luxe

5 great iPhotos
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

sorry for my lack of posting yesterday…amy came over and sat with my whilst i brushed out shinies to spin for many hours. then we wen to tj maxx where i got two bras, without trying them on, mind you, and a watch that i had looked at before but was now on sale. score! i made a new hole in the band and it is still too big for my twiggy wrists. ah well. better than sausage wrists i reckon.

so this yarn is a merino and silk mix, dyed by me…bright and soft just like i like em! i need to list it on etsy, but it is for sale, as is most of my yarn if anyone is interested. i will have the site up soon…i swear it! so email me if you are interested.

and angie bought mint julep yesterday! which was very exciting for me! and her, also, i hope! there will be, as always, and secret present in there as well!! i will send it out to-morrow most likely…

i have been feeling a bit out of control with my health. for some reason, i have had a migraine for more than a week, now, and i have not been able to get as much done as i would like, to my dismay.

i get the migraine from the time i get up and it worsens and worsens, of course i push myself to do as much stuff as i can and by the night, it is totally out of control. dizzy, nauseous, can’t keep my eyes open at 7 pm…i missed survivor! no! and then i wake up at 1a. of course i do. and i fell back asleep after 2, i took a sleeping pill and more migraine drugs, and woke up around 11:30a. i never sleep in like that. i had a cat curled up against my stomach and staring at me, concerned, and another cat on my pillow, just cold, i think, and another cat sleeping on top on my side, purring. i felt loved. and it was cold in the house, so warmer. they are sweet.

so! keep the comments coming…i will make a decision on monday, i think…i love presents! so exciting. i get more excited than the recipient probably does, you know?

and all the new readers….thanks so much for coming over!

oh…also, i got the new spin-off magazine, which was good and…at this discount place i got a whole bunch of cheap knitting and crafting books, including a book on slipcovers…i think they are from another country or something….i have never seen most of them before. anyway, i am looking for a pattern to alter for a kitty hat that covers the ears, although the ones i have made already are super duper cute. anyone that wants a kitty hat, just let me know what color you want and what size, ie, is it for you or a baby…and i will make it for ya…i think they will be 25 bucks…so just email me…i am going to make them for handmade arcade as well, methinks.

ok…must answer emails!
smoooooch! you guys rawk!
n.

fiber friday
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

this was actually the past thursday, but you know.

so, i have half of the two dozen scarves done, and i hope to get them done in the next couple days. yah for money! moneeeey!

i have not spun. at all. i have not brushed out the fiber i dyed. my husband said he was getting my a drum carder for my birthday, which is october 6, for those of you with loads of extra cash! i told him it is not necessary, as we are not exactly rolling in the dough lately and he is working extra hours. i hope not to buy me a drumcarder, but it would take a lot of the time i spend combing stuff out and blending by hand out, i could do things in much less time. although brushing out fiber, being so delicate and careful is soothing.

also, i found a pattern to make a skeinwinder that looks easy and should cost under 20 bucks. so i asked him if he could make me one. i could make myself one, but i am not the most exact precise person you will ever meet and it might not…well…work very well. it will work. not well. probably. guys like building things. it makes them feel manly, i think. not that jake isn’t manly. he is boyish and manly. i like em like that. manly seems like chest hair and BO to me. i think you know what i mean, ladies. and gents.

so jason came out to discuss the website and i made him birthday dinner, consisting of roast beef, not rare as we all would have liked it, but good, baked yams, which he eats everyday, unbeknownst to me, and i made scratch biscuits with turbinado sugar in them, a bit more than necessary, but it had a nice sugar crunch, and then some pillsbury cookies from the dough, which were received well. i didn’t eat one. the biscuits were a bit sconey. is that a word? good though. and quick. i talked to diana about design, and also the guy, marco who was going to do my site, about doing design still. i guess we will see.

it has been really nice to hang out with jason lately. we hadn’t seen him much and had been busy ourselves, and i went through a bit of a strange period, where i was miserable in my job, i didn’t realize exactly how miserable until i quit. i asked my husband if he noticed the difference and he said i was more “chipper”! i have never in my entire life been called chipper. i want to cook and bake again. i don’t mind cleaning. i am ready to get out of bed in the morning. i really thought that i was just miserable from being sick. i am sick now, but i can push through it better. not always, but it is a much clearer line to when i can’t push anymore. i don’t feel so guilty when i am sick. i do so much more work. i am almost always doing something. if i am watching tv, i am working on something else at the same time. i have ideas all the time. i can’t wait to do this, that and the other thing. i can’t find enough time to do it all. i like myself. i am not alone because i can’t bear to be pleasant around other people because i feel like shit. i am able to take things much more lightly. i am happy. did i just say that? no. i did. i am? i am.

so! i keep hearing about LURKERS out there. some of you have finally emailed me. most of you i would not have known about if someone else had not let me in on it. i want you guys to leave some comments. or if you are too shy for that, email me! i want to know who you are and what you think! i am getting lots of readers and i know about 15 of them. that leaves like 80 a day unaccounted for. why so shy? i may bite, but i do have my shots. most of em anyway. and i am really slow, so you could surely escape me. and i am not strong, and when i get upset, i get an asthma attack, so i would be easy to push down. although, i would blog mean things about how you pushed me down…so watch it! i digress. so let me know who you are and a random one of you will be getting a little something from me! so comment! there is something in it for you! and it will be cool!

in other news, i ordered a bunch of yarn to dye from knitpicks, so for those of you who would prefer thinner, non totally crazy yarn, your ship has come in! i ordered basically every weight of yarn, in different fibers, all luxe, as would be expected! so let me know if you are looking for something in particular. i will dye special just for little old you! or little young you. or big old you. whatever. so i expect it sooon. i cannot wait. i dyed some lamb’s pride for my secret pal and some for winnie, that i have yet to mail, and it came out gorgeous! i wanna keep it. but i want to keep it all, really. my secret pals made out well! i am glad to be able to spoil them even though i am poor at the moment. that rocks!

lastly, due to my headachage, i need to stop this rambling, but i am waffling on the shop name yet again…if you have made it this far…this is a good place for lurkers to jump in!!…i have had a few people tell me that they don’t know what LUXE is. i think that i should go with LUSTRE, rather than LUXE…i think la pee la is too silly and people won’t be able to remember it…so vote and tell me what you like best. i will be doing yarn, knits, fiber, knitting kits, some fine art things and other stuff…what is the best name for that…pleaaaase!! i need your help…
1. LUXE.
2. LUSTRE
3. LA PEE LA

not only will the lurker win a prize, but a random comment with a name, i have a number in my head…will also get a prize….so let me know what you think! the fate of my business is on your milky white/freckly/cocoa shoulders!

ready….set….VOTE!

pavel and the mouse toy i knitted him
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i always kept a journal, since i can remember, anyway. it always seemed important. i grew up feeling really lonely. i have never felt close with my family, we had no relatives nearby, and moved a lot. so the family dog was my best friend and confidante.

i always considered a journal to be private. other people didn’t.

now, i keep a knitting and art journal, fiber and spinning…but this…this is my diary. at first, i thought i needed to censor myself. then, i realized that the important things i have to say, do not need to be censored. i have done that my whole life. denied who i am. tried to be different. better. someone else. not me. anything i say in this blog, if asked, i would talk about. anything. in my real life, i am just the same. if you ask me, i will tell you. i hate lying. i do it as rarely as i possibly can. the exception is when i try to spare feelings. that is when i most often do it.

in all my years of having journals, i think the “dear diary” was my twin. the one i always wished i had. so i wouldn’t ever be alone, and she would always get me. stand up for me. admire me. love me. now, this blog, is even better than that. by and large, my incredible audience, is not really an audience at all. many of you have become important people in my life. you have influenced me to take a chance on being happy. helped me to realize who i am, what i can do…helped me realize that all that time that i was lonely, i wasn’t alone. there was this universe of stars twinkling over me and all of you, as well, behind a cloud, waiting to be revealed when the night was really the darkest. i have never felt so connected, as i do now. when bad things happen, i have people to talk to, that know what is going on, that have my back…something i never had before…i know that i am safe to be as much as i want to be. safe to do it all…try it all…because the only kind of failure is being static. being too afraid to try, afraid to be confident, afraid to depend on yourself…i won’t do that again. i won’t be that again. i am not that lonely little girl anymore. i never will be again. i have all of you to thank for that. my husband, friends, family…myself…

fiber friday
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

so jason h came out today for his birthday, and i gave him his hat, which fit, and i hoped he liked. we were talking about the new business, and jason said he would do my website! i had been worried that it was too much work, but he said it wasn’t a big deal, and i am going to meet with him tuesday!!!!! yippee!!! i am sooooo excited. i told him that if he wanted, i could make a wrap for his mom for christmas, so i am doing something in return…so hopefully that will work out. i am a mooch! anyway, this is good. really good. all the money i save, i will spend on crack and whores. yeah, like i have any money.

that is really all…off to knit!
xo,
n.

387500
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

so, this photo, from JACEY? i cannot wait to hang out with you! and all the other cool spinners. badasses that we are!

have a fun sunday!
mmmmmmmmwah!
n.

fiber friday
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

woah! i dyed a lot of fiber. 2 lbs of cotswald locks, which were washed but had loads of vm, not to be confused with bm, though not much better, in it. ew! i will stick with carded fiber, thank you very much. anyway, i also dyed some laceweight skacel fiber for….drumroll please….WINNIE!! it is drying and then will be on its way to LA. she is a patient supermodel, that one! i used the veggie dyes and did half a pound of ramie, some soy silk, to see if the veggie dyes work better or the protein dyes…so that will be ready to-morrow. yay! the ramie is so yummy.

so things were going smoothly, i had dyed around 10 batches, which is a lot, and decided to dye some lamb’s pride sport weight while it was still in a ball, by injecting the dye with squirt bottles. i have these shitty icing bottles that i used because i couldn’t find anymore good dye bottles, anyway, the lids don’t screw on right, if you tighten it, it comes off, and if you squeeze it, the lid pops off. i found that out a but too late. how would that be good for icing? so you may know where this is going. i am using vermillion dye, and the lid was clogged, and exploded in my face, all over the kitchen, on my eyeballs. i cleaned up as much as i could, but it stained the walls, so maybe i will be painting sooner than i expected. it looks like a murder ocurred. i told jake, and he wasn’t even annoyed. did i meantion he is a neat freak? he is a nice boy.
so, i got loads done today, in addition to taking almost a hundred photos of yarn, etc. so check them out on my zeitgeist over there….

also, the guy that does websites got back to me and apologized, and said he would have stuff to me in a couple of days. yay!! i was really worried about this stuff. maybe things will work out ok. you know?

and…my yarn for the breast cancer scarves finally showed up, so i have a couple of weeks to get them done, although i would like to try to set a record and get them done in a week. i think i can do it.

i want to also get a kit together, that i mentioned yesterday, for the crafty fair. maybe a couple of different ones. so i need to see if i can find a cute project bag to sell them in…i will do that now.

i will be going into my flickr as soon as i can to label everything, with fiber content, etc. if anyone sees something they like, just email me and i will give you a price, or we can trade even…the one pictured is 100% kid mohair, heavenly soft and shiny, i loooove this one. so gorgeous. if i do say so myself. and to think, i thought i didn’t like yellow. i am starting to love it!

fish kissies!!
n.

IMG_0678tn
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

ay ay ay! so, i started to post last night and one of my friends called me, upset, and i talked to him for a while. and also, in a discussion with a friend, we spoke about thinking that people don’t like you. assuming rather. we all do it. some of us are worse than others. from working in my shop, i was able to overcome it, at least at work, and often when i meet people in a professional setting, much more now than when i was younger, and i just put myself out there. because i want people to like me. but it isn’t a big deal if they don’t. when i was younger, i kinda wanted them to not like me. it was easier, i think. predictable. and now, with the whole crafty network, it never occurs to me that people wouldn’t like me, or my work. just like i feel like i will like crafty people when i meet them. so where this is going, is that it is amazing how much of a difference it makes to have a positive attitude. i sound like an utter dork, but it is such a simple thing. it is a 50/50 shot, why would people that don’t know you, not like you?

the other strange thing is that i have found out that some people who i thought did not like me, instantaniously, thought i was a flaky freak…read my blog? is it morbid curiousity? i dunno, there are a couple of people that i think are freaky that i have read their blogs a couple of times, but not regularly. if you are one of these people…that read my blog, i mean, will you post a comment, anon if you like, and tell me what you enjoy about it, evil or no. i can handle it. probably. and one of these people is not even into crafty things…so tell me! it is killing me!

ok, so otherwise, i went to get different yarn for j’s hat, and didn’t like anything. so it may stay as is. and i went to ligonier for it! ay! on the upside, i got the soda ash i needed for dyeing, which i will do to-morrow. it has to cure for 24 hours. nooooo!! i can’t wait that long. i will have to do a ton in one day. i can’t wait that long. i said that already. i can’t wait that long. i can’t stop. er.

i got an email from another webdesign place and theirs start at 800 bucks. and up. and the one dude i could afford hasn’t emailed back and it has been nearly a week since his last email. and that worries me a bit. did i mention my income is almost zip at the moment. and my husband is working 6 days a week. 5-12 hour days. 1 hour drive each way. and he is tired. all. the. time. and it makes me feel rotten. so website? i dunno. regina suggested yahoo site builder stuff, which i may need to do in the meantime, until i am a multinational conglomerate and can step on all the little people. you know? and i blew 3 bucks on a personal pan pizza. take ya back?

one of my new friends gave me some suggestions for yarn sales, to do a kit, including needles with homespun and a simple small pattern. there are tons of kits, and she pointed out that people who may not know what to do with different sorts of handspun may feel better about getting a kit that tells them exactly what to do. vickie! you are brilliant. i do need a manager. or life coach. interested?

and this adorable photo? i swiped it from

flowers and ponies
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i stayed in and knitted all day. all day constituted 2 hats. not good. i came up with a really cute pattern for a baby and adult kitten hat with knitted ears, although i think that maybe felt sewn ears would look neater. i will post pics of both. i swear it. i may put some on my etsy store and i will bring some to the pgh crafty fair. if anyone has a good crafty fair in their area, please let me know, maybe i will work it. hm? i was able to get two hats from one skein and am thinking matching mittens would be adorable. or a matching scarf with a tail? or fuzzy? also, when i accidentally ran the ingeo through the wash, it looked like fake fur, but in a really cool way, so i want to try to spin that, i just wish it was dyeable, well it is, but i researched it and only commercial dyes work and the require dye, among other bad things. so i dunno if i want to get mixed up in that. bad stuff.

in other news, one of my good friends that does design work agreed to do the work for my new company. i still need someone to do the web stuff though. so again, if anyone knows anyone, let me know. i found some place online, that seems very inexpensive and i their stuff looks very professional, but how do you know if it is for real? i can’t afford, in a million different ways, to get screwed over on this.

jake came home super tired, he has been working his ass off to try to provide us with a cushion now that i am not working a traditional job. i hope this works out. for both of us. i feel like a burden. anyway, he got in the shower and i ran downstairs and made him some choco chip choco muffins with choco fudge inside and choco struesel on top. from a package, of course. so, 5 minutes later, they were in the oven and i got in the shower and told him that there was fiber in the oven and could he take it out for me. he nicely said of course, and hurried up shaving. i have this choco candle on the candle warmer, which is the best thing ever invented, smells amazing, no worry about a flame and candles last for frickin ever! anyway, he had said how it made him wish we had brownies, so he didn’t smell the baking muffins due to the candle. he was excited when he came back upstairs. while i prefer fiber to muffins, he prefers muffins. you know?

my cleaning lady is a client and is supposed to get tattooed to-morrow, and i am stunned at how much i don’t want to do it. i am so not into it. i have a hair appointment and then that…so no spinning to-morrow, although i need to pick up dye from the art supply.

oh, also i got one of those shady fake paypal things. they are clever bastards! i was on the phone with amy and she spotted it right away, i would have figured it out, as they ask for credit card info and pin numbers, which is shady right off the bat. so be careful people! and look at the address in your address bar.

loving you!
n.

i stayed in and knitted all day. all day constituted 2 hats. not good. i came up with a really cute pattern for a baby and adult kitten hat with knitted ears, although i think that maybe felt sewn ears would look neater. i will post pics of both. i swear it. i may put some on my etsy store and i will bring some to the pgh crafty fair. if anyone has a good crafty fair in their area, please let me know, maybe i will work it. hm? i was able to get two hats from one skein and am thinking matching mittens would be adorable. or a matching scarf with a tail? or fuzzy? also, when i accidentally ran the ingeo through the wash, it looked like fake fur, but in a really cool way, so i want to try to spin that, i just wish it was dyeable, well it is, but i researched it and only commercial dyes work and the require dye, among other bad things. so i dunno if i want to get mixed up in that. bad stuff.

in other news, one of my good friends that does design work agreed to do the work for my new company. i still need someone to do the web stuff though. so again, if anyone knows anyone, let me know. i found some place online, that seems very inexpensive and i their stuff looks very professional, but how do you know if it is for real? i can’t afford, in a million different ways, to get screwed over on this.

jake came home super tired, he has been working his ass off to try to provide us with a cushion now that i am not working a traditional job. i hope this works out. for both of us. i feel like a burden. anyway, he got in the shower and i ran downstairs and made him some choco chip choco muffins with choco fudge inside and choco struesel on top. from a package, of course. so, 5 minutes later, they were in the oven and i got in the shower and told him that there was fiber in the oven and could he take it out for me. he nicely said of course, and hurried up shaving. i have this choco candle on the candle warmer, which is the best thing ever invented, smells amazing, no worry about a flame and candles last for frickin ever! anyway, he had said how it made him wish we had brownies, so he didn’t smell the baking muffins due to the candle. he was excited when he came back upstairs. while i prefer fiber to muffins, he prefers muffins. you know?

my cleaning lady is a client and is supposed to get tattooed to-morrow, and i am stunned at how much i don’t want to do it. i am so not into it. i have a hair appointment and then that…so no spinning to-morrow, although i need to pick up dye from the art supply.

ok, then. i best go read my blogs.

loving!
n.

flowers and ponies
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

we went to dinner with my in-laws, which was really nice. i started a hat, which is a prototype, for an animule hate for the crafty fair in pgh. more late. coffee time.
n.