luxe

soooo…camp was awesome! everyone was so different as far as personality and style of spinning, technically, and the yarns they spun. it was interesting, some people’s table was fairly neat and organized, ok, most people’s and a few of us, i won’t mention any names, don’t worry, had a working area of less than a foot on a ten foot table. yeah! i need to be able to see ALL of my stuff to know what i want to use.

so lexi is preggers, the cutest pregnant woman of all times, like a super model, and jenny neutron star is gorgeous! so cute and so nice and knowledgeable, and not in a snotty way, in a “you can do this no problem” kind of way, and so was lexi. we have a similar taste in colors and textures…the more the better, really. and they came from california, flew into baltimore and had to drive into camp. sigh. i feel for the ladies.

reenie and angela were so wonderful! i was super tired, as usual and angela tried to get me to stay at her house. by sunday her shoulders were killing her and she looked like she may drop over at any moment, maybe due to a nice ole pain pill..i know that look, woman! but i could tell that she had overdone it a bit, so hopefully she is able to relax a bit today. oh, wait, halloween? and kids? i doubt it. sorry lady. and reenie is a giggly maniac. always smiling, a sweetie. and the husbands rocked! really nice. in fact, when i abuse my drumcarder, the whole table lifted up, my table at home weighs a ton so it doesn’t move, but reenie’s hubby helped hold my table down. nice!

oh…whilst i was gone, bonnie sent me some gorgeous rowan big wool and a mystery white yarn? what is it, what is it? thanks boo!

and…fishie was having that problem last week where he looked like he was dead, laying on his side and then swam around if i touched him, so i brought him upstairs and put a heater near him, i thought he may have been too cold? anyway, this morning, he is doing it again, he can’t stay vertical unless he keeps moving. he seems all freaked out. poor fishy. i wish i could do something for him. i petted him with my finger a bit, but i dunno if that really makes him feel better. probably not. anyway, send out good wishes to fishy jojo.

ok..i gotta get up and go to my dr’s appt…but there will be more later…

i missed you all.
loads and loads.
just wait and see the amazing stuff i will be making!
xo,
n.

h is for horse
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i overdid it a bit today. i packed all the fiber up and jake put it in the car, gassed the car, put air in the tires, new wipers, etc. he loves me. it is nice to have someone that is proud of you and loves the hell out of you no matter what. so, i have a bit more clothes pacing to do and then i can get going.

jacey and i will meet at the hotel and go to the largest spinning store in the universe. i am excited to try other wheels, because mine doesn’t meet my needs anymore. but anyone looking for a wheel, let me know, i am hoping to upgrade soon. and really, if you don’t plan to spin several hours a day everyday, it will work just fine.

so that is about all. i left a scarf behind when i was at the restaurant with my parents and that scarf was on etsy, unbeknownst to me, cause i am airheaded, and it sold. the next day. i gave my friend amy the only other one because i knew she like it a lot and i cannot get anymore of that particular hand dyed and spun yarn, it was a small batch, a few skeins maybe. i do not know what to do. any ideas?

i am really tired, and hopefully will sleep. i am always afraid that my alarm won’t go off, so don’t sleep at all. i may take another shower to knock me out. amy, if you read this and aren’t busy, call me at 9.30….

i will try to blog from camp, maybe jacey and i will send pictures….you will have to wait and see…

i will miss you, but us spinning grrrls will be having a load of fun. hopefully i won’t be sleeping in my car outside. we will see.

love ya!
n.

vampire peeps!
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i have not yet packed for camp. my idea, is to just put lids on all the giant containers of fiber and fluffy bits and take em. take it all. i may need to get a trailer. that is my problem with any sort of travel, anywhere more than 15 minutes away, i have to get all of my meds, including things i might need, and if i don’t take them, will need for sure. like the time i went to pdx to visit john and got a raging kidney infection. that rocked! and i had antibiotics at home. yeah! that is the best part. now. i bring them with. so i pack all that and a hundred pairs of underpants and crazy shoes that i can’t wear for the event and all sorts of outfits that i hate and start freaking that i don’t want to go anywhere.

furthermore, i have nothing on the sticks as they say(knitting projects to you 2 non-knitter readers out there…jason!) and that stresses me, i then bring all manner of yarn, just in case, i get nervous so i have something to keep my hands busy so i won’t pick my butt or something. it could happen, right?

normally i can’t sleep, so i will make sure everything is packed in the morn. one of those things being halloween appropriate gear, including my several pairs of halloween underpants. a must have. and make sure you check old navy for em, they always have really good ones. goth. my favorites are the orange skull ones.

what about a tour de france on a unicycle? that i would watch!

er…oh, my secret pal pgh sent me a really sweet card and a copy of rebecca mag! she is so nice! and i realize what a crap secret pal i am. my regular secret pal is suffering the most, although she never blogs, so i think she is super busy with her doctoral stuff, i have gotten her a good stash of candy waiting, including everyone’s favorite, especially jake, pocky! although they chocolate is gross. the japanese aren’t known for their fine chocolates. maybe why they aren’t fat arses like us americans. a theory? you can only eat so much pocky. i should get that tattooed on my throat.

my mom’s ex-neighbor, rosa called me today and i love the woman. we are kindred spirits, i reckon. she said that she would like to help me deal with my emotional pain and that she thought that my illnesses are made worse because of it, and i totally agree. i am not terribly meditative, i get a bit freaked out, cause, well, there are monsters in there! it is dark! and scary! but i don’t want to be bitter and twisted, as my mom would say and i will do my best to be ok with myself and others. so. oh, and my mom never mentioned to her that i have a fiber business and knit, and rosa is a “bit of a knitter” in her own words and has a loom! what?! how did i not know this? she said she would visit me next week to check out my yarns. how flattering? very flattering.

what else? well!! amy came over for a bit and i messed around with sending in my artwork for the stamps for my labels, etc, and they will soon be on their way! labels! yeah! luxe! fancy shmancy! and, i have a minor change on my business cards, i realized that i need to get a po box and take my address off of everything to avoid being murdered for my yarn stash. god knows there is no money to steal. *note to stalkers….no money here….no, seriously, and don’t mess with my yarn, either. so they should be ready to go for the crafty ordeal! yeah! fingers crossed.

i need to get the kits spun and packaged, jacey said hers do really well, so i need to go back to the idea and get it done already! she is doing hats based on philosophers, so go check her site out…well, not right now, but when you are done here… goddamn! i have had people tell me that they would be more likely to buy a kit than just yarn. although i will have worsted hand dyed yarn for the more lacey sorts of knitters.

ok, i think that is all…oh, also, i won a cotton boucle on ebay to dye, although it is unbleached and is really pretty as is. i got ironstone yarn like it before, like identical, but i think it was much more expensive. i hope so, anyway.

ok, this may be it for the weekend. unless jacey and i blog from camp like the nerds that we are.

lastly, i feel much much better, and angela from material whirled said that maybe is was all the good wishes you all were sending me, and i think maybe it was. i think no one should want to even talk to me when i have the black cloud hanging over me and you still want to. warts and all. it makes me feel really loved. and it means a lot to me. so thanks. and i feel not too bad. a bit tired, but i can deal with it. and that is fine with me.

and for those of you in the harrisburg area, you may want to stay indoors this weekend. cause more than a dozen really wild spinners are coming your way. and we don’t get out much. and we don’t get around each other much, at all…so beware! of the muffin! jason!

xoxo,
n.

proof of blood
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

so, just a quickie…i am really tired and have a headache so i am going to chill out, but i have missed you, and feel so guilty for missing a day….

i went for blood work today and my favorite phlebotomist always gives me this bunny bandage, well probably to everyone, and i always think it is really cute. she is very gentle, also. she told me that she used to be an avon lady and people asked her to rearrange their furniture for them and she did and became a decorator, but living rooms only. she said she had no interest in any other rooms. hm.

i got my hair done, which is good, because i needed it, and badly. most importantly, after feeling really poorly and not being able to even get out of bed, i woke up this morning feeling pretty damn good. i am afraid to say it out loud. afraid! anyway, i will blog to-morrow. there are new photos on my flickr if you want to check it out…go! now!

i have missed you, and i appreciate that you come back even when i am depressed and have nothing to show you….

xo,
n.

a roving we will go!
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

the headache. again. tired, still. i got groceries and got some jeans on sale cause i have none that fit my robust ass. well, now i do.

i am trying to figure out the logistics of toting my wheel to camp on the train, still. i get so stressed like a big nerd.

what else did i do today? nothing. i made some bread machine bread. and. nothing. i didn’t get my bloodwork done because…i am afraid to find out that something else is wrong. i am so tired all of the time. and i don’t know that i have been this consistently tired for this long before. and it scares the shit out of me. i have always felt in my heart that i exaggerate, that i could push harder, do more, but it isn’t true. i really can’t do more. did i say that it scares the fuck out of me? anyway, i will get it done on wednesday. i promised jake. i promise. maybe i have bullshititis or something like that. although i hear it is incurable.

so, i did get batteries for the camera today and will take photos of the thrift store and antique store haul plus yarn, so hold your horses and check back to-morrow. okay?

and to those of you competing with me for han solo…well…i made a pretty good princess lea everyday for months as a preschooler, so back up!

smoooooooch. and hug!
n.

why couldn’t i be han solo? is that even an option? dunno. when i was a kid, like less than 5, oh my, i thought han was so hot. he had those thigh holsters and that bad attitude! oooh! my preschool self could not bear it. oooh my! who else? well, the fonz of course. he could hit the jukebox and it played…and mork. ooooh more. i was a really strange little girl, i think. i wanted to be an artist, and a singer, like marie, as in donnie and marie. i was in bands, etc when i was in highschool and into college, and actually, my high school art teacher told my mom that i should pursue music because i sucked at art. amazing, huh? and she was a hippy who painted her house to look like the inside of a pirate ship, portholes and mermaids. she was a loony and still said something like that. and frankly, i think my stuff was maybe a bit strange and morbid, but it wasn’t bad for a teenager. what did she want from me? and as you all see, i didn’t end up in a career that had anything to do with art. not tattooing, not fine art, not anything like that. you see? i am a financial analyst. she was totally right. and my nerves are so bad, i was so horrible in bands, i got so stressed before any sort of performance that i would think i was going to puke all over myself. and then by fine when it was over. and it never got better. i have nerves of noodle. you know?

so. today, we were supposed to go to the in-laws for a bit. i was so tired that jake went without me. i had a coffee and woke up a bit and spun two skeins! really pretty, i will post em to-morrow, the batteries are dead in the camera…one is spun from dyed locks, and it is gorgeous. i would love to knit it up, maybe i can make a scarf to sell at handmade arcade? anyway…i tried to prep more fiber but was too tired to stand there and work the carder. i get dizzy and sweaty. egads. but i felt really good that i got some spinning done. also, i dropped hats off at the kids boutique, but bobbie wasn’t there…did i tell you that already? she had only sold one of the other hats, so i dunno how well they will go. and i fear having a ton of hats to do nothing with. i will give everyone little kids’ hats for xmas. and birthdays. hey amy! got you 3 baby hats for your bday. yeah! at least i could afford that. you know?

i looked around for some display stuff for handmade arcade and found some cool things on ebay. i am not sure how to display the yarn to get the most bang for my buck. i know last year it was so crowded that it is really hard to see what is on the table. i found a life-sized wire dress form. when i have cash, i must get it. also, a hat display that is wire. pretty cool.

i frogged the ballet top. did i say that already? my memory. ah. anyway, all the stitch markers moved on account of the loose stitches and everything was off. and i didn’t like the yarn either. so i may get something else that looks more industrial and make it yet again.

i have decided that i am going to need to trade my wheel up for something that fits my needs better. my wheel makes my legs and feet hurt among other things. i had no way of knowing that i would spin for hours at a time and had i known more about wheels and what is what, i would have chosen differently. but what can you do? i am thinking of getting a country spinner, bad name, yes, from ashford, because it has a gigantic orifice, that sounds so gross, and has giant bobbins that hold up to….2 lbs!!! of yarn and has multiple speeds and is double treadle. the other ashfords are convertible also, but if anyone has any advice for me, let me know. i found a place that may let me trade up and pay the difference. and that would be the best case scenario. i just need to find out if this wheel is not good for anything else or something and i will screw myself again. it may be a wheel for one of those lucky gals who get to have a bunch of wheels. you know? did i say 2 lbs of yarn? whoah! badass! although i would like a traveller, so i could put it in a big bag.

ok. i didn’t nap today, although i felt really tired and had a headache most of the day. jake is super exhausted and my stomach has been in bad shape, so maybe this is the flu? i hope. ok. i think that is really all.

oh, lastly, my friend is splitting from her husband. it is overdue. she has been living a life that makes her unhappy, she is a very smart literate social person and he is more into partying and watching sports. not that one is better than the other. well, i don’t really believe that, but anyway, when i met her, we had an instant connection, like i always wanted to have with a friend when i was a girl, and we have had a bond ever since. i realize that i was oddly jealous and overly protective with her and other people, my friend gabe, who she wanted to hang out with and i went psycho on her i got so mad. i realize in retrospect that i was being possessive of both of them. i hate that i am like that at all. thankfully my husband goes out of his way not to ever make me jealous, cause i am psycho. anyway, i know that this will be the making of her. she will get to do things she has always wanted to do. be what she has always wanted to be. she was always a bit embarrassed but tried to act like she wasn’t when she had to watch football and wasn’t allowed to talk during the game, etc. anyway, she asked if i would take a trip with her, and i would go anywhere, if i can afford it anyway, but, she doesn’t read blogs, so this is wasted…but heather…i looove you dearly, you are my soul sister and this will be great for you. i promise.

i must get caught up on emails…forgive me if i owe you a package or an email or a phonecall. i only have a small amount of energy. i am doing my best.

thanks for your comments and concern everyone. it makes me feel really good.
xo
n.

You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people… But sometimes you scare yourself.

natasha needs…googled…
Natasha needs her full set of shots, and may need to be spayed yet, so she won’t be available for some time.
the rest were kind of crappy.

54724_frt
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

where have i been, you ask? well. sleeping, really. i have been hit hard with my poopedness and have been sleeping like a narcoleptic. it is insane. so i have gotten literally nothing done, although i made the ballet t from teva durham, all my stitch markers didn’t do their jobs and moved underneath stitches, so i pulled the whole sweater out. i kind of want to make it again, but with something that looks like sticks. or something. i am not sure yet.

i didn’t go to the spinning guild, or stitchnbitch, or out of the house. yeah. sleeping. er. on the upside, cheryl called looking for me and i thought that was really nice. and i hear that heather came, also. yay!

i went over to anthropologie’s website at a friend’s urging, and was really surprised at all of the pretty knitted things. gave me some ideas. the scarf over here is really pretty…

nothing else to report. i have camp pluckyfluff this coming weekend and if i can’t find an alternative way, it looks like i will have to leave early on sunday, due to when my train leaves. also, i don’t have a bag for my wheel and i don’t know how i will transport it. so that is an issue, also. i have all this stuff to take and i worry about these things. i get worried about being away from home and getting sick, and i hate it. i have a good time normally when i go, unless, of course, i get sick. which does happen a fair amount. on the upside, class on saturday is longer than sunday, and we will be hanging out on friday i think and then sunday is mostly show and tell i think. we will see how it works out. there is a lady from pittsburgh there who didn’t seem too interested in having anything to do with me at all. i had asked if she wanted to carpool and they are going early and camping, so that wasn’t a possibility, but maybe i can hitch a ride home with her or something? not sure. or just leave early. i will probably be completely exhausted by sunday anyway. i haven’t spun at all in days and days.

oh, i have sold a few more things and i am trading a vintage top for a skirt that i have been wanting forever, and i am so excited! for those of you who i owe yarn for winnings, i will send them, i am just trying to figure out what the pattern is and what to send that would be comparable to what i will be making for the arcade. you know?

we are having lunch containing breakfast items at my in-laws today, so that will be fun. everytime we are supposed to get together i get sick. so, fingers crossed.

xo,
n.

grumpy1
Originally uploaded by ElisabethD.

check out this chica’s stuff on flickr. and she sells it, too.

fiber friday oct 14th
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

well. i was super tired again. amy came over for a bit and i was baaad company (like a sheep), yawning and sniffing. so she left, i was supposed to go to a goodbye dinner pretty much as soon as jakie came home. so, we got there and it was nice and then it wasn’t. i will leave it at that. i was crying, said a rushed goodbyes and ran out. it is a good thing that i wore my green 4 inch heeled boots. i at least felt like that may have taken the attention away from my blubbering as i ran out of the restaurant. wait, didn’t i tell you it was at a restaurant? yeah, nice, eh. anyway, i will leave it at that. i sobbed in the shower, really the best place for it, all things considered, snot and tears, etc. you know? it feels so right to cry in the shower. or bath. whichever. so, i first i had that strange emptiness that feels sort of like hunger, and now the headache. and i didn’t have it for a bit. maybe this is just a freak out headache and it will go away. i am ok. i am. ok. i am. am i? i am. i am! ok?

in knitting news, i decided to make something other than a hat, and for myself. i somehow missed the fact that the ballet t from loopdloop was knitted on fatty needles, and when i realized that, from someone else’s blog, i thought i could dig around in my stash and make it. it is like a simple tivoli. i should have done that first, instead of spending all that time and a not perfect tivoli. so, instead of the recommended yarn, i am using some koolwool in an olive green that i got way on sale at jojo’s a long time ago. planned to make baby stuff. and then, of course that will not be enough for the pattern, so i will then use some really dark green berrocco stuff that i swear is exactly the same, just 3 times as expensive for the bottom. unless i find more of that other stuff. if it comes out cute, i may make another. so far it is easy and fun to do. thanks grumps! it wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you! i would like to experiment with some other tops to wear as layered pieces. i wish i could sew! lordy! and not just sew, but be super good. you all know that i am not into being crappy or mediocre at stuff. although, i see other peeps that have knitted as long as me and are total rockstars. i feel like i can do most things that i tackle, not socks, i can turn the heel but not attach it to the rest of the damn sock. and i have too much to do to mess with socks at the mo. although i think it would be an awesome christmas gift for lots of peep that i love. how many people have had socks made exactly for them? not many. not me, anyway. but they would have to keep telling me how awesome they are. over and over. i am like that. it’s good, right? really good, or just good? better than usual right? you love em? super duper? i make stuff for people and in most cases, it disappears. you know? although, amy wore a scarf i gave her, and it looked gorgeous and also was knitting up the yarn she dyed and i spun for her. she even added another yarn to it! so fancy! that amy, she is a little craftster. yes she is!

also, i had a pattern from a book for a stuffed animule, i altered it and wanted to make it a cat and felted some thrift sweaters and cut them out and sewed them and first, the head looks like a peanut…a peanut version of piglet with a giant body. and i didn’t write the damn pattern! so i need to make a different head, that doesn’t look like a mongoloid. i think it may be cute though. the sweater idea could work out nicely. and i saved all the bits for spinning camp, which i finally paid for…JACEY! i just need my list of stuff that i need to dye before i go. i am taking the train, which is faster than driving, so that will be cool. i think i said that already.

ok…i am drained, but now, additionally, my heart has been kind of crumpled up, and i start to wonder, how much does it ever repair itself? or does it just get kind of used to working that way, all dinged up. when i came home, i got loads of jakie love and loads of kitty love. they don’t see me in a state like that often (anymore) and mew and rub and worry. i so appreciate the love. and all of your love, too. it makes you interesting, you know? like the phantom of the opera. or freddy kruger. right? or like seal…

p.s. anyone have a ringside cd or tom mcrae? anyone? boo?

pps. i apologize for the lack of contests lately, i have been a bit overwhelmed. i am hoping to make some stuff for the sampler and am open to suggestions. winning suggestions will get one of those items. how’s that? aw yeah! it could be a little embroidered or sewn doll or toy or pincuision, or something with yarn, or whatever. i like functional stuff that is cute, so people keep em around, you know?

ppps i got this urineoff spray stuff that doesn’t smell really like anything, but eats the stuff that makes up pee…cat pee or otherwise, and i think most organic substances, and i put it in the places that are stinky and everyone but me said that they think it smells good. i think it smells better for sure, but i smell it everywhere at this stage in my life, you know? but they say it can take a couple of weeks to really finish eating the stuff, so it is working full time. and it doesn’t smell gross. it was expensive though, but i love peeps. she is a force to be reckoned with and i relate to her. i know i have said this before…but she is so think skinned, yet so bad and quick to pay you back or whatever and she is always hurt. really really hurt. jealous…just like me. but inside. she is the most kind, loyal, loving animal. she love me so muchi cann’ttype aynmore, medicaine tells me to sleep now. and tomorrow i will be amazing. again. i have taken a step away from another had oart of me

i love yo
nn