luxe

pavel says, “what an exciting day!” first i got all the web attention via whipup.net and craftzine.com. then…about a year ago, shortly after i started selling my yarn, i bought jenny dowde’s book about scrumbling (freeform knitting and crochet) i went to her site to check it out and then sent her an email asking her if she would like some of my yarn to play around with. she sent me a really nice email back and i sent her some yarn. i sent it and that was it. a while later, she told me that she was going nuts working on her new book freeformations and that she had used some of my yarns in her new book. she asked if it was okay to put my shop info in there. what? are you kidding? about 2 weeks ago, she sent me an email asking for my snail mail addy to get me a copy of the book. i just got it today and not only did she use my yarn, but one project is striped with my yarn and then a plain yarn and has a huge thing about my and my yarn! i will take a photo of the pages and post it to-morrow. this is my first appearance in a book and i was so excited! i didn’t think i would be, but my cheeks hurt from smiling, i was all giddy and jake was freaking out more than me, i think. so thanks so much jenny! you rock! it isn’t available yet, but will be soon and you can preorder it. it is really a gorgeous book with some really unusual things in it and really clear instructions for those that are a bit scared to do a project sans pattern. ok. i will now shut it. woooot! oops. it slipped.

so, i got a lot of spinning done today and got a bunch more beads done. i am trying to figure out a way to seal and harden the paper without having to use heat. i found porcelinize it!, which would probably work and then, i found this which i think would really work well. i am eager to get some and see how it works. if anyone has any other ideas, please feel free to leave a comment. also, i have been making the beads on a piece of wire about 12 inches long, sealing them on there and then taking them off after. when i use vaseline on the wire to prevent sticking, it slimes up the paper so much that it won’t stick. when i don’t, they stick together. anyone have any ideas? it isn’t a huge problem, because they break apart pretty easily.

i made a bunch of longer beads that i plan to seal and then cut into small beads. i sealed them tonight, i will let you know how well it works out. if it does, it could go a really long way to making a lot of beads in a reasonable amount of time. i also plan to work on some buttons to-morrow.

i was up until late last night doing some wire crochet, which came out really well, again, photos to-morrow. i also did a necklace with copper wire and some paper beads. really pretty. i will post the pattern asap. if anyone has wire crocheted jewelry, or paper beads, or something made out of paper beads, please post a comment or email me and i will make sure to post a link. i am so eager to see what you guys make and if you have any improvements on the method.

i was still up at 2a.m. and jake normally gets up around 2:30a. i decided to make him chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and woke him up with them. of course i made plain ones for myself and put cinnamon sugar on them. my favorite. so yummy! i should have taken photos. i slathered his pancakes in whipped cream and then sprinkled that with mini m and m baking pieces.

i overdid it a bit over the last few days, so i woke up super tired. i got a good bit done once i actually got going. sensio made me a double coffee which really helped. i spun two bulky bobbins of yarn and then another half. so that is good. it is a slight variation on the pink one, with more purple and some golden yellow. really pretty. pics to-morrow. i will try.
this yarn is spun up from one of the spinning batts that i sell on luxe. the batts look ugly, but you just spin it as is and it looks like you did something tricky. they are so fun to spin with. i can also do one in a certain color scheme if you ask, as i said, i am easy. so ask.

if you are new to my blog, please leave me a comment and say hi! i have had about 1000 hits yesterday because of the whipup and craftzine links and about that today, as well. and luxe isn’t doing so badly either. also, if you see a yarn or scarf that you like, let me know, it is probably available but not listed. and i can normally make more. so ask. i am easy that way. ask anyone. that sounded bad, huh?

i just want to say how inspired i have been lately by everyone’s excitement. i have had experiences with the people acting negative and unsupportive. i know that i can be a bit much, i am a bit obsessed (okay, really really obsessed) with whatever i am working on at the moment. i do it until i am sick of it, usually. i get a flood of ideas and i want to try to work on them while i am still into it. actually my pal, lynn, the yarnwench told me that i was obsessed (with paper beads) and i am. i get that way about the thing of the moment and it is how i get a lot done, and quite often it sticks. if it reads a certain way on the blog, it is 100 times that in real life. so i am sure i am overwhelming, but i cannot handle being dismissed or treated like i am annoying. i felt like that most of my life and i won’t deal with it now. i don’t have to. no one should. so. end rant.

i am planning to bake something for our anniversary, although it was yesterday. oh, i need to take photos of the purdy flowers he got me, too. and no carnations. i hate carnations. blech. so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to suggest away. i am thinking a ginger chocolate cake, dense and gooey. no other ideas.

must. make. knits. for. boutique.
ooh, and i get to see a really good pal from college and her adorable boy to-morrow! wooo hooo!

warm fuzzy smoochy poos!
n.

ok! first things first. jake and i have had 3 years of wedded bliss as of today! he is the sweetest, most amazing person i have ever known. and i mean that. we are so different and somehow it works anyway. he is organized and neat, i am…not. ok, that is the biggest difference. he is good with numbers…i mix up numbers and letters. seriously. he never gets mad at me for anything…almost anything, and loves me more than i ever imaged anyone would, or could. and i never knew i could adore someone the way i adore him. if i kiss him will he’s sleeping, he will mutter in his sleepy voice, “i love you baby.” he will act like he doesn’t want the last piece of something until he is sure i don’t want it. he listens to my insane ideas and fears and obsessions. he loves the cats, even when they are bad. he has enabled me to be a professional artist. without him, i don’t know where i would be today. i have never been so loved and felt like i have a home until we got married. he is my family. he is my world. i love you more than you can imagine, jakie.

ok. now. onto some excitement for the day! michelle emailed me with interest in the paper beads. i happened to be working on a tutorial anyway, so i got it done and let her know about it. she put it on whip up! thanks so much michelle! needless to say, my stats, which are never bad, don’t get me wrong, but when i checked them at lunchtime, i had 500 hits for the day. yah! so then, i noticed that i had also been linked on craftzine.com! and i think there might be something else coming up. so. woot! i think i just wooted my own horn.

onto some bead news. i burned the hell out of my fingers and hand whilst using the UTEE. if you are planning to use it in whatever heating pot you have, be careful. it burns worse than hot glue, if that gives you an idea. it is like molten lava. it is hard to control. so. i tried a batch with modpodge instead, i used 2-3 coats. the only issue with that is that it doesn’t get hard like the UTEE, not that you are going to abuse beads that much anyway. ok, so a lot more photos on my flickr. i am eager to actually use some of them. here is a photo that shows some of the paper beads next to amber beads:

here are some photos showing how different the beads look sealed with mod podge rather than the resin:

and the resin:

do i still make yarn, you ask? well, yes. i am trying to do wholesale orders due in the next month, so i haven’t been listing it. there are photos here if you see something you love, please email me and let me know. okay?

thanks for all of them sweet comments and emails! you guys!
xo,
n.

ok, so i have had so many comments and emails about this, i decided to get my act together and do a tutorial. this post was the original one that got the ball rolling, and has loads of pictures, and some other basic tutorials. so check that out.

PAPER BEADS…WHY? this is why i love this project so much…i am cheap. i look at most things and think, “i could make that better and for way less money. and i could add this or try this or do this…” so, as you all know, i am really into crocheting with wire and beads and i realized that beads are really really expensive. nice ones, anyway. and while i may be cheap, i hate cheapo stuff. i saw some paper beads on etsy a while ago. i don’t remember who made them, but they were just paper and glue not sealed or anything. i researched how to make them online, and had seen the idea before. the victorian women would make paper beads out of wallpaper scraps and then would string them to make curtains to separate rooms. it is odd that such uptight people were so very crafty. they did loads of neat stuff. anyway, at this point, i realized that you can use any kind of paper, i think that thinner paper is easier to work with, like origami papers or pages from books, but you can use whatever you like.

you can even take plain paper and stamp them or draw on them or paint or whatever you want. papers with really small details work well because you can see it in the beads, but in a lot of cases, it looks like a pattern…for example, these beads: the one on the left is origami paper, the one on the right is floral patterned thin paper, japanese i think. the more coats of glue, varnish, UTEE or whatever coating on them, the more glassy and glossy they look. if you aren’t using them in a context that they may get wet, you could just leave them dry. totally up to you. i am a nerd for shiny. a crow. i think i am a crow. ok. so. paper. any kind you like.

WHAT NOW? cut the paper into strips. in some of the other tutorials, you can see different shapes to cut them into to make different shaped beads. i use a triangular strip, long and skinny, but you can make it shorter, experiment. i have a rotary paper cutter and that is the easiest way, i think, of cutting the paper. i initially used a heavy duty utility knife and the cutting matte and ruler, but scissors or whatever will work just fine. you could probably even use quilling strips. try to make the cuts as smooth as possible. for a different look, tear the paper and roll it lengthwise for a long skinny bead.

GET YOUR GLUE ON: the directions i found use white glue or decoupage glue…i think it just makes a total mess. i used a UHU glue stick, and later a UHU glue pen because it has a narrow tip, and it worked great. use a good bit so it is sticky enough to stay rolled up. you could use a toothpick with paste or glue, also.

i rolled my beads onto a piece of wire, as you can see from the pic. you want to roll from the wide side, as tightly as you can, ending with the teeny skinny side and make sure that that end is glued down well. i put about a dozen beads per foot long piece of wire. they will come off pretty easily. i tried using wooden skewers coated in vaseline, but the beads stuck to that. no good. so that is it. you could leave them at that point as is,this is what they look like unsealed… or seal them with mod podge, as many coats as you want. or you could paint the beads, add sparkle or ink or whatever you like. at that point, i antique some of my beads, jacquard has really great sparkly pigments that can be put right onto the bead, or, in my favorite way, added to UTEE which is thick embossing powder and then the bead can be rolled in it and heated or heat the utee in a pot and dip your beads in. the more coats of this you put on, the thicker. this stuff is amazing. use different finishes to make the beads look like metal, gems, or pearls, even…these are a bit lumpy and bumpy, but you get the idea. head over to my flickr bead set to see some of the other ones, and new things will be added all the time.
once you are done, you can sand the edges a bit, or sand the whole thing for another look altogether. the options are endless. make small beads that are more plain, or big ones to use as pendents, and make them into any shape. if you wanted to just layer them, you can cut out a form and go from there, or decoupage over something and drill a hole later. so many options! oooh, and photos! you can make a photo bead or pendant. i am going to!

don’t be afraid to try different things. this is inexpensive and fun. anyone can do it, and it is a great project for little kids. for those of us that save every little scrap, this is perfect. i am planning to try yarn and fabric, but keep an open mind and have no fear!
a couple of tips: use either a non-stick cookie sheet or some waxed paper so you don’t get glue and paper and gunk all over your table or whatever you are using. also, if you use the utee, it can burn you, so be careful with it. baby wipes are a great thing to have handy so you can get the glue and smutz off of your fingers in between beads, as well as cooling off your fingers if your drip hot stuff. roll a really long bead and after it is dry, cut it into several smaller beads with a utility knife.

make sure to let me know what you make so i can check them out. i think a flickr paper bead group might be in order, eh?

go crazy with it!
n.

***edit…i used the melting pot today and burned the hell out of myself, so please be careful if you choose to use this method, as opposed to a paint on sealant or mod podge. i am going to do some with the mod podge and will post finished pics. and more bead pics coming soon!

we watched “garden state” on tivo. woah. what a let down. it wasn’t terrible. just…boring. and i think that zak braff’s teeth might be dentures. someone else’s dentures. the soundtrack is really nice, but it was a bit trite. i am so jaded. although, i have seen a lot of movies lately that were great. just not that one. ah well.

we also watched “munich” which was really good. it reminded me in a lot of ways of “cold montain” oddly enough. the statement being that war makes no difference and the people get hurt, while the leadership that started it are warm in their homes unaware of what they are really doing. you cut off a head and two more with even more poison sprout. when the enemy does it they are fanatical, when we get our own boys to do it, they are brave. either way, it isn’t right for them to die, for nothing to change, because it isn’t supposed to. stepping down off of movie-inspired soapbox. down.

we did nothing whatsoever today. i woke up exhausted and slept off and on for a lot of the day. i woke up at 8:30p. so odd. i guess it is the lupus, but still.

i finished the circular cardigan and it looks awful on me. it is too small, i think, as well. my boobs are too big. it is wearable but i feel like a caveman. captain caveman! (on a tangent, one of my friends made herself a swimsuit by adding black fringe all the way around it, she thought that it looked like a flapper outfit, but it made her look much rounder than she was, and i told her she looked like captain caveman, like an arsehole, and hurt her feelings. hugely.)so i think i might sell it. but it has 300 bucks worth of my handspun in it not including all the frickin time it took me to make. i never make any garments i make other than socks. which aren’t a garment. but still. drives me nuts. you never know if it will look nice because you can’t try it on ahead of time, or if it will fit. i might stop making garments for myself for a while. i hate the weight whilst knitting, how hot it is on my lap and then they always look like poo. and that sucks. i don’t like knitting things that take so long. if i knew it would be nice, that would be different.

i plan to knit some of my own sock yarn, and after i get paid for some orders, i need to get a big order of it so i can put some up for sale on the site. i didn’t get all that i ordered. so. i will of course keep you posted once i start knitting. i have so much to knit for the wholesale orders that i shouldn’t be doing anything of my own. you know i will take photos for you.

oh, the new sony cybershot wanted me to thank you all for the compliments. she knows that she has a good eye, but she claims that it is mostly good genes. or good microchips. you know what she means. she is sick of just being cybershot or sony…any ideas for her name? i’ll send some paper beads to person who picks the name.

she wanted to show off for you…

also, this will be going up on etsy, it is knitted with handspun and rowan big wool, you can tell which is which and is insanely warm and soft. and no one else has one. i think that is a good thing. it would be so strange if everyone had it.

okay, i am all zoney, so off i go.
xo,
n.

ok, this won’t be long because my head is pounding, but i did the coating on some of the beads and took photos, because i said i would. so there. i actually did it. they look amazing. the other thing i realized is that it might be better to heat the resin up and just dip them rather than the paint em with the fluid and roll them in the powder, heat it, roll em, heat it, etc. i think a dip might be better. also, it is easy to cut the beads, so it might work well to make a long bead and cut it into pieces and it is easy to sand the edges, as well. so. more experiments to come. i need to get an extension cord so i can work with them on a table rather than on the carpet int he studio, as you can see, a lot of the beads have fiber in them and not on purpose, and i was covered with all kinds of crap so i had to take another shower in the wee hours last night. pictures? i thought you would never ask…the first ones are made from super old sheet music and a really really old dictionary i scored a while ago for a few bucks that is falling apart.
the second are made of just scrapbook paper
the last ones are a combo of origami paper, handmade papers, scrapbook paper and i mixed in metallic pigment with the resin. a lot of the beads look like they have been glazed and fired in a kiln, or raku, and then there are others that look like pearls, exactly like pearls. amazing. i am going to work on bigger projects with this, the options are endless and it is actually really exciting. i think that these pieces could look so great used to make assemblages, or dolls, or with photos inside of them. lots of ideas. i want to make some really big buttons for closures on some of the handspun art yarn knitted and crocheted pieces, as well as on the wire crochet necklaces, etc. ok. i will shut up about it. very exciting. and thanks for all of the compliments. i got a few more comments and published them, as well as my responses and they disappeared. no clue what happened. but thanks to those of you that commented.

i know i go on about this every so often, but i get so much inspiration for all of the other artists and craftspeople and hobbyists out there in the blogosphere and i don’t know where i would be in my arts and crafty life without you. honestly. it keeps me excited and fresh, even better than art school. i get ideas for things that i can apply in a totally different arena, but would never have had the idea at all if it hadn’t been for seeing the technique somewhere. you know?

ok, i need to go sort out the mess that is my flickr. let me share this insane and huge spider i saw in my raspberry bushes first…i looked it up and it is a golden orb spider, it has this insane design on its back that kind of looks like a skull, and the bugs it has all wrapped up look to be a wasp and a big bumble bee. that is how big it is. man! it spins this crazy zigzag into its web. can you see it? i guess that is its claim to fame.

we watched this week’s deadwood tonight and man was it good. the actors are so amazing. that ian mcshane. i love him so. and who would thought that gerald from simon and simon was such a bastard, huh? oh, and anyone know why trixie bared her breasts and crotch before shooting him? what the hell? i am a bit baffled by that. but i did learn that a derringer is no good for killing people. go figure. cute is not the best feature for a gun. even if it does fit in your garter.

smoochies, y’all. oh, and more bead pics, of course on my flickr.

xo,
n.

thanks for the comments on the paper beads, but you have to see what they look like with the resin on them. you have to see! i will take photos to-morrow and post them. not that they are all done yet, i have tons and tons, but i did a few dozen tonight and they look incredible. i will be forced to make a bigger project using the same method because i love it. i used an entire large UHU glue stick in about 24 hours. seriously. i talked to my friend at the art supply and tasted some embossing fluid..yes, tasted it, because i thought it was just glycerine and…it is! it is! so instead of paying 7 bucks for 1/2 oz, i paid a couple of bucks for 4 oz or something at the drug store. how sweet is that? literally. i am compulsively cheap. frugal. it hurts me not only to spend money unnecessarily, but for OTHER people to do so. what the hell? i also feel the need to always say what i good deal i got on each item, like my granny. who is in her 80’s. how embarrassing.

i made some more beads from a dictionary from the 1850s that is in bad condition, dry rot, falling apart, so don’t get made at me, and they look incredible.

more pics from the snazzy new camera? ok. here is a scarf i crocheted with kool wool, whilst it still existed and then, i made a zillion of these poppies out of a recycled angora/merino sweater, and sewed some on. i have more that i am not sure what i will do with them. i made some pins, i will do some barrettes…i am planning to list it on etsy, so let me know if anyone wants it before i do that…

and a photo i took just to see how close up i could get. i cannot wait to do some yarn photos! woot! notice the ants in the flower…

good photos to-morrow of the beads and some yarns (i hope). i have so much to do to fill orders. i need to get my arse in gear.

xoxoxoxo
n.

i didn’t sleep last night, as you may have guessed. the cramps were bad. i took a couple of baths, lay on my vibrating chair pad thingy, which does help, and the cats all fight for pole position next to it, as well. this morning, i had a fire under my ass to start the paper beads and buttons. so. i worked on them from about 10:30a until jake got home, so about six and a half hours and then, took the stuff up on my little lap desk because i had all the paper cut already and did a bunch more, so a few more hours. because i am insane. i feel crazy, due to the period, lack of sleep and my right hand and arm are really really hurting all the way up to my shoulder from the damn beads. and i wish i could do more. too sore. ay! they aren’t finished, but here are some photos of the first stage of them… i took this photo with the new camera which i absolutely love love love. that fuji finepix peice of poo is not even in the same realm. it is so easy to use and takes amazing amazing photos. i cannot say enough about it. ok. so these are made with origami paper as well as a really pretty gold leafed rice paper and i also have some other ones using sheet music that is probably about 150 years old. and those look amazing, too. i am eager to do some more to-morrow, although i really need to start working on my wholesale orders. here is a copper bracelet that is awaiting a button to close it that i photographed with the new camera. woah! i loaded the new photos onto flickr, if you are interested.

i called my local art supply because the embossing pad seemed like a crap idea for these delicate beads. it seemed like a better idea to paint it on and then roll them in the embossing powder and heat em up. i called to ask if there is a way to make the fluid or i can buy it as a liquid and the youngest sister who is normally in florida answered and said she is in town for a while! she was excited that it was me (she said, “this is NATASHA natasha?”) and i said, “eileen? from florida? you are here? what?” so i am going to stop in to-morrow to exchange my stuff for the liquid and make some plans. she is a fantastic artist just like her sissy, ceci and loves to hang out and do crafty stuff. and they own an art supply, so she always would offer to hang out and do art projects. so i am so jazzed. fun! anyway, i am hoping to have the first batch of finished beads to show to-morrow. there are so many options with these things, especially with the embossing stuff because it makes it hard and waterproof and you can put fiber underneath or anything you want. i am going to do some big beads as closures for necklaces and scarves, etc, and i know i can make better ones than i can buy, you know?

my hand is killing me, so i am going to go and put my splint on and sit here like a wounded nerd. which is what i am. it was a gorgeous day, though, and i sat on the front porch on a big pillow with all of the stuff i was working on. so it was a nice day. really nice and peaceful.

i talked to my mom and we have been really getting along well (knock on wood) and we are able to actually talk about what is happening in our lives more like friends would, which is a new thing for me. i hope it continues. i made her a crocheted belt and a bracelet when she was here and she got the belt’s fringe caught on something so one piece is longer than the rest and she is afraid to try to fix it. i told her to go to the knitting store and just ask them to retie it for her. i am glad that i have found something in common with my mom. it makes me feel really good to make things for people that they really like. it makes me feel like i can communicate that i care about them, whether i knit or crochet something, or make a collage or spin yarn for them, and it is nice when the sentiment is understood. sometimes it seems like you give a friend some handspun yarn that you know they like but can’t afford and then they don’t care about it. and that always bums me out. i really put my heart into everything i do. my work is who i am. the good part of who i am, anyway. the capable part. the non-sick, non-tired, positve and energetic part.

i am so out of it. off to take a bath. or something.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
n.

1. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence.Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
“In Sydney, Butcher used his remaining funds to buy new paint and he must have got a bargain price. Those tubes were so old he had to unscrew the caps with pliers. I hold my nose. Sure enough the bacteria had been feasting on the extenders in the paint, bless me, we had this trouble before. The reds were now all related to the CESS PIT family, the blues smelled like rotting peaches. Soon the development site was very WHIFFY, hot and rotten, the chemistry of BODY ODOUR was brought in to assist.”
from peter carey’s(one of my top 5 favorite authors) new book about an art thief called “theft”. it is written from two alternating point of views a bit like the sound and the fury, except it actually makes sense. peter carey wrote oscar and lucinda (one of my most favorite books ever ever ever, and a lot of other wonderful books. i can’t say enough about him. and he does so much research, this book is so on the money with all of the artist and art materials references, like the paint going off and smelling like mouldy peaches. brilliant.

2.stretch your left arm out as far as you can…what do you touch first?
a sleeping jake.

3. what was the last thing you watched on tv?
general hospital on tivo

4. without looking, what time is it?
12:38a

5. what is the actual time?
12:13 a…i am good!

6. with the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
jake’s breathing, pavel knocking something around in the hall, the massage pad underneath me humming.

7. when did you last step outside?
we came back from the farmer’s market at about 5p

8. what are you wearing?
an olive green tank top and blue plaid boxers.

9. when did you last laugh?
whilst i was in the tub earlier and pavel was on the side splashing around in the water.

10. seen something weird lately?
in this town…you always see something weird. at the farmer’s market they had purple okra. i saw a really bowlegged man with cowboy boots on. not that it is so weird. hm. that may be it. lame!

11. what did you dream last night?
i always have nightmares, since i was a little kid. i had this strange dream about working for hulk hogan’s family at a resort in florida and when i went to the bathroom, there was a giant spider on the ground with an old man/vampire-ish head on it. i put a can of cleaner i found in the bathroom on top of it, and it lifted it off and scuttled away. i was trying to carry a bunch of stuff and a dude said he would help me carry it, after i accepted his help, he asked what i would do for him and jake was standing behind him when he said it, so he looked at me like i was a ho, even though i hadn’t said anything yet. way more happened, but i can’t remember it at the mo. and i always have freaky dreams like that. every blessed night.

12. what’s on the walls of the room you’re in?
i had a shelf beside my bed that fell down, so it is now propped against the wall, and we made an upholstered pleather headboard when we first moved in that is mounted to the wall. our bedroom is an utter wreck.

13. what do you think of this survey?
not too shabby.

14. what was the last film you saw?
i watched a really sweet (no, literally sweet, no like “sweet, dude”) french flick called the chorus. it was a bit of a mr. holland’s opus, but french and a bit darker, but really sweet. i highly recommend it.

15. if you became a multi-millionaire overnight what would you buy first?
actually, i would pay off all of our bills, give my in-laws some payola to pay off theirs, and give my folks some payola. lame, eh? and then, we would be forced to move to a place by the beach, or maybe a place in pdx and place by the beach. a nice nice beach. and the friends and family could visit. and my blog friends, of course. and i think i would want to get an engagement ring that has a champagne diamond in it. and maybe another wedding on the beach. like we originally wanted.

16.tell me something about you that i don’t know.
i am a hermaphrodite. just kidding. i was a nanny for about 8 months after i graduated from high school and before i went to college. also, i wanted to be a marine biologist, or a vet. and i wanted to go into art restoration but my asthma (dust, anyone?) and other maladies, in addition to my lack of chemistry skills killed that dream. plus, someone needs to die for you to get a job.

17. what would you change about the world?
i would take men out of positions of power (presidents, etc) and replace them with women. think that if women were in charge there would be no wars, okay, maybe wars, but not physical ones, and there would be more concern for our environment, and for families and small businesses, etc. i think that women have a more practical view of things, in a lot of ways. i am not saying that men are bad and women are good, there are shit people of every race, creed and sex, but, i think that things would be really really different. and i wish you weren’t allowed to get a gigantic car if a)you don’t need it (like people who have loads of kiddies, etc. or b)you don’t know have to drive it, if you get caught on the cell phone in a car driving like an ass, they should take away your license.

18.do you like to dance?
yes! i don’t do it very often anymore, and i am as white as white can be, but i enjoy it and i don’t think i do any dumb raver moves/herky jerky moves like some people i know. i hope.

19. imagine your first child is a girl, what do you name her?
i love kiki (i named my wheel kiki), i love eva, i love ophelia, but it has such a negative connotation. i am sure i have loads more.

20.boy?
something biblical, i think. i love noah, oooh….anselm, although he might get picked on for that,

21. would you ever consider living abroad?
oh yeah! i always thought i would. i never thought i would live here, not that i don’t like it. my biggest issue would be the cats, my in-laws, my friends and my doctor, who i love.

consider yourself tagged if you want to be!

also, whilst trying to catch up on blogs, i read this cool post on erica’s blog about whiskers and felt the need to pass it along. it is crazy! i wonder what dog whiskers do? but check it out, and check her blog out, it is always really fun and interesting. somehow, she is always upbeat no matter what mayhem ensues. also, she has a good post about how to get your cats to stop wizzing all over your house. i wonder if it would work with ms. peeps? hers is sheerly bratty, jealous behavior. she wants to be the only cat and that isn’t really possible. jake threatens to make her live outside. yeah, right. he is less likely to chuck her out than me. plus someone would take her in no time because…well she is such a thoroughly adorable creature. she is around 10 years old, believe it or not, and doesn’t look or act any different than she did when she was a kitten, although, she is more cuddly. she is so outspoken and full of attitude and friendly (unless you are a cat, in which case she is a total brat) she comes when you call her, or more often, when you call someone else, she looks huge, but actually weighs about 7 lbs, and has always had a muscular little body. her fur glows it is so white and is soft like angora (actually, i collect it to spin at some point. it is easily 4 inches long. for real. and despite her insanely long and thick fur, she never has furballs. how odd is that? her sister, who is shorthaired and compulsively licks all the time has had such bad hairball problems that she has been operated on, in critical condition in the hospital for weeks. not good. and still licks, anyway. no clue why.

ok, it is after 2a, i am going to try to knit through the cramps and into sleepiness. i have two cats on me because of the massage pad thing vibrating, they love it, oddly enough. must. go. to. sleep.

smooooooooooooooooch a pooch. or kitty. or hamster. whatever.
xo,
n.

bad ones. i hate them. i did little today, although jake and i did go to the farmer’s market and got baby golden potatoes, corn(it has white and yellow kernels!), his favorite hummus and pita chips, his favorite pumpkin choco chunk cookies which are amazing (the combo of the spices and chocolate is wonderful. i need to figure out her recipe), amazing nectarines(the first of summer that actually SMELL like a nectarine) and a cantaloupe from amish stand (jake said that the smiley amish dude freaks him out. he does seem like he might be from a horror movie or something. and his poor daughter all bundled up head to toe with a bonnet and petticoat and apron and dress. man! and it is like 90 degrees out). i cut up the cantaloupe and it was so juicy and ripe, unlike the shite from the grocery store. yum!

after that, i made a quick run to my favorite local art supply to get embossing powder for the paper beads. i found a method using a glue stick rather than coating it on glue, which seems much less messy, like something i could do on the porch rather than in a bubble. and the embossing powders…they have so many! i was stunned. i just got clear, because i can use stains and paint on the paper before rolling, but i am going to see if they have an amber one. i am also thinking that i could make some really great big buttons. so. i hope to do some to-morrow. cramps permitting. i was on the verge of tears with these hideous cramps. normally i can deal, but they were so so so bad. man!

i am almost done with the circular shrug. i have a few inches more ribbing to do. it weighs a ton because of the handspun. but it is really pretty. the colors are not ones i would normally wear, so i don’t know what i was thinking, although they are gorgeous.

a while ago, i read on another blog that they didn’t feel the need to blab every detail of their life. oddly, that blog is so vague that you get no sense of who is writing it. none. and it makes you not care, because you feel like they are just busy trying to show what they think is interesting or cool, for lack of a better word. that said, i do blab every detail, every mundane thought, dream, idea, etc, etc. where am i going with this? well…does it make my blog more enjoyable or more boring? i read an entry of mine from months and months ago and i thought how boring it was. so maybe i should filter things out. i am not a filtered kind of person. if you are my friend, i will tell you anything. i have never been much of a liar, even when i want to be, because i have the biggest mouth in the world. i can’t do surprises. or buy gifts ahead of time. i can’t keep secrets. i like to share the things that i like. or hate, or whatever. that is who i am. and if i don’t tell you, it means i don’t know you, or trust you. and i feel that when people are secretive with me, that they feel that way about me. it bothers me to no end. i think it is so important to try to be at peace with who you are. it is okay to be a dork. i am. i get excited about things that other people might not care about. whatever. one of the saddest, most pathetic things in the world is to spend your life trying to be aloof and better than other people, so they will never find out who you really are and what you really think of yourself. and as long as you keep that up and maintain a negative attitude, you will never have real friends. you will never be happy. how can you be? you don’t even like yourself.

do i always like myself? no. but i am open about it. maybe too open, but i accept who i am (most of the time, anyway) and surround myself with people that appreciate me for who i am and what i am…as well as what i am not. and i can’t ask for anything better than that.

stepping down from my soapbox, i am going to attempt to get some knitting done and pray for my uterus to just calm the hell down. what did i ever do to my uterus to piss it off? if it doesn’t behave, i will go down to the animal hospital and get spayed. so calm down, uterus. behave!

smooch! ow!
n.

i have been a bad blogger. bad. my mom visited over the weekend, so i had my hands full, but it was a nice visit with nothing bad to speak of. go figure! my mom wanted a wire crochet bracelet (and necklace) so i did the bracelet whilst she was here. she went to the bead store with me to pick out beads. i still need to do the necklace. i got my wire and was stunned at how amazingly soft the wire is. the softened stuff is called “dead soft” and i actually need to get the thicker stuff for a bit more structural integrity. but i was really glad that it was so easy to work with. and did i mention fun?

so, now that i need nice beads, i really prefer the gem chips for the crochet because they sit well, and i need sometimes a few hundred for one piece of jewelry, i have decided to make some paper beads to work with. i have loads of paper. and you can use wallpaper or magazines or whatever. origami paper. tissue paper. and glue. that is really it. although there is all taht stuff about the embossing powder…ooooh! so wanna know how to do it? i found a ton of sites, most of them have some gorgeous photos of the beads on them. really gorgeous paper beads that look like glass, wanna go to paper university?(i think i went there…)this one is hilarious because it is 2 great-grannies, one who is 91, in the directions and you can see their crafty old lady hands, which is very inspiring. i hope i am just as crafty till the end. they tell you how to use church bulletins. of course. and there are photos of the grannies. rock! and then this one that has a different method that might be a bit easier, in fairness, as well as using embossing powder to make them look like glass, so i may need to go buy some to-morrow.

i used the fancy new camera today. it is a joy. i love it. hey fuji finepix! i have a GOOD camera now! kiss my ass! i hope your lens falls off. again. anyway, the LED screen is so clear and nice, and there are so many features including a manual mode that is actually…manual! you can control the shutter speed, take photos in really low light, it has a super fast shutter speed for action shots, a really really nice zoom. oh new sony camera, i love you so. you are so fun to take photos with. my tripod is lonely because you work so well by yourself. how do i love my sony cybershot, let me count the ways…

i spun 4 bobbins of yarn and plied 3 of them, carded some crazy batts and spun em up. fun. i have a bunch on luxe that have been on there for a while, i am not sure if they look crappy in the photos, but they are really fun to spin. they make a crazy yarn with no work at all. i will skein it and take photos to-morrow.

whilst reading a really crappy women’s magazine at the salon, i found a perfume sample for J-lo’s new perfume called….LUXE! woah! and it actually smells really fruity and nice. i try to smell as fruity as possible at all times. i may be forced to pick it up. even jake thought it smelled nice. i am not a flowery perfume kinda gal. i get migraines from lots of fragrances, but fruity things tend to be safe.

i feel like such a crap blogger these days. i don’t feel like i have much to say. not much drama. and i haven’t even been on the internet much, other than to check mail, etc. i have orders to fill, so i have been just keeping busy.

and i can’t figure out what i did with my cell phone. i had it this morning. now…no clue. story of my life.

xo,
n.