ms. peeps is really constipated again, except that now, she isn't eating. this cat is a super eater, even though she is really petite, she has always been a pig, so when she turns down tuna, i worry. we had one more of the pet-enemas, which we gave her to no avail, nothing. she pooed out the blue enema gel and some bum goo, but that was it. she also barfed up some bile (i assume) and was just really lethargic. she went down with jake and ate a tiny bit of tuna and drank some water, which i think may be all she has had in two days. i had a migraine that kept me in bed all day and i even slept last night. i woke up from a dead sleep at 3 a.m. (i think) and ran to the bathroom in a cold sweat and was sick as a dog. after showering, i got sick again and then fell asleep until this morning. i have had waves of nausea all day, too. maybe i got it from peeps. anyway, where that is going is that i was literally unconscious all day yesterday, so i have no idea if peeps ate at all, but i doubt it. she normally does come to see me, or will lie next to my legs, or in the bedroom, but most often she sleeps in the bathroom laundry basket/pile and over the last few days, she has been much more affectionate and clingy, which is odd when cats feel sick, they normally just want to be alone. anyway, she is really smelly, even though i tried to clean her up with baby wipes, so she will need at least a bum bath tomorrow. she has such a fuzzy bum. sigh.

that said, i am supposed to go to san francisco on monday and if peeps isn't eating and looking better by sunday, i can't go. i know from my sweet black cat egon, when they get sick, especially when they are older cats (peeps is 15, believe it or not), things can go bad fast and i can't expect gabe to force feed her or to follow her around to see if she is eating drinking and cleaning her bum. so wish peeps luck, okay?

otherwise, i did get another of the ghost house mixed media collages done, i didn't get photos yet, but here are a few action shots...

i initially was using fine tip brow ink and then using a wash over it for the outlining, like on the last house collage you saw, but the tips just don't work so well over the different textures and gouache, they refuse to write every 5 seconds. eventually, i realized that i just need to get better at doing fine lines with a brush, and it went much better than i had expected. i do need to get a few new fine brushes and spend a bit more money on them. i have lots of japanese calligraphy brushes, but they are in bad condition from using them for washes. still, i feel like it came out okay. i am still having issues with the shingles on this one. i ramble.

i am sleepy, so off i go. snoooooooooore.
n.

one in a series of mixed media pieces that i feel need to be mounted and/or framed to seem done. so i have just left them in my studio. i really love them, though. what do you guys think? tell me, i can handle it.

so obviously, you all know that i have had migraines since i was wee. i never realized that the things i see are things that lots of other people see, too. also, people with epilepsy see similar things before a seizure. my neuro has told me before that migraines have a similar scrambling effect on the brain as seizures do. i know that i have problems finding words after a migraine, remembering phone numbers, it is a strange thing. have alzheimer's must be like that in some ways, but it doesn't go away. it must be so frustrating. before migraines, many people have "auras" which means that you see wierd shapes and light or dark spots, or can be blind spots, which i have badly. also, you can smell everything really intensely, often bad smells that may or may not be there. i tend to think that i smell bad and can't figure out where the smell is coming from. also, any kind of food smell will make me nauseous. minor sounds are incredibly annoying and make your ears actually hurt, like someone clapped you on the ear. i have a lot of these strange sensitivities all the time, actually, certain sounds make me want to hurl...people chewing, the sound of things pouring...especially in a commercial, it drives my insane. oh, here is another really strange one...you know when someone folds a piece of paper and then runs their forefinger and thumb over it to make the crease, and sometimes they do it over and over? that is like nails on a chalkboard to me. and when i worked as a tattoo artist and piercer, i would give instruction sheets for care and while i was explaining it, the customer would fold it and fold it and fold it and i would get so edgy that i could barely talk. not that they listen, anyway.

i can't use sandpaper. it has a similar effect as the above mentioned. also, i can't stand people putting a popsicle stick in their mouth. huuuurrrl! i don't know why. i know it makes no sense. it just drives me crazy. here is this amazing article from the new york times on visual migraines. really interesting.

i have had a mild on again off again migraine brewing for the last couple of days and i stayed home and made jakie go out with our friend because i was afraid i would go out and get sick. he really tries to refuse to go anywhere without me, but i don't want him to have a boring life just because i do. i hate to try to look normal when i don't feel good and i had already gone through a few of the migraine symptoms already. and it is starting back up again. so i best get off of the computer and quit bitching about being sick. waa waa.

i did get a zillion yards of an alpaca/silk yarn that i overdyed (it was like tan and cream carder together...boooooring) and it was so nice to spin. it was so much like silk, i wouldn't have even known what it was if i had to guess. really lovely. it is in purply blues mainly. a bit boring, but ya know. and i rebraided the rovings i dyed the other day and that made them look much better right out of the gate. i need to take new photos because the ones i took sucked. ah well.

xo
n.

lovely swallow mobile and it is under 25 bucks! kondrads.com has tons and tons of different mobiles from teeny to huge and all prices between, although most or suprisingly affordable. look at this one...i love it.
anyway, i was looking for some ideas for the top part that it attaches to which appears to always be just functional and not attractive in any of the mobiles i looked at, art ones or just cheapo kids room ones alike. i found this tutorial that looks good. i already have put together most of those strange wire framed paper pieces. i really like how they look and i hand strung and twisted 28 gauge copper wire to connect them, i am not sure just yet how the top will work. i wired just about all of them in strands, so i just need to figure out the top connector, although it will likely be more than one mobile. they would look incredible in front of a window or light source. i will take photos tomorrow. i may be best off just wiring them onto a curtain rod or pole in front of a window, i reckon. hmmmm.

did i show you the lion so far? he has chest hair and armpit hair. he is balding, has sideburns and a bit of a comb-over in the front. he has little knees and nipples. he has no name yet and is naked so far. what do you think of him?

it is now sunday night. i was too tired to finish the post yesterday, we got up at 7:30a to go to one of the bigger outdoor flea markets this morning which was rather good. i scored a shopping bag full of vintage buttons still on the cards, a sewing box full of all sorts of things...here are some photos, but i seriously didn't get photos of half the stuff...

that said, if you need any vintage buttons, let me know what color you are looking for because i have loads and i am happy to sell em for a couple of bucks. after getting home i washed and organised the loose buttons that were just tossed in the sewing kit. i took tons of photos and then realized that i had accidentally put it on the low light setting. gah. i was super exhausted from not sleeping last night, getting up early and spending a few hours in the sun being overexcited, and then called barbe to squeal about my score. no worries, i am sending her some nice stuff, it wasn't just shear gloat. i wouldn't do that. the booths at the fleamarket that have only a few items and they are just utter crap, like a plastic cup from a convenience store and a dirty george foreman grill and a hot wheels car with a half chewed cookie on it. those people baffle me the most. although, i remember when i was in san francisco for a convention and crackheads tried to sell us similar stuff. so maybe that is the issue.

and, i should have taken a photo, but there was a booth that had defibrillators and some other really really strange electronic equipment that looked new. i wish i would have asked what the price was. just to know.

we left there and went to a coffee shop that roasts their own coffee to have a bite. i also got some coffee beans from them. i hope it is good, because we all know what a snob i am. bigtime.

we then went to burlington coat factory. i got these shoes which i plan to either add beading to or embroider. i have to think about it, though. they came in khaki and camo, too! i will walk around in em for a while and i may get another pair. in the summer, i have such a hard time wearing anything other than flip-flops. it kills me. or open heels, but i try to have my feets showing as much as possible. i need to take a photo of them on. i initially imagined iridescent black seed beads on em, but a little embroidered thing would be really cool, too.

i guess that is about it. i had planned to do an update on fiber and softies, but i was too tired to do anything. i will be doing it to-morrow, though. i put photos up of a lot of the things that will be listed. lovely and soft loose kid mohair, merino, targhee, baby cotswald locks, border leicester locks (so cute and teeny little curls) and then superwash merino top and 80's grade merino i dyed that is luscious. seriously. so so nice.

okay, enough for now.
xo
n.

first...cuteable.com seen it? cute stuff. lots and lots of cute stuff.

my noggin is feeling better. because of the series of migraines, my brains feel a bit scrambled and it has left me feeling...well...a bit high. i don't know why it is that way. and i have trouble coming up with words. dumb words. i have always hated that. searching for the words. anyway, i did some spinning:
at the left hand top the "HOTTT"superwash merino fiber that didn't sell. how? i would've snapped it up. anyway, i still have some of the fiber left if anyone is interested. this one is 100 percent coils, so not a ton of yardage, i may do a single from the other 4 oz to accomany it. or just sell this little pinky skein. it was a whole bobbin of singles and probably 25 yards of supercoils. fun, though. the lower left is one of the batts i did spun up. there is still a couple of the red based ones left, not yet listed. if you want on, ask, they won't last. they have mainly veggie silk fibers and sparkle and the rest is red, pink, or orange superwash fiber, or targhee. soft soft soft. a TON of sparkle in em. and twice carded. lovely! on flickr they are labeled by number. i will be listing different batts all week. and i think doing some more. i need to do some dyeing, but i think i might just take some of the dyed fiber i do and card em up. the market is so flooded right now, not that most of it is nice or anything, but everyone is selling fiber or purses or toys or what have you. crazy! oh, so the right top is fiber i got from the spunky eclectic club, they weren't my colors, so i did all supercoils and added novelty yarns in the same colors to intensify them. it isn't super soft, so it would be better suited for a something that isn't next to the skin. and then at the bottom right is the ANA superwash sock yarn...lovely, no? i want one. i am fighting myself on it. big time.

amigurumi you ask? well. the pirate, i made him some clothes, although he still needs a belt and a sash on his head and the hook. that too. i don't like his vest much, i did a bad freeform embroidered skull and crossbones and...it looks terrible. i will pull it out and do something else. dunno.

and i am workon on a lion with male pattern baldness...he is only partially done, but here he is. what do you think about a moustache to go with his sideburns and long balding hair?


i added some paper to the bottom of the box and added darker clouds that go the whole way out of the box, and more small trees and things...i think it is almost done...what do you guys think? do you think it lacks a focal point?


and my desk whilst working on the box and then a kinetic mobile i started yesterday. i will show you in a couple of days...


in other news, pavel has been acting totally crazy. seriously, i am concerned that there might be something mentally wrong with him. he was pretty laid back as a kitten. he liked to play/fight and bite, but he always seemed to be playing. now, he growls if the other cats come within 5 feet of him and he starts to act aggressive until a fight usually does break out because he has the posturing to bring it on. and then if he is just doing it to one sister, the other will come running and then it is a battle. the thing is, he is now doing it all the time. the other cats will not have aggressive posture, they are just walking by or going about their business, and he will lay his ears back and start growling until it escalates into a fight. any ideas what is going on? here is what he looks like...



i am getting sleepy. i will try to blog when i get up instead of late so i can think a bit more clearly.

mwah!
n.