Archive for November, 2005

natasha van winkle

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

11.28
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

what did i do today? well…i had a whopper of a migraine last night, but forced myself not to do anything…ok, i carded some fiber, but that was all for the eve…i wake up at like 6a…headache…go sort of back to sleep until 10a…get up, shower, talk to jake on the phone, fall back to sleep until after 3p…make really good chili with pintos and black beans for supper, eat some supper, and then what? what? i fall a-freaking-sleep until after 8. again. jesus. i guess i was tired. or something. i hate that. i had tons of stuff to do. i needed to spin, and dye, but i will do some tonite and to-morrow.

i went to get some merino to dye a few batches and had only maybe 4 oz left. out of 8 lbs i think. that is a lot of fibre. so, it was really exciting that i had gone through that much fiber. i made two orders which i hope will come soon. but exciting!

i have nothing else to tell you, unless i tell you my nightmares, because i did nothing today. nothing. egads!

i have been selling yarn as fast as i can make it on etsy, plus some custom things that i need to do. so that is really exciting. this will sound obnoxious, but let’s face it, everyone thinks i am obnoxious already, but i love the yarn i have been making. i love to spin it, to pick the colors and fibers when i am carding it, and decide what it should look like when i ply it. i love it. i would buy it. if i had any money. which i kind of don’t. it is a good thing i am not counting on me to buy my yarn, you know? i am a cheapskate. i would see it and say, “i could make that for way cheaper.”

my friend gabe has a blog with his paintings and drawerings on it for sale, or to look at, and while the photos don’t do them justice, they are still gorgeous, so go check it outand buy some pretty christmas presents! i don’t get a cut, i swear!

can you believe i am tired? i actually don’t feel like i slept all day. that lupus…insatiable. you know?

xo,
n.

monday 11:55p

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

11.28
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

whoa! i had a strange day. i ran the necessary errands and started to feel bitchy, out of sorts, smelling strange things. by the time i got back, i felt downright unwell. and by about dinner time i had a migraine on the stove. so i had planned to spin and knit, but rather did nothing but lay about, which drives me nutso, even though i know i will get really sick if i don’t. i am going to try to sleep early, so i can get stuff done to-morrow. i carded a few batts and tried to do the logistics on changing the orifice and flyer on my wheel…so if anyone knows a good woodworker, please let me know…so that excited me, and i got up to try to do some fiber stuff…quick…and sickness just overcame. as it usually will.

on the craft show “that’s clever” there was a man that made incredible furniture that lived in greensburg and that was really cool.

so i feel that if i can change the aperture of my wheel without too much expense, i may be able to hold off on getting another for a good while. you know how i am about having stuff that i think i don’t need. the thing that sucks is that the lendrum comes with stuff like a high speed whorl and bobbins that i will have no use for, so that kind of sucks. what do i want em for? nothing. so i wish you could pick exactly what you want. oh well, we will see.the gals were talking at camp about the wooly winder which comes standard on the lendrum wheel, but you can have made, or buy for your own type of wheel…if i can make this think, well, i can get one as is, but if i could alter it;s orifice, it woul be perfection. and then find a way to make loads of bobbins that would fit it. awesome. please send your woodworking friends my way. i need em. unless the wooly people will alter it for me. which i doubt. although i know some of you who have louets and want to do bulky stuff would be in like flynn. gosh, i feel high on migraine meds. it is an odd feel. like i am a ghost between worlds.

i had a good chat with gabe today, i am hoping he will take me up on my offer to help him set up an etsy store and do some other things to get his name out there….i hate pushy people, so i really try my best to keep my pushiness to a minimum. we jews are just pushy people…i think boo would agree.

ok…i am getting super duper looper. i mean loopy. so this may all look different to-morrow.

the yarn in the photo has supercoils and sequins, my thing of the moment, although there are some other supa cool things in the works….just stick with me. all the cool kids are doing. well, i am anyway.

i have posted around about the llama and some other fibers i have that aren’t very soft, and as you know, i am all about soft…and i am talking a few pounds. so if you are interested in them, and would want to trade me somethng cute for them…whatever…please email me…

also, sarah(puppy momma), if you got your package please email me….also jade-you mermaid gal…email me if you got yours…i worry about these things. one of my secret pals that i give stuff to hasn’t told me she got it, so i worry that a semi expensive package is in who knows where. and then, on that note, i cannot find the email addresses of my secret pals, so cannot let them know that i got their rocking presents. so so good. one had fiber in it, and notepads and all sorts of goodnesss. the other had a great yankee candle co pie warmer thing that smells yummmy(say it in a high voice) i need to find a place where cats won’t be burst into flames. i have been using electric candle warmers that are cheap and i don’t have to worry about a cat on fire. this one is very cool though. maybe take it out when guests come.

oh, also, i have the receptionist at my drs office a skein of yarn i spun when i was first learning because she is just learning to knit and she embroidered me this little picture of snowman with a little purple scarf like the yarn i got her…and she embroidered it herself. it was such a nice thought. so sweet. it means a lot to me that people think of me. i guess it is just best for them that they don’t get to know me. my expectations are too high. i am not perfect, but i am vocal. if i am unhappy, i will tell you why. maybe not in a nice way, either. and then…i sometimes realize that nothing will change by trying to talk things out, that it isn’t fair to make someone feel terrible. if they don’t want to change…that is their life. they want to see bad in others rather than themselves…what can you do? if they would never be honest…with anyone…including themselves, where do you go from there? what is the point of talking? i think that lots of people would benefit from therapy and lots would benefit from medicine. i think their depression becomes a part of life to them. everything sucks. everything. all the time. and it is hard to listen to. granted, i am a big complainer. but i try to not talk to anyone when i am really bad. to stay alone. we all gossip, if you say you don’t, you are a boldfaced liar…but for some people, the say nothing nice about anyone. only mean. about people they like. i would tell anyone anything i say without them present if they asked me. the only reason i don’t, is that i don’t want to unnecessarily hurt their feelings. but some people act nice as pie to people’s face, act like another person, in fact and then turn around and talk to me like i am irritating. lame. i know i can be blunt. rude. thoughtless. and as i have gotten older, is has gotten better(believe it or not) but i also clam up when a situation is so screwed up that there seems like nothing to do but leave it alone. some people manipulate and lie and try to make their relationships seem better than they are to hurt feelings…that is the ultimate sin to me. you don’t screw with people. whatever your reason. i don’t want to play games with my friends. or my husband, or anyone. if i care about you, i do, and i will do my best to do what a loved one should do. i won’t ignore you if your “other” friends are around. i won’t leave you hanging, but keep you on the backburner, in case something better comes through. that is not how you treat your friends. that is someone who just needs something to do. that is selfish. i ramble. i have been rather solitary lately. unsure of what is really going on. who to trust. what to think. but i guess, you have to accept people for who they are, that is all you can do. in cases where they are who the are with at the moment…i dunno if i can do any of that at all. i am too old for that nonsense. too busy. i hope these people see their shortcomings, and how it can do nothing but separate them from the world, and from genuine relationships…therapy, or antidepressants, or exercise or whatever may help…but as was once set, a life unexamined, is no life at all. i am trying on my side to be a better artist, better spinner, better wife, friend, better me. i try to give my all until the life starts being drained out of me, by people who live their lives vicariously over other people. rather than be the person that they wish they were. why not try new things? why be afraid of everything all the time? why not try telling people what you are thinking or how you feel genuinely. phonies are easily spotted and never liked. you have a 50/50 chance with the real you. why not be you? not someone that makes fun of everyone who you deem “less cool” than yourself. why not get to know them and decide then? you wouldn’t let someone else tell you what you like to eat, would you?
ok. super sleepy. super sleep super sleep she’s super sleepy…yow! she’s a very sleepy girl….

ok, i am sure i will regret this to-morrow…i have to go…but my last thing here…is be everything you want to be. be great. think that you rock! it is just as easy as thinking you suck. i really like myself. problems and all. i find that loads of people i really admire seem to really like me. and i admire myself. i work hard. push hard to move forward. fight through feeling unwell most days. but that is ok. that is me. and i am pretty good. why aren’t you? why are you? go get strong. do that and come back. i am sure we will have plenty to talk about.

wanna try something new? try it. don’t be embarrassed. be proud that you are so bold. who cares? no one but you. do everything you want to do. and more. as nike always says. just do it.

i must just try to go to sleep.
love you all…you are the bestest

*edit : whoa! i am an emotional migrainer, huh? i fell asleep around 2, i think, and woke up at 6. i am actually getting tired again. this awesome girl bought up all the yarn on etsy and then commissioned me for some mohair. minutes after punk rock princess yarn sold, someone emailed asking about it. i had a similar one, she was interested in more stuff, but after doing the boutique and leaving yarn at the squirrel hill knit and bead…which is for sale, btw..and all the etsy stuff i sold at once, .i have not much yarn, and i still have to finish spinning the kits…but it is cool. i don’t even have my site up, yet, and although i am broke, due to needing to transfer money to the bank…but i am excited. people seem to really love my yarn, even when they see it in a photo, rather than in person. i try my best to make it look pretty. i have improved sooo much in the last month. it is insane when i see my old yarns. they were pretty. but now? wow. they stand on their own. no explanation needed as to why this or that looks goofy, or worrying that it may break when someone is knitting with it.

ok, sleepy, and it is raining and warm enough for the window to be open and the sound of rain is my favorite in the world. and the smell.

more later. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

50 degrees? really?

Monday, November 28th, 2005

yarny pants
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

yeah, really. it is gorgeous out. ok, not really gorgeous, but not cold and that is good enough for me.

we got groceries today and went to target and i realized how lame target is. just not really that good.

i dyed a few batches of yarn, including 4 skeins of undyed yarn, silk and merino blends in teal, that are gorgeous, and a superwash merino skein as well. i may try to do a few more to-morrow. i will probably spin the fiber to-morrow and i will post photos. i cannot wait to spin it…kid mohair, merino, baby alpaca, silk…and i dyed some of that firestar stuff, also…in teal and an apricot and dirty pink. mmmm dirty pink.

i was feeling bummed out and stressed about the orders and jake got out of bed and went up the street to the custard stand and got this banana cream pie blizzard type thing for me to cheer me up. yes he did. unreal. too sweet.

that is really all. i am praying that pavel lets me sleep tonite. we will see.

um…if my secret pals-pittsburgh and otherwise read this…please email me…i cannot find your email addresses anywhere and have gotten wonderful packages from both of you…i feel like a dunce. so sorry for the no email…

smooooochies!
n.

yarn update…yay!…head on over tomy store

Sunday, November 27th, 2005

yarn update…
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

gorgeous felted scarves and such check er out…really pretty stuff that i found on sallysays blog…and also
niiiece checkem.

otherwise, just have been holed up working. i got a decent amount done, while my sweet husband did a million baskets of laundry. a bit less, not by much though. and yet, he still loves me. he even washed my dyeing overalls that i don’t ever wash unless something “gross” gets on them. he washed them. they are gross enough that i think i need to look for some other ones that may look a bit better. or something. whatever works…

i haven’t really been talking to anyone, other than jake and heather and gabe here and there, because, mostly, they catch me at the right moment. and butter also.

i am awaiting some fiber, if the guy didn’t lie like usual, it is coming in the next few days. and i need it. now. kinda now. really. i was commissioned to spin a few hundy yards of mohair yarn. fun! i have been pretty productive, i guess, and the etsy store is doing well.

ok, i am super tired, this is some of the yarn i just posted, i have a 220 y skein of worsted weight merino, soft and nice in all different shades of blue, green aqua, really pretty…and i have a 880 y skein in the same colors, but laceweight is there too, among other things. and some crazy sooooper bulky llama yarn. i will try to update two or three new things a few times a week and wiill start announcing it. if you would like to be emailed of the updates, please email me, so you don’t miss out on what you want….

sleeeepy…
xo,
n.

*edit-if anyone read this before 10 am when i corrected all the nonsensical sentences and spelling errors, i apologize. i am sure you can tell i was super tired. how embarrassing.

freaky friday.

Saturday, November 26th, 2005

yarny pants
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

not really. i just said that. i spun and plyed 2 biiig skeins of yarn, took photos, so go check out my flickr account to see more…and sold a bunch of yarn on etsy…so that really rocked! yeah! the yarns i made were for sugar and are luxe indeed. i dyed two big betches of merino/baby alpaca/silk/kid mohair and then blended them with sparkle in the drumcarders and they are so lofty and soft. yumm-o! i knitted up another scarf and need to work on the skeins for the knit kits. and then for my shop. so.

totally nothing else. jake worked today and didn’t get home until after 4, poor lamb, by which time i had just sat down to knit the scarf. which is gorgeous. so pretty. the yarn has sequins in it. ooh la la. i say.

pavel has been hell on paws in the mornings lately, getting on a fight with kahlo, on top of my face while i was sleeping, and laying behind my pillow and smacking my face and running around to and fro. and so much more. we thought he had grown out of it. nope. he is awake. you are not. you are now. he also started biting my feet whenever he can. bless his evil kitten heart. he looks angelic when he sleeps though. with his flushed pink nose.

so, more spinning to-morrow and some dyeing as well. i need to take them to her on tuesday…so back to work!

oh, also we watched envy with ben stiller and jack black and it was a really cute movie. so…just be frickin honest to your friends, no one likes a liar. you know? if you accidentally killed my horse, just tell me.

night night.
smooooooch.
n.

i am the captain…

Friday, November 25th, 2005
You scored as Capt. Mal Reynolds. The Captain. You are the captain of the ship, so the crew are your responsibility. You just want to do the job, get paid and keep flying. Why is that always so hard?

Capt. Mal Reynolds

94%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

94%

Simon Tam

88%

River Tam

81%

The Operative

75%

Inara Serra

75%

Shepherd Derrial Book

56%

Jayne Cobb

44%

Hoban 'Wash' Washburne

38%

Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye

31%

Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

lots of spinning and dyeing and maybe knitting to do today…my hands and arms are killing me again, so wish me luck…photos later….

ewwwww!! green poop!

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

so, i am sure that we have all experienced this phenomena at some point in our lives…but…well….here it is….

papa bear? is that you?

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

so today i got my skeinwinder, it is the papa bear. i thought that the mama bear would be too small, and this one is gigantor. one one of the smallest pegs, the skein is 6ft. on the small ones. so, as you can see from the picture….it is so ginormous that i have to clear the middle of the room and use it on the floor. so i will see if i can exchange it for the mama bear. it works well, though. i had gotten a bunch of thread on ebay a while back and it came in skeins rather than on a spool, which is ridiculous because it is THREAD, anyway, i thought i would wait until i got a swift and try to wind it and it was a disaster which took most of my afternoon. so i emailed the lady, whose store appears to be gone.

last night i dyed some yarn, which came out really pretty. as seen in the photo…
the one yarn is silk and alpaca, the other is some wool, i think superwash from the feel of it, that boo sent me in my birfday package…that is the less smooth looking of the two..they were in the same batch and look how different they are! i have dyed silk in the same batch as wool, and it is amazing how different the color is. i was in a deep funk last night and thought the yarn was ugly, there is some blue greeny stuff, as well, that i will photo when it is dry…and it all is really pretty. i need to start doing dyeing on spun yarn more often, it is so fun and easy. yeah!

i cleaned up the studio and organized stuff a bit and spun two skeins of yarn, so that is something. it hasn’t been vacuumed in ages, and all the fiber on the floor looks like it is furry. gross!

i was knitting late last night and my bedside light just went out. so i guessed it was time to go to sleep. i need to figure out what colors the kits for sugar should be. any suggestions? she likes sherbety colors with jewel tones. i need to find one of those thingys…um…


so, i will leave you with a photo of pavel jojo fake sleeping for the photo. his pink nose and his pads get flushed when he runs around or is sleeping and it is so damn cute. i tried not to think he was so cute, but he just is. and he loves his papa. and he has been hanging out with the other cats, coyly, like he didn’t notice that he was sleeping with his head on their hip. you know how boys are. he is such a boy. no kisses, no hugs, except when the cleaning lady vacuums or he is sleepy.

have a good thanksgiving…eat loads of pie for me. and i will eat loads of pie for myself, as well.
xo,
n.

crunch crunch crunch. sigh.

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005

shag baby!
Originally uploaded by natashafialkov.

i was up most of the night. pavel was bored. and that is not a good thing. he dragged all of his toys onto the bed, messed with jake whilst he was sleeping, messed with me, bit my feet, he loves to bite my feet, pavel, not jake, he messed with the other cats, and then chewed on anything noisy in the room. so, not much in the sleep department. so, woke up refreshed and energized.

i packed up orders and long overdue secret pal packages. went to the post office. almost 2 hours later, i got back home. i don’t know how i do it, but the time seems like it evaporates. you know?

i dyed a few batches of fiber, and then two batches of yarn. i also knitted one of the scarves for sugar, i need to fringe it still. molly knitted up really well…i will take photos to-morrow if the light is ok.

so, i am in a mood. i ache. i am tired. grumpy. i don’t know what the deal is. i am not sure if something is going to happen, or what, as many of you know, i feel very detached from my body and my emotions, most of the time, anyway, i don’t know what is going on. pms? nope. no clue. i just feel down. i feel unproductive, even though i know that i get as much done as i can. and i am unimpressed with everything i make, at the mo. i want to do some fine art things, but i don’t have time.

so the yarn in the pic, is one that i learned to make at camp. it takes forever, but is really amazing. i made a pink and brown version as well, and some others that i wasn’t as pleased with. i am eager to make a version out of crazy stuff. i made some 4 play super bulky insane llama yarn yesterday, which is like wearing a smelly llama. yuck. looks neat though. and then i used the burgundy llama that i dyed, and put all sorts of tinsel and stuff in there and it looks pretty cool, i guess. i dunno. gold yarn may not do anything for me at the mo. i need to maybe work on some other things, some more of the sweater doll things, or whatever. something.

at butter’s urging, i started eating fruit and some carbs, and i wonder if that is what is making me feel like this. i noticed when i went low carb that i felt better, if i didn’t eat, it wasn’t a big deal. who knows. not me.

off to watch threshold. at least i am not infected with alien dna. or maybe…i am!!! dun dun daaaaa!!!!

i would give smoochies, but i may be infected with alien dna…

n.

now for something completely different….

Monday, November 21st, 2005

clone yourself!rock! must. buy. packing. tape.

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