well, jakie is in new york all week for work, so i am at chez luxe, me and the kitties, on the strange schedule, eating strange food and making stuff. i do miss him, though. sweet boy.

i worked on yarns, prep work, etc, and i need to get some dyeing done (for you and me, shannon) to-morrow. today though, i have a case of the dizzies. i woke up with the migraine, like always, went through being nauseous and dizzy and it hasn't really gone away. i am hoping it isn't a precursor to feeling super bad to-morrow. that happens sometimes. also, i have to go to the pharmacy to pick up meds, so if i am still dizzy and migrainey, well, that is an issue. i can call my mom in law, she is a doll and would do anything for me. so wish me luck on that.

izzy was pretty good today. she attacked one of the novelty yarns i was cutting up for spider yarn, at the same time, attacking her feather toy and her mouse that i made her. she gives short attention span a whole new meaning. yet, at the same time, very single minded. she has this very strange humanity in her eyes, though. not like kahlo that just has kind, soulful eyes, izzy looks like a person sometimes, like she is someone i knew before. i don't know who. as i speak. she is attacking the computer from behind and peeking around at me. so cute. give her a big 2 lb cone of yarn and she will keep herself busy. cute! now that she can use the litterbox and...oh, i forgot to tell you that she could get up and down the steps...FAST. it is amazing how quick she is. very coordinated for her age, i think.

did anyone check out the bionic woman? there are some people from battletar gallactica, so that is cool. i liked the first episode a lot. also, there is a show called journeyman that is good so far. also, i am loving brotherhood on showtime. the strange thing about that show (other than the really good rhode island accents that british actors are doing) is that a girl that i went to (one of the many)high school with is in it. she is my age (did i mention that my birthday is on the 6th? finally 22! yay!) but looks so different than she did. she was curvy in high school and is rail thin now. ages ago i saw this movie with john hurt in it about a man whose wife couldn't have children and went nutso and tried to steal people's kids. anyway, i realized that the woman who screamed "she took my baby!" was tina, too. it wierded me out. also, we have been watching weeds on hbo, which is really funny. i am reading saul bellows' "adventures of augie march". i tend to buy the really long books because if i actually like the characters and the story, i get bummed out when the book is over, so i try to get the longest ones i can. and if it sucks, i stop reading it. i won't read stuff that sucks. ya know? i really want to reread oryx and crake my margaret atwood, which is one of my favorite books evah. i was actually so sad when the book was over (like i feel about most of her newer books) and then found myself wondering what the characters were doing, like they are alive. loved it. and rant, the new chuck p book, i need to read that one again, too. such a cool book.

jakie got me the new pinback cd for an early birthday pressie and some art supplies, cause he is really sweet. i like that guy, i really do.

i will attempt to blog about some of the issues i have wanted to talk about lately, but haven't. so to-morrow, i will do my best. updates go first though. they do.

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.

so here are the two i am working on. the birdie is made from handspun yarn from an amazing french yarn artist, laine zinzin, i need still to give her some wings. or him. the latter is a pirate/zombie thing that i made from yarn i spun myself that has loads of sparkle in it. i plan to give him pirate clothes, i am just still thinking about it. i would like to give him a hook for a hand, too. wire, i guess?
let me know what you guys think.

so, let me start by saying that i put up one new batt on luxe.etsy.com and there will be more tomorrow. as the title suggests...i went nuts with the carder yesterday. i sat on the front porch with a bunch of loose fiber and sparkle, etc, and even though i sat on a pillow, my voluptuous ass manages to get bruised where the bones pole through. how is that fair? how? it should be one or the other! chubby ass, no cushion needed, skinny asses must have a pillow. right? not fair. okay, so the batts. i numbered them all on flickr, so if you see something you like, don't waste time, let me know. they tend to sell pretty quickly. wanna see? this is not even half of em. i took tons of photos to attempt to get the inside and outside because these have lots of layers of different stuff. really fun ones. a few of them are maybe a bit too tempting...


here is a peek at what the porch looked like but you really had to see the complete coverage, stuff everywhere, batts and fiber and fuzz. i figured i would do it outside so that i wasn't breathing it in quite so much and there wasn't quite the amount that is thrown into the air of my studio, you know? it is an utter fiber cluster frakk anyway, but this worked. although, it was insanely hot and humid and i had fiber and dirt and dust stuck all over me. and a dirty bum even though i sat on a pillow. i was wrecked.


so let me tell you a story...at my favorite junk/antique shop i got a dressmarker's form a while ago. it came with it's original box that had been shipped to the owner one "dr.effie ireland", it is postmarked 1956 i think. i was reading the pennysaver and came across a listing for an estate sale today for a "dr. effie dunlap" from the same area as my effie was from. i thought it had to be the same person so i tried to google her and research her. i don't know if they were the same person, but the person whose estate sale i went to (more about that crap sale) graduated from medical school in 1911! not much earlier had it even been possible for women to go to medical school. i couldn't find out much more other than where she had gone to school. there were newsletters from her school for those years saying that she had graduated and that she worked in ligonier, but i don't know what kind of doctor she was or anything else about her. i would kill to see a photo of her. anyway, we went to the estate sale, i was super excited although i did think it might not be good because she died in 1982, so it was unlikely that her stuff was still in the house, although they used her name. jakie woke me up early and we went out and the house was the most disgusting thing you have ever seen. there was virtually nothing of value, clearly, when they had the auction 25 years ago, all of her stuff was removed and in the meantime, other people had lived in the house and wrecked it and filled it with cheap crap mostly from the 70's i think. it was filthy and smelly and gross. and seriously nothing good. and everythign was insanely expensive. there was a really gorgeous giant colorized photograph from the turn of the century that could have been her...but it was in poor condition and they wanted more than 200 bucks for it. it was so gross you didn't want to touch anything and literally it was the sort of thing that at a glance you can tell that it is just full of the garbage that no one wanted. anyway, there was stuff out back, so we went to look and there were tons of books, i had been searching for a photo album or yearbooks, to no avail, plus all of the books were rotten and mostly from the 70's and more recent. there was a bike for two in okay condition at best that they wanted $225 bucks for. c'mon. i didn't see a single person walk out of that place with anything. for anyone not from this area reading this, around here, we are cheap and can get lots of stuff for not that much usually. and seriously, an old bike in crap condition for that much? sheesh. there was a 1922 packard in poor condition that was really amazing, and then a strange guy looking for old comic books told me that some lady blew out her brains upstairs in the 70's. so.

we stopped at the farmer's market after that and then headed home. i did a bunch of new phtos (go see if you like) and got groceries and i think that is it. loaded photos.

oh, also, i have two softies that are not finished. the dark one is a...pirate zombie something...not sure. i spun a really dark not soft yarn up from some fiber (not my work)and put a ton of sparkle in it, not planning to make it a pirate, although they do have bling. i am not sure what to dress him in. i talked to barbe about it already. i imagine a loose blousy shirt and maybe striped pants and a bandana. andd i need to make a hook hand. i think. and the bird is crocheted from laine zinzin yarn i got in the french swap. it needs wings still. oh, and on the line of softies, i sold 3! collette (with the cute little hat), the owl and the amelia, one of the triplets that has no arms or legs. and snarky peeps said they were gross! so there! wanna see the new toys?


i am tired and a bit nauseous. ew. oh, i made a lightbox out of a big plastic container, a white sheet and a piece of posterboard and the photos where great. whenever i can, i will use this method again.

okay. super tired. let me know what you think about the new stuff.
mwah!
n.

gah. the word that defines me these days. i had nightmares about the beach (again) where i was staying with a group of people, all of them people i didn't like and/or loathed. that part, confusing, although i didn't have any clothes that fit me or were suitable for whatever we were doing. the clothes were all big baggy sweatpants and sweatshirts. the rest of the dream dealt with a sick little girl that everyone was trying to kill and i was running and hiding while i was holding her. i was glad to wake up. anyway, i woke up really tired and i took a pill to have a bit more energy. i never think it has worked until the end of the day when i realize that i:plied 2 biiiig bobbins of yarn, cut up all the novelty yarns for that and then some more yarns, skeined several bobbins of yarn, worked on a painting (to no avail. sigh.) for quite a while, shipped some orders, went to the post office and farmer's market, took photos of the stuff i needed to update (LOTS) and uploaded them and tagged em. i think that is all. it doesn't sound like much now that i say it outloud. wanna see?
who was that? well! my newest crocheted softie. she came from the handspun mohair. she isn't finished. i am not sure exactly what i want to do to her, she is so cute as is. hm.



and some of my vintage plates that i hang up...


some really good links for you...here
and here and here

prepare to pee your pants! the coolest crafty and design and art blog evah!

off i go.
n.

okay, so firstly, i will be udpating some NOICE stuff on luxe:
and that is just a teeny taste. a teeny teeny taste. so. go. check it out! here! each yarn order will come with gorgeous handmade stitchmarkers from my buddy katrina, as well as all kinds of fun stuff that i usually wrap up with the orders. go on, spoil yourself!

what else? well, i have a new amiguri princess for you to check out. her name is collette. she is really cute and she knows it. she was born fuzzy and his a lock of pink curly hair. she is a bear, but has no tail, oddly enough.



she aspired to be a chiropractor, her specialty being fish, birds and snakes, but realized that chiropractics and these sorts of animals are a deadly combination. deeply discouraged at the animal carnage, as well as the destruction of her dreams, she turned to gambling.

she has a gambling addiction, her game of choice? yatzee. she is a poor loser, going utterly nuts when she loses, curses, accuses everyone of cheating and throws the dice across the room. ironically, she herself is a cheater, has magnetic dice and is really poor at math so most often, she loses anyway. additionally, when she wins, she dances around, shakes her fuzzy butt and acts snarky. it is difficult for her to find anyone to gamble with her, so she frequents old age homes and rips off septuagenerians and older, taking advantage of their poor memories in order to cheat and get extra turns. how wrong is that?

she eats nothing but scharfenberger chocolates with at least 85 percent cocoa, and dissolves this in her triple espressos. i know. crazy stuff. especially when you are only about half a foot tall. hardcore.

her favorite colors are pink (like her hair) and purple.

additionally, i spun some loose mohair singles that are just amazing to do some amiguri with. i am curious to see how they will look, but i think, judging from how good cheapo fun fur feather stuff works that well that mohair would look amazing. i have something on my hook right now and then the mohair will be next.


yesterday our friend jason and his girlfriend came down for dinner. we grilled out (of course) and grilled pineapple (my fave) which is amazing if you haven't ever had it. it is awesome alone, but would rock on icecream or custard. so good. just slice em as you like and lay em right on the grill. i also cut some zucchini lengthwise and marinated it in balsamic vinegar with some salt and pepper and a bit of oil and it was really yummy. we went for icecream at rita's after that and my stomach had started to really hurt by that point, and yeah, i ate a kid's cup anyway. we got home, i was trying to upload photos, but kept falling asleep, so i had a headache and couldn't see right. i took a shower. whilst in the shower, my stomach started to feel bad. really really bad. i spent the next hour and a half (i think) sitting on the toilet with the garbage can in front of me trying to talk myself off the puking fit. fortunately, i didn't blow out my blood vessels in the eyeballs. i woke up with a sore throat and a funny stomach. not haha funny. gah. i think i just can't eat pineapple, as much as i love it, the acid does bad things to me. i have such a lame stomach. sheesh. i thought it could have been the hamburger i ate, but i fed the rest of my burger to the cats and it didn't make them sick. and it would have, for sure. it was seasoned, so i wonder if it may have had msg in it. hm.

off to update. go...now!
xo
n.

hellllooooo...nothing much to report from here. i have been keeping really busy, making loads of stuff. wanna see? really really wanna see? well...okay...you are twisting my arm...firstly, the yarns, which will be listed a bit later today on www.luxe.etsy.com around 5ish methinks...

willy and nilly are similar crazy yarns, one plied, one a crazy overtwisted single. let me tell you it is HEAVY. crazy heavy. aloha lite is super soft merino, soy silk (the green shiny parts) lots of sparkle in bright green, hot pink and fuschia, a bit of fuzzy bright green novelty yarn and white, pale pink, brighter pink and pinky/white silk flowers plied in. loverly. and shine on is super soft merino, sparkle city in green and some hot pink with squares of silky fabric strung on the plying thread and plied in. i adore this one. i plan to do some more today. i need to dig through my scraps. i must say, now i know what i saved those scraps for. you know the wardrobe remix thingy? i am trying to do something similar with crafty, artsy and spinny stuff. i wanna attempt to use what i have and get rid of some of the stuff i am not fond of. i did that with the willy and nilly and other scrap yarns i have. if any of you seamstresses out there have sewing scraps you have saved for reasons unknown, send em to me if you fancy. one of my clients sent me her scraps that included really skinny strips and bits of yarn only a couple of inches long. i can use em. i use em fast though, i really pile em on.

okay...what else have i made? well, i got the plush-o-rama plushie making book and used a pattern from there to make this...i did it a bit different. mainly, i learned that you can make softies with scarcely any pattern and it will come out fine, and my lack of precision crafting abilities...okay, i am too slapshot really, still works out fine. so i can take an idea and do what i want. so, here he is...blinky palermo...and if you know who blinky was, leave a comment, i will be impressed for shizzle. i hand sewed him from the handpainted wool/rayon felt i did a while ago. i handsewed because we had butter and his lady over and i always need to keep my hands busy or i get fidgety. the back of him is reversed color scheme. cute?


i had some unfinished mixed media things i was working on that i keep messing with. this is the next version of them....oh, and a pic of my desk mess, too.


in cuteness news, yesterday jake was totally crashed out, i think it is an allergy issue. he gets the "allergic shiners" as they call em and is on allegra for it, but it doesn't seem to make a difference and got up and then fell asleep for a while whilst i was spinning. his little son pavel was asleep next to him using the tivo controller as a pillow. ha. too cute.


in humiliation news, i went for groceries and i tend to use my paypal debit card because i can't bounce anything accidentally. well, i didn't have a lot in there, but i should have had enough for groceries and a bit. i forgot that i had bought some stuff at the bookstore with it. i took all of the credit cards out of my wallet (except for our prescription on, my bank card and my macy's card) and when i checked out i didn't have enough money. um. i gave her all my cash ($7) and it still wouldn't go. i gave her my checkcard which had next to nothing in it and told her to take a bit out of there, plus the 7 bucks, plus my checkcard. it went. sigh. so so humiliating. this is why you should leave a credit card in the wallet. in case you need it, fool. sheesh. the worst part is that jake told me to take his card and i didn't want to. i haven't listed new stuff in ages, i have been totally out of the loop due to my mom being in town, being on vacation, being sick, so i am way more poor than usual. so humiliating. sigh. gah. good thing i didn't go to joann's or target first, eh? i would have been totally frakked.

lastly, my younger brother is still having lots of issues with his eyes and migraines. they actually don't sound like migraines to me. i think the eyes and the migraines are totally connected, if you can imagine wearing a really crazy prescription eyeglass that isn't yours all the time..bad things would happen. really really bad things. i hope that nothing bad is going on inside of his head and i hope he will go to a different doctor that will do more to figure out what is going on. so. it always surprises me how it drives me insane to see other people in pain. i never understand why people worry about me, yet when other people are miserable, it drives me crazy. i want to do something. give them something. tell them something. hm.

i am off to do some work. do pop by luxe at etsy.com and see what i have. it is mostly all art yarn and some lovely limited edition sock yarns. i will most likely dye some stuff this week to list soon.

mwah!
n.

so, i didn't go to sheep and wool. in less than two weeks (eeeeeeeeee!!!!! yaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!) we leave for vacation for a week, and whilst on that vacation, i need to pop by my most favorite yarn shop in savannah, wild fibre and drop off yarn for them. i just couldn't justify spending the money on the trip to sheep and wool, which was 99% to see you guys. that said, i hope i can organize a get-together for at least a small group of us that live on this coast, even if just for a weekend. i would love to even do it here. a sleepover? awesome! there are lots of really nearby hotels, too, for those that are not into staying at people's houses. let me know if you think you might like to come up and do a weekend, or even a few days during a week if that works better for you. jakie goes to sleep early during the week, and i am home during the day working, so that would work too, for those who are self employed. keep it in mind. anyway, it worked out well that i didn't go because i had insanely bad cramps and a headache, etc, etc. i am still having that fun. ah, to be a woman. and just after the damn full moon.

despite feeling like poopies, i have gotten some stuff done. some really lovely yarns, i packed up a bunch of orders and i need to post off some international orders (4 to australia!!!) to-morrow and hopefully still get some dyeing done. should be fine. i spent the day doing orders and then i ran out of ink in the printer so i didn't get to make it to the post office in time to mail everything out. gah! anyway, the rest will go out to-morrow.

we switched the cats' food from nutro ("natural" really expensive cat food that is expensive) which was one of the brands that was made by menu foods and recalled. we only use the dry food, and it was only wet recalled, but i still feel really bad about feeding them crap food. expensive crap food. anway, we picked up an organic food, which pavel doesn't want to eat, although the girls ate it like treats. he is super finicky and tends to eat nothing meant for cats except for the dry food they had been eating before, which he has eaten since he was a baby. he wouldn't eat kitten food even. seriously. he went from milk, to mush to adult cat food. i think if he could have skipped from milk (or just had milk FOREVER) to hard food he would have done it. anyway, jake is concerned that he isn't eating, although he hasn't been begging for food, and i think he would be. plus, i was downstairs getting a snack and saw him waiting for peeps to finish eating, so i think he is eating it. if anyone has any suggestions for organic cat food (dry, otherwise they gobble it like pigs and barf) please drop me a comment. the only other option is the raw diet and i am concerned that i am too slapshot to do that for them. plus, i would only want to feed them organic meats, which is a pain to get a hold of around here. although, from what i hear, non-organic meats are still probably better than the crap in their "natural" nutro we gave em. so. hm. i am a bit worried that pavel wouldn't eat it. also. so. my cats eat so much better than we do. big time. better. i should eat their food.

there are some hilarious video snippets on mtv (i love run's house. love.) and i looked for em and found the people that make em, and make other fantastic videos and commercials. you can check em out here, along with their other work, which is excellent. including "metal and matzo" yah! check it out here. i promise you will crack up. the mtv thing is called maturity is overrated. it is creepy but really funny. i know that none of my dear readers are feint of heart, you are all badasses, so i feel confident you won't be upset by this. if you are, however, don't watch em. you have been warned.

okay now. wanna see some photos, at long last?

they aren't listed yet, probably to-morrow. let me know if you want any and i won't list em. some of the fiber that i did these yarns from is not listed yet and is still available, so if you want something, let me know.

so, for the yarn and fiber club, i have hammered out the details (i think). for the yarn club, you will get a 4 oz skein of superwash merino in either sportweight or fingering, your choice. you can either pay for 3 months up front for $75 which includes shipping, nice wrapping, and lots of fun freebies. what kinds of things? well...handmade stitch markers, and i don't mean the keychain kind with a bead hanging off. i mean handmade ones. probably a different pair with every order. there will be a few different extras in each order. it will be good stuff, i promise. for those that can't fork out for 3 months, they can buy just one month at a time, but it will be more expensive, and may not have room. i think i can set up a payment on paypal once a month, in which case you get a spot for sure, otherwise, it just depends on how many people sign up. the fiber club will be a similar gig. depending on the kind of fiber, you will get between 3 and 4 oz of fiber, plus extra spinning stuff, and extra freebie stuff. as the name "luxe" indicates, i only do really soft wonderful fibers. i am hoping to do some blends, but i recently got in 80's merino (CRAZY SOFT), as well as my superwash, which is also incredibly soft and wonderful to spin, baby alpaca, kid mohair, silk, soy silk, bamboo, soy latte (milk protein), ingeo, silk, and lots more. i plan to do some yarn kits that will have all of the fixins to make an artyarn like mine! how fun is that? i will include everything you need except for hands and a spinning device. i will be sending the group email out to-morrow (and this time i won't accidentally sent it to everyone without a blind copy. i feel like such an arse) so please make sure you let me know if you are interested because i will be dyeing this week. so i will be doing a batt/blended fiber club, a regular fiber club (top) and the sock yarn one, as well.

here is an example of the freebies, although i am thinking about selling them on etsy, too. i made these into hair clips as well as the pins i have been doing. i want to do some headbands and other thins, in addition to having them to go along with yarns. they look way darker in the photo.

okay, i think i am getting loopy. pop by my flickr to see what else i have made lately.

mwah. mwah. mwah.
n.

okay, i did a partial update because i was crunched for time. i went out to hang up fiber to dry, it ws nice and breezy, which makes fiber dry in no time flat. did i mention that i adore the warm weather. the smell of earth in the air. swoon. anyway, i ended up cleaning up my garden which was an absolute mess. gross. dirty. i planted seeds, and a little metal window tin thingy with catnip and a cute little asymmetrical pot i have with catnip, as well. so cute. i ended up out there all day and got overall/wifebeater burns on my shoulders. it was lovely out there, although i absolutely tuckered myself out. so at that point, i was behind on yarny things and started to upload and crop photos for the update and we had some friends come over for an impromptu bbq, which was nice, but i was way late on my update. i always have the whole negative attitude about selling stuff and then it always sells. i don't know why i am like that. and i am especially broke, sheep and wool is next weekend, not that i tend to buy much, and i need to order fiber. badly. i mean i have loose stuff and locks and stuff, i just used up almost all of my top. i think i will just get superwash merino next time. i think people like it. it is my personal favorite, for sure. it is a pleasure to dye, i don't have to use any acid at all, it dyes much more vibrantly than anything else, is incredibly washfast and is almost instantly set before the heat. what more can you ask for. i can also rinse it out whilst it is still hot. bad. ass. ah superwash, where have you been all my life? okay, so you wanna see some of the stuff ? here goes...
there are also some sock yarns that absolutely rock, i loooooove them. the green one i did for jakie's socks, and it knits up really pretty, as you can see. i find that not many handpainted sock yarns would be suitable for guys, you know? i really like the way that my yarns do a variegated stripe. the only issue i have is that if the colors are too close in value, it looks beige. wanna see an example?. in a handspun yarn, muted colors of similar value are fine. in a sock yarn, the colors almost blend making a totally blah color. not bad. just blah. it is odd because that some color scheme in a fiber would be gorgeous. lesson learned. class dismissed .there is more of course, so head over. and to-morrow or the next day, i will update handspun yarns.

i finished the yarn i made for my younger brother's fiance and it is just gorgeous. it has soy silk spun alongside merino and i plied in some different yarns and rose gold and iridescent sparkle and texture and silk flowers. i emailed my bro pics to make sure she would like it because i hate giving people things that they don't want. i hate getting stuff i don't want. i have horrible guilt about it being a waste. if i give someone something and that they don't like, i always hope they will tell me it isn't their thing and if it is from a store, take the gift receipt and get something they like. it is more that it torments me to give them something that they think sucks. selfish, maybe. anyway, i told him that if it wasn't her style, i could make her something more simple, or whatever. i know she works in a big library and i am sure that she can use a shawl or wrap for that, so i can just as easily spin up a plainer yarn for it. i must say, i adore this wrap and i designed the colors, yarn and knit for her, so i do hope she loves it.

otherwise, i am really rather tired, i wasn't going to blog but decided i better do it at least a little. i haven't been sleeping and it is taking its toll on me. i need to pack orders and then try to do some sewing, i want to make some nightgowns, sleep shorts, etc. i keep looking for em at the store when i could make my own and they would be good learning opportunities. also, i have been really slacking in the fine art department. i draw at least a little bit everyday. not today, i will shortly. even just a doodle or design idea for a purse or clothes, but i need to finish up some of the mixed media pieces i have been working on and get things hung in the house. i have so many things that need frames or just need to be hung up. i want to do a mural on a large wall we have downstairs and then work in all of the plates i collect as a part of it. we also need to paint the living room and entry and kitchen. there is so much we need to do that i put off. shameful. oh wait, also, i want to do some simple wardrobe basic pieces and i want the fabric to be rather distressed. i want the edges to all be unfinished. so basically, even some of the cool patterns i find, but with the edges raw and a post modern, natural fibers, simple lines with interest in the fabric with embroidery maybe and other texture put into the fabric. so tell me, how do i do this? what do i need to make sure to do? and what kinds of fabric would work the best? i like em to be soft, breathable and easy to take care of. and inexpensive. don't forget that. help!

oh, i got a couple of pairs of cute shoes lately, too. this first pair are super cushy inside and i like that they are bronze...and this quote sort of relating..."A soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone." — Johann von Goeth
horrible photos. sorry. anyway, the pumas are linen. i am a puma fan. jakie bought em for me. very cute. i almost never wear anything that has laces, as you might have noticed. in the summer, if i can be barefoot, i am, okay, actually, all the time. i am a foot nudist. but i wear sandals the rest of the time. i am trying to make sure i ditch the grosser looking ones, though. speaking of feet, where i broke my foot years ago, my foot has been really hurting. it is the outside of my foot, especially if my feet are tired or if i wear heels, even ones that were comfy for me before. sigh. i loooove heels. not cool. i need to go to an orthopaedist about it. i mentioned a podiatrist to my mom and she called them butchers (apologies to any podiatrists out there) but in fairness, (and i think some of you can attest to this) they can be rather brutal. not sensitive people. they aren't Md's, i am not sure if they are DO's or something different altogether. i have had them do bad things to me before, so i will take my mom's advice.

we are going to sheep and wool this weekend and plan to go up on friday and stay over, coming back after the show on saturday. if anyone wants to hook up, please email me so we can exchange numbers and make tentative plans. also, i think we are staying in columbia, md, let me know if that is good, or if somewhere else is better. i was attempting to see if we could avoid driving in the wrong direction to go to the hotel, which i think frederick is. for anyone not yet with a hotel, i went onto hotwire.com which had by and large the cheapest prices. the only thing is that you don't know what the hotel is until you commit to buying. they tell you how many stars, basically where it is and you go from there. i am waiting to ask jake what he wants to do, but you can stay at a 3 star hotel for under 100 a night, and some dive places for suuuuper cheapo. so please make sure to email me at natashaluxeATgmaildoTcom...okay? i am excited to hook up with my ladies!

sleeeepy. and hungry, too.
xo
n.