luxe

As you might have read, luxefibre.com went down for a bit, but Shannon is helping me fix it. Meanwhile, you can still shop in the Luxe Etsy store for all your fuzzy needs!

hey all, so it was brought to my attention that luxefibre.com was MIA. gone. i figured out after a little while that the host had cancelled it. i assume the credit card it was on expired or got paid off, one or the other. they claim that they contacted us, but we got no emails and no calls. that said, they say that i can’t reactivate it, it is gone. the guy that did the site for me has the files, i just need someone to put them up for me or talk me through it. i have no clue what to do. my brudder knows how to do it but is on deadline and has no voice. haaaallllp! i swear, after this, i will learn to at least kind of take care of things myself. i swear it. we are going on vacation friday, so this couldn’t have happened at a worse time. shoot me a message or email if you know someone that can help and would like to be paid in yarn. or money. or softies. or cat fur. whatever they fancy.

sunday:
hello. i am night 3 of no sleep. okay, not NO sleep, just not a lot. i went to sleep
this morning with the birds chirping and woke up to the neighbor weedwacking at the asscrack of morning. anyway, we were supposed to go to appleby’s for mothersday with the inlaws, it was a gross meal and i didn’t really eat. i have had leg cramps over the past few evenings and nights, i plan to get some supplements to see if that helps. i just feel out of it, i guess.

i have some new things to show you guys, but i plan to be in the midst of packing up orders, gifts, etc, tomorrow because we leave on friday for vacation for a week. it might just be a really good thing to get all of the extra fiber laying around the studio out of there. let someone else sell it! so i want to get that organized and clean. and the bedroom. that is bad. really bad. i am ashamed at what a pig i am.

i got to talk to one of my favorite people of all times, gabe today for a good long while, which is nice. he used to work with me at the tattoo shop and we just get along super well. swimmingly. i miss him. he keeps you positive. he is doing so much great stuff and i am so proud of him. we also popped in to the cd place that our friend works at and i got to chat with her for a while, and that was nice, too. i am always very awkward at stop and chats.

monday:
i was up super late again, once i fell asleep after a 3 a.m. bath for the leg cramps (which are thankfully gone today) and kept waking up because izzy had brought a pile of her rubberbands and ponytail holders for me to throw for her to fetch. once she saw that i wasn’t waking up to play, she would go look for another, and then, started tapping the other (sleeping) cats on the head in an effort to get ANYONE to pay attention to her. sigh. i spent most of my time sleeping today, just totally zonked out. i talked to my friend katrina for a little while and then got off the phone because i was tired and then fell back asleep. we are leaving for vacation on friday for a week so i really would like to get all of the shop business in order before then, ya know? additionally, luxefibre.com is down, i have no idea what the problem is, and i emailed my web guy to get the info i need to get someone to take care of it for me. all of my links go to and from there, so it really needs to be fixed. in my headache, flu haze, i stress about it. so. anyway, off i go. headache. sore throat. tired. house to watch. i even slept thru general hospital this afternoon. can you believe it?

mwah
n.

friday i was supposed to hang out with jenn, i didn’t sleep the night before, had a bad headache again and then slept on and off all day long. i called her right before she was supposed to leave and told her that i felt like poop. i felt like crap about it because i was really excited to hang out with her and have some fiber fun (you fiber geeks know what i mean…flashing the stash, letting people turn the cranks, spin your wheels, etc, etc) and then i felt guilty, like maybe i should have tried to push through feeling poopy. yeah, well, that didn’t last because i fell asleep and didn’t wake up until that evening. i was sick again last night, wanted to take a shower in the wee hours but i was so nauseous and dizzy that i was afraid that i would fall down (go boom) and jakie sleeps through almost anything, so it would be a bad thing. after a bit of sitting with my head in the john, i decided i should try to just lie down in bed. i woke up late today, poor jakie was attempting to fix the volkswagon and spent the whole day on it, and it ended up not being what he thought it would be, so i felt bad about that. he apologized to me for not being around, but i was sleeping all day. i literally didn’t do ANYTHING. didn’t talk on the phone, go online, do stuff, nothing. i didn’t even eat, except for when i first woke up. crazy. and this is how it is almost everyday lately. i feel useless. and i have a bad headache as we speak. it is hard to deal with being in bed all day when i feel just as shitty if i do or don’t. i guess i could make myself sick enough to not be able to even get up and shower, but man, it frustrates me. i guess it is good that i didn’t plan on going to maryland sheep and wool this weekend, as much as i wanted to, i didn’t have the cash to blow and i wouldn’t have been up to it. plus, i would end up not getting to all of the different get-togethers and hangouts with all of my peeps, so what is the point? sigh. i am trying to be positive, but man, it gets hard when you feel like the kid who breaks both of their legs right before summer vacation.

not much else because…i have been sleeping.
n.

once i finally conked out, i was in and out of it and i got up and showered, but i got nothing done. i fell back asleep, and slept all day. i have been having bad leg cramps, too. i haven’t been eating well, and have been craving sweets…bad. i am normally not like that. still, i can’t wait until the summer fruits are ready to eat, although it is supposed to reach freezing tonight. crazy, eh? 80 degrees last week, 30 tonight. anyway, i had orders to pack,etc, including my entry to a softies show, so that has to happen to-morrow. has to.

at around 4ish a.m., i had all of these ideas running thru my head for stuff i need to get done, including a care package for lovely marian and her lovely support team. there is a video clip linked to her blog of marian and her mama on the news in philly, and she is so frickin cute. like a 25 year old in a little body. if you don’t know this little supa star’s story, she has some health problems and her amazing older sissy donated bone marrow so marian could get a transplant. they did that last week and marian is recovering in the hospital. her passion is art and crafts (her mom is an artist, too), so they have a shop on etsy with the crafts she makes and kits, and the money goes to other sick kids getting crafts to work on while they are in the hospital. marian inspires me to do as much as i can, whenever i feel good enough. being sick is what it is, it isn’t something i can change, and i need to follow her lead and just be as big as i can be. anyway, i knitted her a hat, i made her a pin that goes on it, and i have another hat with a poppy pin on it for her. i am going to send a kids crochet book and some crochet supplies, too. she doesn’t know how (YET!) and i don’t think mom does, either, but i must say, knitting and crochet have done so much for me when i am not feeling good enough to do anything else, or when i am nervous, or waiting or bored. it gives you something to show for a day spent in bed. plus, marian loves to make dolls and toys, so i have a feeling that she will loooooove making one long piece of yarn into an adorable doll. i don’t want to spill all the beans and what i am sending, just in case they read this, but i think it will be pretty good. i would like it, so that is good, right?

so, after showering in the wee hours, i was going to do some dyeing, mainly for making batts, i needed a few saturated colors, so i filled up the dyepots with fiber and managed to keep myself from actually doing the dyeing, since at that time of night, or morning, i tend to do strange stuff, like leave the hot water on full blast and don’t remember. i did manage to do a kamikaze dyeing session whilst waiting for our dinner to cook. 3 dyepots including my big vintage electric roaster, so a few pounds probably. i will post photos. hopefully, it will be warm enough to hang up the fiber to-morrow.

also, my buddy jenn is coming up on friday to measure the couch and chairs for slipcovers and to hang out and maybe do some fiber stuff. i told her that she will have to make herself a few batts on the new carder (or the louet, if she fancies) and i think she will have fun. i am so excited to do a fiber hang out! jake is probably going to be practicing with his “band” for a couple of shows they will be doing later on. one is public, i think, so i will keep you posted, for sure.

oh, and i just found the work of sandra sheehy. i wish i could find more stuff. with the blogworld and flickr, etc, i am always stunned when i google and artist and find next to nothing. i would love to see these things in person. i saw a passerby on a tv show with an amazing jacket on and immediately though, oooh i wish i could figure out how that is made, but only got a glance of it. it is such an odd thing that almost everything is accessible now. mindblowing.

anyway, legcramps, so i think i will take shower number 4 for the day. no, technically 5, because i took one in the wee hours.

xo
n.

well, as you may have guessed, i had another bad week, although i did get a couple of okay days to enjoy the weather. i had migraine after migraine and realized way too late that these delicious garlic pretzels had msg in them, which is a huge no-no for me. i am actually lucky that i wasn’t sicker than i was, although i have had non-stop headaches. i couldn’t stop eating them and then asked jake if he knew, he had put them in a zipper bag, so i couldn’t see the ingredients. we always look at everything because msg and blue cheez can put me in the ER, but you don’t think pretzels have it, ya know? anyway, i didn’t sleep last night and felt sick and actually was lying here feeling like crap and decided to do a quicky blog post. i have a bunch of batts to show you, in addition to the other ones that STILL aren’t listed. i just have barely been online because my vision is funny and i feel so nauseated and crummy. i am a bit addicted to the electric carder. i get so pooped out so easily, it is so fun to just feed in the fiber. it does get hung up pretty easily, so i do have to manually kickstart the drum, and my hands are wrecked. jake was impressed. they look manly. mini-manly. here are some of em. if anyone wants something, let me know, i am hoping to get them listed on wednesday, or maybe to-morrow if i get all of my invoicing done and packages packed.

i also have dyed top that isn’t even photographed, plus more dyeing i need to do with some solidish colors for batts. we all know that it kills me to pay for dyed top that isn’t super nice…which means i would have to pay a lot to get decent stuff, even though i haven’t really seen such a thing. i hate colonial top. i like the superwash from brown sheep, but that only comes in a few colors.

here are a couple of creatures still in the works. i need to futz around with some arms and legs,etc and see where they want to go. i generally see what the piece wants to do, kinda like yarns. i may have a basic idea, but that will fly out the window if the piece doesn’t seem to want to be that way. ya know?

maryland sheep and wool…i don’t think we are going. i am broke, mainly because i have been too out of it/lazy to get stuff listed, and i have so so much of it. mixed media pieces, paintings, softies, crocheted jewelry, knits, yarn, fiber, batts, vintage stuff, plus stuff that i need to send out to a couple of stores. i frustrate myself. anyway, between being poor and the weather being horrible, i think it might be better not to go. i had talked to a friend about working sheep and wool but kind of blew it off, and now when i see people i know working it, or at least working with a yarn shop that is working it, i get mad at myself. it wasn’t expensive to work, it would have just been the time and energy. in the end, i get so scared to commit to things in advance because of the stupid health issues i have, that i end up not doing things that i want to do. in fact, i convince myself that i don’t want to do it anyway. i have been asked to work with some awesome people in their booths at whatever craft show, and if it is in the summer and is outdoors, i know that i can’t be in the sun for any length of time, even under a tent, i will get overheated and then if it is a multiple day show, i know that i just can’t do it. and i don’t want to let someone down. so i don’t do it, and i get pissed off at myself. sniff.

my head is pounding, so i think i will go and take a shower.
xo
n.

despite a headache again today, i did some more dyeing. i did a more limited palette than i had planned, so i did some other colors today and i hope to do a bit more to-morrow and get some batts done.

i actually used up a huge (kitchen can sized bag) of uncarded coated merino, just gorgeous soft, heavenly stuff. wowza. i actually want to get some more i love it so well for both carding and spinning. i used up more than a pound of locks, a few different kinds, some loose mohair, some sparkly nylon and some superwash top. some for spinning as is, some for carding. i talked to my buddy katrina today about dyeing, whilst dyeing (one track mind, eh?) and was saying how amazing it is how different fibers in the same dye pot grab the color so differently. i will post more photos to-morrow.

sorry for the boring posts lately. boring is as boring does, i guess:)
xo
n.

so, i live in headache city. i felt crummy last night, but i got up this morning and before i even had coffee or breakfast, i took a quick shower, got ready and did some dyeing. a good bit of dyeing, actually. wanna see?

i have been hanging on to this gorgeous uncarded merino from frenecreek. i love that they are a rescue farm (sometimes she buys sheep right off of the meat truck!) and that those animals have a really nice life. well, other than being in wisconsin in the winter. that sucks even if you do have a huge thick coat. although they do have a shelter for em in the cold. anyway, they wore coats, so this fiber is perfectly white and clean, but still spongy and soft and gorgeous. i plan to dye some more to-morrow if i feel okay because i didn’t get the range of colors that i had hoped for. i need to make notes for myself so that i actually remember. i didn’t think i had dyed as much as i had, so i have a ton of yellow and green. i saw some gorgeous robin’s egg blue and yellow art, so that inspired me. i would love to attempt to get a buttery yellow, tho. i will see. i need to do some soft pinks and turqoise, etc. happy springy colors. yay! there are loads more photos on my flickr, so pop by if you fancy. i plan to use most of this fiber for batts, but i will probably make a few bits and pieces bags which sell out as soon as i list em. why don’t i do more of em? dunno. i will. plus i want to do some bags according to color. i would have killed to have that when i first started, before i started hoarding. i seriously and working through the loose fiber i have, so i feel good about that. i probably only have a few more pounds of loose fiber. i also overdyed some light brown and cream fiber that looks really pretty. that will get carded up, too.

i am very excited that my friend jenn is going to come up and see me and help me out with some slipcovers (yayayayayay!) finally! i have a feeling that if i can’t pay her, i will let her mess with some fiber and the carder, if she likes. i got it running pretty well. much faster than i thought initially. i want to get a brush attachment for it, i think that will really help bulk up the batts. i need to get a hold of the pat green peeps and see what is what. i need to remember to do that during business hours to-morrow rather than at midnight, like now. sigh. i hate that. also, i hear that they have had so many different models in the past that they have to kind of see what you have to tell you what part you need, or to give you instructions. there is no model number, no date, no nothing. it is fun to have your hands free to feed in the fiber, rather than just the one hand and also, when i do lots of batts on my louet, i wear myself out. i will definitely still use it, but i can chill out and do batts on the PG.

okay, off to chill out, although i really feel like doing some batts. if i do, i will get wound up and not sleep. i mean more than usual. i need to weigh and take photos of the batts so i can list em. i really hope to get that done to-morrow. but i wanna dye. and i won’t have the energy to do both, g-d knows.

xo
n.

yesterday i had high hopes of getting lots done. i had to run out and do some errands so i ended up going with jake when he got home. by that time, i had taken photos of the new batts i made and crocheted wire and beaded jewelry from a while ago that i still haven’t listed. by that time, i had a fairly bad migraine, too. when jake got back from doing his stuff, i was out of it, not feeling so good, had cramps plus the migraine. i don’t remember falling asleep, but i did and then woke up right before he went to sleep. i didn’t sleep very well and woke up early again, although i didn’t shower until about 10:30a and i made myself eat. i haven’t been so into eating lately.

today i had high hopes of getting lots done, but i feel like poo. jakie is practicing for a couple of shows he and a friend will be doing (i will keep those of you who are local posted on when they are) so i planned to tinker with the new carder and adjust it and maybe go to the nursery to get some plants and to the craft store, but i feel like poo. my head hurts, but more importantly, i feel really out of it and discombobulated, so i always worry about driving. it annoys me most once the weather is nice. it makes me feel like an 8 year old with a broken leg or chicken pox during summer vacation, you know? there are some things that you can’t push through. i decided to blog just to vent at least, even if it makes my head hurt. at least i will have done SOMETHING. although, i did actually put makeup on and do my hair. so i did do something.

here are some of the batts i made this week on the pat green carder. my louet makes a much thicker batt, and lumpy if i want, too, these are twice as wide and much finer. purdy.

xo
n.

first off, i know that loads and loads of regular peeps wake up early. i just don’t happen to be one of them. i have always been a poor sleeper, even as a kid. except in the car. then i sleep like a bomb. i couldn’t really sleep last night. i had a bad headache, was out of the good medicine, took the only one i had, a nasal spray, and as always, it bunged up my nose which already had a load of fiber in it from my new electric carder (!!!!!) so i just didn’t sleep at all. it is almost 7 a.m. now, the sun is amazing, the birdies are chirping, the cats are all snoozing, although soon izzy will be chatting with the birdies. she enjoys that.

yesterday, i woke up feeling okay. i felt so okay that i was a bit giddy and didn’t have my coffee or breakfast, took a shower and just got to work and worked all day. i sat outside with peeps in the back yard, she loves eating grass and rolling around, so i worried a bit that i would make my lupus react, but g-d do i love it. peeps does too. i made a bunch of batts, i plan to do some more and because the teeth on the carder are so shallow (although barbe suggested moving them apart more) the batts are twice as wide as my louet, but very very thin and fine, so i might do two batts that actually make up each batt, if that makes sense. the carder is not as powerful or noisy as i had planned, but i have never used any other electric carder so i have no clue. i also have no clue to adjust it, so i will have to attempt to find info on it. it is from the 70’s i think. the damn thing bit me several times, too. bugger! because of running my hand over the card to keep the fiber smooth among other things, my hands feel burned, they look baaad. i need to try to find a smoothing brush. even a stiff hand held broom might work. anyone with suggestions, drop it on me.

i got orders packed and i need to photograph the new batts, weigh them and the fiber i have so that i can list it, plus send off packages to a couple of people who have patiently been waiting forever. sorry guys.

i will leave you with this amazing video clip and hopefully show you the purdy new batts a bit later.

crazy on a theremin. insane. seriously insane.
xo
n.