it!
I’m going to do it myself! Phooey to him and his lack of an air-nailer! (That’s his ‘reason’ for not finishing it.)
So, did you watch any particular shows on HGTV? Get any certain books out of the library? Or should I ask to borrow Rachel H.? Honestly, I have no idea what to do. How did you figure it out?
LAZORS! Who can resist tools with LAZORS?!? (Yes, I know I’m spelling it wrong, but I like how much better it sounds when spoken.)
Good on you for making a lovely room! And yes, she did pick well with the paint color. It’s beautiful.
You Renaissance woman, you!
NICE job.
That room is fabulous! What I wouldn’t have done for a room of my own, and decorated as I liked at 17.
Have you heard of anyone else who is having problems with that scarf? I have begun it 5 (count them FIVE) times and it looks so awful I tore it out again. Has anyone ever had 2 colors of Noro that did not play well together? Or do I just need to do another 6 or 8 inches and maybe it will settle down?
UR MEKIN ME DIZZEE, WUHMAN!
You are woman, hear you roar! Aren’t powertools liberating? You guys did a great job renovating. And I’m 38, the mother of 3, and I still have stuffed animals from my childhood days
We are on the last room in our house just moved the 11 year old into her new lime green room and making a new office out of her old Pink room now Ivory so we can live there. Power tools are our friends. We use them lots. the saying here is “tool up” I am proud of you because you knit better than me and also do the power tool stuff.
Beautiful job, and the cat obviously approves. The scarves are gorgeous too.
I am TOTALLY jealous!!!! You and Rachel are invited over ANYTIME!
Congrats!
It looks fabulous! You and Rachel are invited over to my place ANYTIME!!!
Congrats!
You’re a cool mom. Tell Meg, I said so.
You can stop with the making of the beautiful stripey scarves, it isn’t going to work. No matter how many of those beautiful stripey scarves you and your cohorts knit, I am resolved not fall victim to it’s siren song. My will is strong. No, I’m not sweating, it’s just hot in here. Isn’t it?
I think that you are definitely pretty awesome for doing pretty much the house on your own. Seriously. That’s serious renovation right there.
I had an apple dumpling. It made the fencing tournament that I was at all the more amazing. I’m glad you enlightened me. Now I have to learn how to make it. XD
Furniture in the wrong place is a different sort of niggle to a messy house – I made our kitchen and lounge beautifully tidy the weekend before last only to come home on the monday to find our conservatory furniture piled up in most of the lounge and power tool and mud in the kitchen. I’m trying to ignore half of the lounge in the hope that it’ll all be back in for Christmas otherwise I think the tree is going on one of our few remaining seats!
Congratulations on a great renovation job – Meg’s a lucky girl.
Beautiful. Never would have thought of orange chocolate milk – but just say that out loud. YUM.
I totally expected loads of people to say hey, MY bed. LOL.
My eldest daughter had that bed when she was 18, then it was a feature of our living room for a while when the sofa took 3 mths to arrive and then it was our spare bed, too. Now it is such a pretty bed in our holiday home in France… different colour scheme every time! How cool would it be if everyone who had one of those beds (or duvet or whatever) could post a pic of it?! Inspiration!!
Wow! You are woman and you and all your helpers should definitely roar over that renovation. (Not to mention scare the guys with a couple of grunts LOL! They always find that very disconcerting!) Great color combo too. I bet the girls are just blissful about having their own rooms. As for the Noro Yarn Crack Scarf, I only have a few more yards of yarn left and I’ll have the first one done. It’s only taken a week for me to knit and since I’m the World’s Slowest Knitter that’s an amazingly short period of time, especially for 6 feet of scarf! I have to tell you though I couldn’t help myself, the scarf is so nifty and fun to knit! I really hate to put it down. I’m sure that I’ll finish it up this morning and be able to cast on the next one. Ooohhh! I can’t wait to see what the colors will do on this one! What fun! Just make sure that no one interrupts me. That way no one gets hurt LOL!
So, you do know that Noro now makes a sock yarn, right? And of course WEBS carries said sock yarn, right? Enough said. What are you waiting for?
You SO need to get yourself a chainsaw. It is TEH BEST invention for chopping up the firewood. I justified it by the reduction in elbow damage that was being caused by incessant bow-sawing. It needs to be treated with respect, obviously. I have an electric one which is much less scary and much more manageable than a petrol one, and the chain stops immediately you let off the power button. I live on my own so power tools, when required, have to be wielded by me. With due regard to knitting fingers, obviously.
the room looks great and I’m 40+ and I still like to buy teddy bears. Cheers from snowy Switzerland
On the scarves – are you running into a thick n thin quality to the noro??? really crazy-making as the tight geometry of the stripes is made wonly by the widening and narrowing of the overall scarf! arghhhhh
I have the same bed as Meg, and I live in Finland… Gotta love IKEA! :DD
I think I see where you are going here — three scarves, three daughters? You may HAVE to knit a fourth one, so you can have one of your own 2-stripe scarves
Though running up and down the stairs all day sounds like a literal pain in the arse, it is good that you did! Laminate floorings have and aluminum oxide coating on them, and we were told to always do the cuts outside. The sawdust is not something you want in your house, and tracking the dust across the floor as you are laying it is an easy way to scratch it.
I’m immersed in home improvement of my own right now, and it is seriously cutting into my knitting time. Good job getting that done in one big go.
Meg love the room. You did an excellent job picking out a wall color to go with your accessories. Any time you want to come on down to Arkansas and redesign one of my rooms, let me know.
It exhausts me to even think of doing all of that work! You did a super job, though!I love the colors she chose!
PS, your brother is a trooper to be willing to show up every time you do a renovation. Wish I had some brothers like that!
My living room is painted that color! I loved it but I never connected it with chocolate milk until my neighbor came over and described it that way. I loved it even more after that.
Wonderfully warm colors, particularly as the snow starts to pile up on the windowsill. I also love the blanket, and am dreaming up ways (bribes???) to tempt my teen boy into knitting squares for Grandma’s NEXT year’s Christmas gift.
WOW. Just wow. Never in a million years would I have thought to team that wall color with those curtains. What an artistic color sense Meg has!
Really, really nice. And that condition of yours? It’s called “internally organized.”
Are those really big windows or do you have very low ceilings on the second floor? My 120 year old house has 7.5 foot ceilings upstairs. Which does make it a bit cozier in the winter. Given the lack of insulation and all.
Glad you are back blogging if not knitting … the room is wonderful and indeed if the second room is aged, you need to get busy. Where, might an interested outsider ask, is Joe in all this home improvement work ? maybe he can do the other room ? of course if he is out earning the money to pay for the upgrades one can’t fault him … you should be proud of yourself …
I have done some “construction” work in my day and learned first thing that it is like quilting – exact measurements, true corners, even seams !
Looks awesome. You are a true Renaissance woman.
Love the cordless drill in the foreground on one shot. I was taking some photos of my remodeling work on the kitchen and see my cordless drill in the photos too. So proud of my handy work that I don’t move all the evidence out of the photos. Congratulations on the new room and the new skills! All of your efforts look really good and you should be very proud. If you are like me, you are already planning Sam’s room in your head… I’m finishing up my kitchen and planning the bathroom…. ah, but for another time…
Hello all,
I am trying to knit the 2 row scarf. I am having a difficult time trying to figure out how to do the row where you change colors and not make it look so messy. I have been slipping the first stitch of each row. Any tips?
I’m in the middle of a renovation myself (and a pregnancy), so I know exactly what it feels like to live amongst the chaos. But I also know that superwoman feeling of doing something yourself. The first little piece of sheetrock I hung (also with lots of help and someones tools) filled me with so much pride. The room looks awesome, now back to knitting! 🙂
And it is all possible because you know that many small actions, repeated over and over, will have big results! I have participated in a few of these activities – laying ceramic tile in my kitchen, sanding and refinishing a floor. Usually by the time I am finished, all I can say is “next time, can we pay someone to do this?”. After refinishing the floor half of my thumb was numb for several months from all that brushing on of polyurethane.
My favorite was when I was single in my first apartment and decided I needed a bed frame. I signed up for a woodworking class and learned the skills and built the darn thing – head and footboard, refinished used side rails, and eventually worked macrame panels in the alloted space on the head and foot. Can you tell it was a few years ago – does anyone macrame any more? I was terrifically proud of myself, including investing in my very own electric drill and sander. I am not so sure my downstairs neighbors approved, since some of the chiseling was done in the apartment (not enough time in class!) and made a fair bit of noise.
Knit on – you have earned it!
WOW!!! What impressed me the most? Was the fact that you found the time, energy, and strength to give us a show of all your hard work…bowing to the master of knit…
you totally rock!
Looks great! Good job!
tell Meg still having stuffed aminals and dolls around doesn’t mean she isn’t growing up. i’ll openly admit to the internet, i’m 28 and *still* sleep with my teddy i’ve had since i was 5. :p
great job on the room. it looks marvelous!
I love the colour! When we got our first house as a married couple, I choose “Canadian Double-Double Coffee” as the paint colour (actually, it was Canadian Tire “Stuffing” LOL). LOVED waking up to walls of coffee every morning!
You can make the two row striped socks now, or maybe the ‘Turn a Square’ hat…. 🙂
There is nothing wrong with two row scarves! It’s nice to have something mostly mindless and relaxing to get on with after a busy day!
Wow! Meg’s room looks great, congratulations! You deserve some nice calm stockinette.
I LOVE the chocolate milk with the reds and yellows. Meg has mad color skills.
I can’t wait to see what Sam comes up with!! 😉
Absolutely spectacular work. I don’t know how to do any of that, but now you have me wondering if I could learn. The color scheme is gorgeous too (in my house we don’t do schemes, we do random assortments of what we liked at various ages), and the cat is the final touch. (Have I mentioned what a beautiful cat she is? Don’t tell her.)
I’m still not making that scarf, though. I’m not gonna and you can’t make me, neener neener neener.
Beautiful! Almost makes me want to attempt some home renovations…almost.
I conquered my first cables last night.
Dude! IMPRESSIVE. You busy next weekend? ‘Cuz I’ve got just the room for you to help me with……
Well done on Meg’s new room! If this knitting & writing thing stops working for you, let me know… I’d hire you to renovate our home. 😉
These Noro scarves are Dangertown. I resisted them until you started one* and now I want to knit nothing else for a long time. It’s a wonderful thing to find a project that’s so uncomplicated yet so interesting. It’s like reading a great book… I wonder what’ll happen next with my stripes & say “Huh, look at that” when a surprising color combo comes up. Dangertown, I say. Especially with holiday gift knitting needing some attention.
*I don’t blame you for what I chose to knit. I blame you for giving me easy access to look at so many other lovely finished scarves, which made me want to try one of my own. No, I don’t blame Ravelry for having links to so many finished projects of the Noro scarves. No, this doesn’t make sense.
Yay! Congratulations. Appearently, you’ve inspired me, since last night I went out and got laminate for the entry and paint for the living room. The plan was to mix up the paint to the right color (too cheap the buy the pre-colored stuff) and then, chill. What actually happened was that by 3 am, one wall of my living room had the first coat of paint on it!
Meg, your room is beautiful. And I’m impressed with the blanket too!
And I was right — you will inevitably be doing Sam’s room!
I’m really amused that Meg has the same daybed I do. Mmm, Ikea. =)
The chocolate milk color is yummy!
I’m seriously impressed by that floor. And the wall color is wonderful! I wouldn’t have thought that color would be so cozy.
The room looks great! I applaud Meg’s decorating sense =)
And nothing wrong with stuffed animals and loved dolls, I hope! I still have a few in my room, and I’m 27!
That rooms look awesome (especially the floor). Congratulations on your new skills 🙂
I read somewhere that the dust created by those saws can really screw up the smoke detectors (they should be vacuumed to remove said fine sawdust)
If that was my daughter #1’s former bedrooom, she would be all over me about why didn’t I fixt up the room when SHE had it, why does the younger daughter get all the good stuff!!
I love the room! I have to repaint my 17 year olds room -now shades of purple, green, and yellow, and I am copy catting you all the way to the paint store. By the way, can you tell us the brand name and color name of the paint? Copy catting is much easier when proper information is given!
I loved reading your thoughts on tidiness :~) Probably because they mirror mine so perfectly. Great, great job on the room. You just might have motivated me to finish my bathroom…
That is SUPER-cool. Way to go, and a beautiful room.
I learned a trick about making the Noro Silk Garden scarves even more lovely — soak them in a solution of warm water and hair conditioner for, like, 2 hours. Don’t rinse it out. Just dry it. It elevates it from wonderful to REALLY wonderful.
I’m 28, and I still have my favourite stuffies. Some of us never gorw up.
Beautiful job. If you’re still into the renovation mode, I’ll pay for the border jump to Maine. I’ll keep you busy with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Your choice of decor.
Beautiful job. If you’re still into the renovation mode, I’ll pay for the border jump to Maine. I’ll keep you busy with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If you haven’t tackled electrical work, here’s you chance. Your choice of decor.
A sock eh? You didn’t happen to notice This sock on Ravelry did you? (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/noro-stripey-socks)
Good job on the room! Yay for feeling empowered! 🙂
Lovely new room Meg!
Is there anything you can’t do?
where is the pattern
Good work!
I know the whole room-transfer thing is tough, but you did such a good thing for your family. And, in case it makes any difference, my sis and I were a bit stressed when our Mom first handed my room over to our little brother when we went to college. And it lasted about an hour, and then we realized how freeing and wonderful it was to know we would always get to live as real adults henceforth and Andrew would have some privacy and a sense of ownership for his own space. That’s how it’s supposed to work, and it does.