luxe

couple4
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

toooooo cute! check out the naive knitting website, you can buy stuff on there!

it is sunny and gorgeous outside, warm, birds chirping. i fell asleep really early and had the headache that i still have, sigh, but i don’t remember falling asleep. so i woke up mega early.

i had my coffee, sometimes that helps a headache, but now my stomach hurts. rats!!

i am excited to sit outside and try to unravel. i need to look at the tutorial again to make sure i am not missing something. i didn’t knit yesterday at all!! i think that may be a first. i did unravel though and wind.

fishy is doing great. he gets excited when i come down to the kitchen, because i feed him, but swims to the front and stares at me until i feed him. i named him iggy. the kitten is as tall as the other cats. he grows so fast.

i will post photos later today. yay!!

couple_1
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

this is the drawing from naive knitting that their little cousin did…here is the doll that was made from the drawing…

i unraveled the sleeve of an ugly 80′s sweater. it is a really soft pink cotton ramie mix. i tried two other sweaters to no avail. one is a man’s heathered pumpkin v neck which won’t unravel, but i may cut it to make some different garment or maybe a bag. i need to store the stuff i am keeping so my hubby doesn’t want to kill me. he is too good. in EVERY sense of the word. nuff said. once the sleeve started to unravel, it was fun. when you start messing with it and it isn’t happening it is frustrating, plus i had the headache all day, the pharmacy didn’t want to fill my migraine med script, or rather my hmo, i ended up paying a 25 buck copay for 6 pills. rip off. what choice is there? none. anyway, at work, i sat outside of the shop and worked on unraveling, and then used a stool turned upside down to wind the yarn. i may try dying some of it and put some in with bonnie’s yarn trade. she sent mine out already, crazy woman, and i am still getting all of her stuff together. i was thinking about putting baked goods in as well. i am so excited.mmmmmm yarn….

i then took gabe to the bank and closed up shop, due to my bad headache and then sat on the porch swing at home with a big pillow and tried to rip out a sweater unsuccessfully, but i did get to enjoy the weather. i need to paint my toenails so that flip flop season can begin. for those of you who have never seen my feet, they are supermodels. not me. just my feet. i love flip flops. it is like tube tops for hoochies. i saw fun fur knitted thingies that go over straps on flipflops that would be cute. i pulled a couple of summer tops from interweave’s free patterns, i will put up the links.

ok, first here are some questions for bonnie that may seem strange, but bear with me…what size: top do you wear? underwear? flipflop? what is your favorite color, and what colors do you hate? i think that is it, i have stuff together, but need to add a few things, so i should be able to send it out in about a week. hang in there, i didn’t know you would be so fast chica!! goodness!!

here are amy’s interview questions:
1.i have known you a long time. yup. what do you consider your best attribute, other than your hair, both physicallyand mentally?
2.if you could go back and live in any historical era, what would it be, where would it be, and what would your station in life be there?
3.if you could be a famous person, alive or dead, one man and one woman, who would it be and why? choose one of each for looks, and one of each for personality or accomplishments.
4.congrats on getting into library school…once you graduate, what would be your dream job? it doesn’t need to be realistic.
5. you moved out on your own to dc and have actually been able to take care of yourself, first, kudos, second, what are the biggest things you have learned from the experience, and how do you think you have changed as a result?
post the questions and answers on yoyr blog, along with a call for people who want to do the same and be interviewd

oh, one last thing, my camera came back today, refreshed and gorgeous. i am taking it to work to photo all the stuff i have been working on.

on friday, i tattoo jason b,and then he and jason h and jake and i will get dinner and hang out. we ate at the spitfire last week and it was super!! we got duck quesadillas and dana got andouille sausage stuffed banana peppers and we also got ahi tuna with a spicy ginger citrus sauce. good! and then my favorite filet mignon salad. so so good. my favorite salad of all times.

anyway, due to the migraine i have been sporting all day, i took my meds and am fighting to stay awake, as i know i will awaken at like 11 and be up all night. no good at all.

oh, also, pavel chewed my favortie gray and white pumps and put big slashes in the inside. i guess it serves me right for not putting them back in the shoe closet.

christine, i have to look at your blog at least once a day, too. blood sisters!! eeeeeeeooooooooooh!! yeah!! and that badass bonnie, too. badasssssss!!

Natasha’s.
1) You are a variable cornucopia of talent and interests. Aside from knitting, tell us about your other creative endeavors.
n:goodness, what a flatterer! i make my cats dance and sing songs. i bake bread and made up strange recipes. i love art history and am exploring knitting in a fine art context. i feel like it is going to be something really transformational for me. my husband recently got a motorcycle so we will probably be doing some roadtrips. also, i want to try to dye yarn and spin, in addition to the patterns i make up. i guess you can tell that i get a little obsessed with whatever i am into at the moment, i used to work in many different mediums, but i am totally immersed in trying to get my skill level up to doing whatever i dream of.
2) What is it like where you live…. do you love it or hate it, did you grow up there, what is there to do there, or rather describe a typical weekend for you..
n:i went to college in this town and opened the shop when i was about 22. i never left, obviously. everyone knows me in town, and most people are really sweet. there are a surprising amount of artsy people who live nearby, many in my neighborhood. my family moved a lot when i was growing up, so i really like living somewhere like this where i know so many people and everyone says hi when you walk by.
i work fridays and saturdays, so normally i go to work, and one day or the other, we will go to dinner and hang out, play games, chat, whatever with friends, the other day we will either go get groceries or see the in-laws and sundays we normally just hang out with each other or shop. low key. when i push myself and go out fri and sat, i normally have a really bad week, so i try to be boring. i have snb every third fri of each month and the gallery/coffee shop we have it at has openings about every month, so we normally do that if there is something going on.
3) How did you meet your husband and what was your wedding like?
n: well, he is 3 years younger than me, and i knew him since i was 21 and he was 18. he was always a cupcake, but he was soooo young. i actually dated his ex-best friend for many years, after a bad break-up where my ex screwed me and everyone else he knew over and left town, jake and i started to hang out, i hadn’t seen him in a while, and he had really grown up and filled out, and was more than a cupcake. i could go on and on, but he is the most amazing, generous, sweet person i have ever known. he rarely gets angry at me, even though i am a slob, and i forget to do things and spend money when i am broke and sad on yarn or shoes or something i could do without. i guess.

we were going to go to mexico and get married on the beach, although family said that would be sad if they couldn’t be there. which is a long story, because my family ended up not coming, and it ended up being a big bone of contention. obviously. anyway, we had 23 people i think show up in vegas, and got married in this gorgeous chapel at the tropicana and it was really fun and great.i wore a black 50′s style polka dot dress. i wish i had been able to find something a little lighter. i will post a photo. it was super fun though.
4) How did you get into the “tat” business and will you give me one someday? I want a big band of swirling stars with poppies intertwined, ala Mucha. Can you give me great rate? (tee hee, I’m actually kind of serious, but I’ll pay full price)
n:i actually started as a piercer, which i was super into for a long time, although i am not that excited by after 10 years of doing it. sigh. my ex tattooed and after he left, i thought, geez i have my education in fine art, why don’t i try it? that was several years ago now. it is fun. i started cosmetic tattooing last summer and that is really fun.
i would love to give you a tattoo, i love poppies, they are my favorite flowers. you are welcome to come up anytime. we have a spare bedroom even!! that would be so fun! i could make breakfast like a b and b. i am hoping to remodel my shop to be more zen spa-like by the end of the summer, money being the decider.
5) I had rheumatic fever, which they thought was Lupus at first. You have Lupus. How do you deal with this, when did you find out and how are you healthwise with it?
n:i had rheumatic fever as a child too…hmmm. i always had weak health, kidney problems, tired all the time, dumb stuff. migraines since i was about 6 i think. anyway, after having mono many many times, and feeling wretched all of the time, my neurologist ran tests until he found out what was wrong with me. no other dr’s listened. i got advice like go for more walks. in college i was diagnosed, and now i just try to take it easy, if i feel bad or tired, i don’t push anymore. i get sad about it, but my friends and family are pretty supportive, don’t get mad at me for ditching out of stuff, i hope anyway, and normally i deal ok. i could be much sicker, so i really cannot complain too much. knitting is a great source of comfort, even when i feel fairly bad, i can still knit and be productive.

anyone wanting to be interviewed by me, post a message stating such, and just like christine did, i will post 5 questions just for you!! i can’t wait!!

i have to go take a shower. i got sweater booty to unravel and loads of em!! i can’t wait. i’ll keep you posted. also i got a clear old lady tote bag that had never been used from the thrift store with flowers on it uncluding poppies and peonies. i have no camera, but will post photos as soon as it comes back. laters!!

ashleyshawl
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i put a pain patch on last night because i was feeling awful, pms i think, makes all my ailments kick in. i had a headache and my legs and feet were all cramped up and i was feverish. i woke up this morning and my skin is clearing up and i feel decent. i woke up early and feel good. i start to think i am lazy, because i never have the will or energy to do anything, and then i realize when i have pain meds that are working that it isn’t my fault.

fishie jojo is still kicking. he swims to the front of the bowl to see me when i come in to the kitchen and comes up to the top when i put my fingers up there. he loves the peace lily i put in there, he swims in and out of the roots. yay fishie! i wonder if my mom would like to have one.

anyway, this is angela’s shawl that is made from 30 different yarns, mostly waste yarns. she is the girl that unravels thrift store sweaters. i am so excited to go today. i saw the shawl in that issue of interweave and had no clue how she had made it. i want one. i will make myself one. i keep 12 inch scraps of yarn and i never knew why. now i know. i believe that if you click the link it will get you to her site which tells you how to unravel, etc, it’s very cool. she also has ideas for cutting up things and sewing them together.

i started on the back of my clutch, and had one of those skeins of yarn that are center pull yet the whole center comes out in one tangled chunk. grrrrr…

jake has been hating his job lately. i mean he always does, but he has been really miserable and doesn’t have a day off until we go on vacation in may. i feel like such a lazy asshole that he has to get up at such an ung-dly hour and work 12 hour days and drive and hour each way. its making him old. he is so bummed. and then he comes home to sick me, and a messy house. i feel like a bad wife. he does so so much, and i feel like i do nothing.

i got gabe some groceries and then forgot that they were in my trunk, so i hope nothing went bad. it hasn’t been freezing but it hasn’t been warm either.

my really good friend john from pdx is coming in this week, his wife left a message and i didn’t realize it or remember to call her back even though it was a week ago. i forgot.

hopefully heather will come and see me today and go to the thrift store.

i almost started a new blog on blogspirit last nite. the only thing that stopped me is that i don’t want to use the same crappy name, so i need to think about it. i have emailed blogger twice, and i don’t know how long it takes for them to get back to me. sigh.

anyway, woke up feeling nasty, as usual. i took my piils and after an hour i feel better. i spoke to my mom last night, who seems to be doing better. i can never be sure with her if she is really sick or just paranoid. i try to tell her that just because you feel awful, doesn’t mean that you are dying. she is like me, in that she is not very in touch with her body. she doesn’t seem to realize when things are the way the normally go, ebb and flow, and it is the same as always. she gets me all worried and then it appears that it is just stuff that happens that the doctors can’t explain. i don’t know if it is a drama thing, or if she really is freaked out. i know i have felt sick and been sure that the lupus was taking over and something was very very wrong. it is just how things are sometimes. i am 3/4 done with the mermaid scarf. really soft and pretty. i’m not sure whether to keep it or give it to my mother in law. or if i should make her a wrap instead. she is always cold. i may just buy some pretty homespun, i don’t know if she would like anything too crazy. my mom really liked her scarf. she said that one of her rich friends asked her where she bought it and she told her that i made it for her. she normally doesn’t seem too impressed with me, but i guess she feels like she couldn’t knit. she was a concert cellist, but she couldn’t knit. doubt it. anyway, i was glad to finally find something i could give her that she liked.

christine….interested in a yarn swap? the sexy craftalicious is in, hows about you?? i know you have a bunch of yarn. don’t try to deny it, you posted photos!! this could be the triplets separated at birth yarn swap. you know we will each swoon when we see what is in the box…we’ll say…we really are triplets…although some of us are very tall and others very short!! ok, i will be back later, cheers, auntie tata

my irish name is zoe burke, amy, yours is ennis walsh. awesome. peeps is eva o’shea, kahlo is ennis o’farrell, pavel is eoin martin, jason h, cyril roche, an excellent name.

dana’s penis name is…

. mine is…

, dana’s is candy coxx…wait that is a woman’s name. amy’s is sindy sickbooty. how very true. ok, i’ll stop now. but please send me your names. or else. christine had all this stuff on her site and it is addictive. ooh lala. i am going to look for a place to buy yarn to dye and spin. rovings i guess. i hope i can do it.

so last night jason b texted me and i was so tired and out of it that i realized today that i didn’t text him back. i am a bad friend. amy was in town for her best friend’s bro’s wedding, but i won’t see her, she had a hectic weekend. i wonder how it went.

i am making an easy scarf, in addition to the clutch i am winging and maddy’s 2nd sweater and the moss’n'river rock scarf. i think that is everything. only 4 projects. and i have ripped out some other stuff i was not excited by. anyway, the scarf i started is a mix of a really pretty novelty yarn my mom got from australia that looks like mermaid yarn and has chunky pieces of pale green, purple, really light blue and seafoam blue on a seafoam fuzzy background. i mixed it with a boucle and it is really pretty and soft. it really looks like a scarf a mermaid would wear. i tried it in a drop stitch, but sometimes drop stitches look to crochet-y to me. i just went to spell me with two e’s. mee. i like that. it would be a good brand name. mee scarves. mee bags. i did another scarf with a drop stitch that is a really pretty feathery novelty and a mohair/wool scarf and i think i will add fringies. i don’t have any yarn that i like for that though, so i need to buy some. nothing is open today. rats! i kind of hate holidays for that reason.

moby dick is still alive. peeps saw him and stared at him and licked her lips every so often. pavel has been running around like a maniac since early this morning, and he ran across my arm and clawed me up big time. he has been attacking my pumas, putting his head in them, going under the covers. he dragged his scarf up onto the bed, it is more than 6 feet long, amy made it for my birthday and he stole it and chewed holes all through it, and drags it around like his wooby. he also had socky, his stuffed slipper sock of mine that he stole when he was a baby, onto the bed, as well as sever straws, his halloween sweater, some foam balls, rubber bands and hair bands. he is eating peeps’ newspaper rubber band and is chewing on it. we have to watch him because i found a big fat rubber band chewed into 3 pieces in the litter box, which seems a little dangerous.

well, back to mindless knitting. or maybe cabling, as i can’t do that at my inlaws, i will mess it up if i don’t pay attention. i need to get a different cable needle, it’s too slippery, although it works ok. cabling is fun!! it’s twisted!

after work, which was uneventful, i got groceries and had dinner with heather, which was nice. i picked up a betta fish, who i named moby, or moby dick. i am trying to figure out where i can put him where he will not be eaten. tricky.

my mom got me a bunch of yarn while she was in australia, it is all novelty yarn, but it is pretty. flammable but pretty. i will post some photos maybe with jakes photocamera. or when the camera gets back from the spa. i appreciate that she thought about me, although i was expecting the famous wool, but to no avail. she got jake some of the crispy bars that he loves and a gday mate tshirt. sigh. it is the thought that counts. i got a gift tag and bag for the scarf i made her and she seemed to really like it. she put it on and posed in the mirror. normally if she doesn’t like something she makes it fairly obvious. i would like to make her a throw, but anything you give her needs to be really spectacular and unbuyable, if that is in fact a word, so i need to think about it a bit more.

for easter, i think my sister and brother in law will not be available, which is not a bad thing, and we are having steak, rather than ham, which is a really good thing. i am bringing my cauliflower augratin, which i am not sure if my inlaws like, but jake and i love it. i always feel like my family don’t like my cooking. i like it though and so does hubby. the cats do as well. so that will be laid back and nice. i was going to make cookies, and then decided to just bring the dough that you buy. that is it for now.

woke up feeling gross. had dreams about a whole bunch of raggedy stray cats in the backyard.

i have to get up and get ready to go to work, blech. i ordered the cat borghese sock last nite. i bought the twisted sisters sock book last night at bn and don’t have the correct needles to make socks, so i will maybe wait until the other book comes and see if that seems easier before i go and buy anything. i am working on a cabled clutch, though, we’ll see how it works out. i made up the pattern, so it may not work out at all. no photos, no camera. so sad.