luxe

okay….fantastische arty links that i found mostly through the rag and bone blog that is really wonderful itself. so good. sooooo…bert simons oh sooo goood. this artist raquel aparicio whose work is magnificent, and she is gorgeous, to boot. like amelie. so not fair. one of the most incredible and haunting installations…nay, underwater sculpture gallery by artist jason taylor…woah. i have no words. my focus in school was in sculpture and i especially love big things. or small things. life sized figures, especially. you aren’t really the viewer anymore…you are almost a part of the group, you know? lisa kokin does these amazing sculptures made from buttons. she was on the cover of fiber arts ages ago, which was where i had first seen her work and was amazed. 3-d just really speaks to me. i try to fight it, because i love drawings and paintings, but i think because of my bit of dyslexia or something, i understand 3-d better. as you can see, i am starting to let myself go back to it. the eerie, but feminine work of caz love reminds me of some of kiki smith’s work. she makes dresses out of vintage papers. just lovely. again, all of this is from rag and bone (yeah, yeah, i was um…a bit behind on reading their blog. and all 190 something other blogs, too. sigh.)

today, for a mixed media painting i am working on, i cut out a ladder from a ups flat rate cardboard envelope (btw, i found out that they are mostly recycled and are biodegradable with all non-toxic and earthfriendly inks, etc. how cool is that? go usps!) anyway, let’s just say that i realize how hard it is to cut anything precisely with a blade, let alone the remarkable work of mr.kakoueda and some of the pieces are more than 2 feet…biiiig. craziness. and for those of you that adore paper and anything that is made out of it, on it, etc, etc, paperforest.blogspot.com. a really lovely bloggy.

i have developed a rocking migraine from looking at the computer too long. gah! let me just say that i went out to look for berries and found another sister to missa and amelia, she won’t speak to me, but she has one pink lock of hair in a ponytail and has arms that bend! no legs, though. i will take photos of her to-morrow if she hasn’t either run away or something worse. i am hoping she doesn’t pick a fight with the cats. so out of one skein of handspun mohair, i got 3 of em! and i don’t think the skein could have been more than 50 yards. maybe 60, but it was so bulky, it seems unlikely. dunno why i didn’t measure it. gah! i am working with giving some of these things some form of armature because i am a glutton for punishment, but also because if i am not going to give them display boxes (i want to, but at this point, it will make them really expensive, so i will do it by commission, i think, if someone wants a display case, and takes me a long time to make those)i want them to at least sort of support themselves and not need to be leaned up against stuff. you know? i just used some copper wire i had around and put it into her arms after i crocheted em, and it is just a continuous bent and doubled piece that goes through her body and into each arm and then i sewed it all together and attached the crocheted arm through the wire to make sure it doesn’t pop off, not that these are meant to be roughly played with, anyway. the mouth i did this time was even better than the last two. i am catching the hang. okay. tired. so i need to go relax. wish me luck with the noggin. i feel so poo that there are no photos!

xo
n.

i have never even heard of cre.ations.net before but there is some amazing stuff on there! think makezine on mescaline. wooooah!

i will of course show you the girls first…

amelia and missa are fraternal twins (obviously). they were born in my strawberry patch after a spell of no berries this summer, i realized why! i fertilized the berry patch with the used coffee grounds from starbucks, and this is what grew!

pretty missa has a huge mass of pink curls, as well as being the cute and talented one. she aspires to be the next "america idol" and be propelled into stardom like her favorite singer, christina aguilerra . she dresses really suggestively, and nothing i say makes any difference. she takes a lot of her behavioral cues from my fluffy and gorgeous (as well as badly behaved) cat, peeps and has been known to flash or moon anyone that crosses her path. she loves cotton candy and has been known to make sandwiches out of it, pink lemonade and anything else pink. she only eats pink things. including baby mice! ewwwww! (i think peeps taught her that, too!) her favorite movie is clueless. how embarrassing!

poor amelia was born without arms and legs, and has a rather lazy eye but does have 4 nipples. she also only has the one big lock of pink hair, plans to run away with an old time circus to be the opera singing fuzzy worm(although she is tone-deaf), so she feels lucky to not have any limbs. she feels confident that she will make her fortune this way. she also says that she will do "freak porn" if need be to get her name out there. sigh. she enjoys mushy peas with garlic mashed potatoes, fried crickets on a stick and beanie weenies. she tends to be a bit…bitey and likes to catcall any men she considers "hot". in addition to opera, she loves deathmetal and her favorite band is cradle of filth. her favorite movie is scarface. go figure.

i watched idlewild, the outkast movie and it was kinda bad. it was visually wonderful and the soundtrack was great, but the script and story kinda sucked. ah well. it would be a good movie to watch while you are doing something else, you know?

off i go to catch up on emails. oh, and my friend therese sent me an awesome package out of the blue (i think! did i forget?) it was so nice! i will take photos. too sweet.

mwah,
n.

gah. the word that defines me these days. i had nightmares about the beach (again) where i was staying with a group of people, all of them people i didn’t like and/or loathed. that part, confusing, although i didn’t have any clothes that fit me or were suitable for whatever we were doing. the clothes were all big baggy sweatpants and sweatshirts. the rest of the dream dealt with a sick little girl that everyone was trying to kill and i was running and hiding while i was holding her. i was glad to wake up. anyway, i woke up really tired and i took a pill to have a bit more energy. i never think it has worked until the end of the day when i realize that i:plied 2 biiiig bobbins of yarn, cut up all the novelty yarns for that and then some more yarns, skeined several bobbins of yarn, worked on a painting (to no avail. sigh.) for quite a while, shipped some orders, went to the post office and farmer’s market, took photos of the stuff i needed to update (LOTS) and uploaded them and tagged em. i think that is all. it doesn’t sound like much now that i say it outloud. wanna see?
who was that? well! my newest crocheted softie. she came from the handspun mohair. she isn’t finished. i am not sure exactly what i want to do to her, she is so cute as is. hm.

and some of my vintage plates that i hang up…

some really good links for you…here
and here and here

prepare to pee your pants! the coolest crafty and design and art blog evah!

off i go.
n.

i have a hideous hand cramp in my right hand and arm that my brace isn’t helping with. so this will be short. as you can see, kahlo said she would type for me, but she just types whatever she wants.

341 people heart me on etsy! how cool is that? do you heart me? do ya?

i had to ship an order from the luxefibre website and i couldn’t access it. i guess that there are some updates going on in the software, so until i get it updated, no dice. everything on luxe.etsy.com is fine, other than not showing up quickly in the searches. if you go to my actualy store, everything should be there…no worries. i will be doing loads of dyeing this week, so prepare for that, and with the summer weather, i will be forced to do the vibrant bright wildflower-a-rama, so they will be gooood. for sure. i spun up some of the fiber i dyed last week, in a pink and yellow, there is still a few bumps of that left which will be listed, but it is such a happy yarn. i hope to ply it tomorrow if my hand feels better. i am planning to do the hot pour method of dyeing, where i will heat up the fiber in my roaster (maybe even outside!) and then put the dyes in, where they will strike immediately, so things don’t really mix. i am eager to see the different result. i will try to document for ya.

okay, off i go. gah.

i woke up with a killer headache. like a hangover, but without the booze. it has been really coming and going, but i am fine. i swear. anyway, the power was out and after calling the power company, i realized it had gone out at 8a this morning. sheesh. right after talking to them and being told that it would be on in 2 hours (they hoped) and that a zillion other people’s power was out also, literally a second later, the power came back on. how cool is that? and the icecream managed not to even melt by then. badass! i favor breyer’s reduced fat mint chip. i appreciate that it is natural (ish) and only has a few ingredients. and it tastes really yummy. so.

i ran back out to joann’s to look for a couple of other things and then got back and spun up a custom yarn similar to one i made ages ago. it came out pretty, i just need to skein it up.i am hoping to do a bunch of dyeing to-morrow and will definitely be listing stuff tomorrow, although who knows if etsy is fixed yet or it won’t show up for several days. it really pisses me off. gah! i am sure they are doing whatever they can, don’t get me wrong. etsy has always been really great and on top of things, but this is a lot of people’s livelihoods, you know?

otherwise, not much. just ran out to get groceries. barbe told me that mirrormask was really good, so i got it from netflix and we will watch it tonight. i also got idlewild with my boy from outkast in it, which i am excited to watch. jake wants to see it, too, so i am waiting for him.

i ordered some purse sewing books for cheap from ebay, so i am eager to learn to make em. you know how i work at this point, i just need to see the basicas and i can go from there. i hate the usual crap that everyone makes that is squarish, or slightly rounded with a handle attached with a little folded over flap, no snap or zip, no pockets, just…blah. i want a FINISHED FUNCTIONAL purse. not a tote. (not that there is anything wrong with that) with at least a few pockets. not a purse that eats your stuff. you put it in and it is GONE. i saw this purse organizer pattern from craftster and then happened onto this free pattern for this adorable amy butler clutch. i would actually really like a bigger version of the same thing. hmmmm…

and…if you are into making your own purses and bags, again from craftster, the ULTIMATE purse, bags and wallet pattern list! woooot!
some of my faves? well, this pleated clutch is to die for! so damn cute! again, i would love a bigger one, but the same otherwise. i am just not a small purse kinda gal. this super duper cutie one…here

off to watch the movie….
mwah.
n.

first, i came across this amazing artist’s work, repairing spider webs. so kewl! woot! nina katchadourian. wow.

i did a bit of dyeing today, just some silk sari yarn i had from ages ago and a 3 batches of superwash merino top, one for a custom order. they came out purdy…wanna see?

also, i finished this bug, frances, last night, i need to interview him and find out his story. i haven’t had the chance, but we did have a small photo shoot while he checking out the flowers in the backyard. so. he is a cutie though.

i am feeling really sleepy and headachy as usual, so i apologize for the brief post.
xo
n.

so, my sales on etsy have been kinda bad in the last month or so. i was out of town for a week, my mom was here for a week and i assumed that slack 2 weeks were the cause…i looked on the forums to see what other people were saying, and from having other businesses in the past, i know that this is a bit of a slow time for any business except ice cream shops, but it said that…

RevolvingDork
Etsy Admin
RevolvingDork says:
Hi all,

On thursday night night we got caught up with all of the older listings that were not appearing in searches and the categories. After that, however, newly created listings were only appearing several hours after they were listed.

This is due to the system receiving far more listing updates than it can handle in a short period of time. We’re still working on optimizing this system so the delay between listing and appearing in searches is shortened, but it may take a few days. We hope to have it done sometime this week. Unfortunately, it’s a very complex problem, and as such is difficult to estimate a completion time.

In the meantime, listings will only appear in their categories several hours to several days after they are created. Please note that they will still appear in real time in your shop, the time machine, and listing tickers, and all other flash applications.

The site copy on the listing process has been updated to reflect this new delay.

Because the search cache is not being updated as quickly as it should be, you may see sold listings coming up in search and browser results. This is caused by the same problem, and will be fixed when the system is back up to speed.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused, and we will post updates as we make progress towards shrinking the lag between listing time and “searchable” time.
Posted at 12:35 pm, June 20 2007 EST

i am annoyed. for example, difference between items listed one day apart is 353 views and 40 views. and it bums me out because usually i get tons of views and things sell. there are some gorgeous yarns just sitting there. anyway, i am going to contact some of the yarn stores that are interested and clear out some of the stuff i have listed, so if you see something you want, it may not be there for long. well, it might be somewhere else, anyway. i also have listed more spinning “kits”, including one to make some of the snowbride yarns, luscious creamy superfine merino (21 micron!) and your choice of colors sparkle and novelty yarns. plus some other kits, too. i am going to put up some flower ones that have soysilk, merino, loose sequions, sparkle and handbeaded handpainted felt poppies to add in for yourself after you spin it up. i did look at some of the other shops that are alway busy and/or sold out and they had lots of stuff still in their stores, so i know it isn’t me. i will take the time to work on some of the softies i have been making, and after doing a big flower skein and plying it, i worked on some collaged frames, boxes and mattes due to a bit of mental block on artsy things. i have tons of stuff that needs to be framed, plus all of the plates i have collected (i really need to take photos, including a jesus dinner plate that looks to have been used…a lot. odd? isn’t that sort of thing for display?) i am going to glue hangers on the back because the wire plate holder thingies are downright shady. i have had them pop off a plate just sitting on a table, so i don’t want to hang anything with one of those.

so that was my day. it went by fast, rather solitary, but in a nice way. so on to my newest addiction…when jake was in brooklyn, he stopped at a nice market and got some good chocolates. we are into the good stuff. hee. anyway, he got this stuff that is from modica, italy and area very famous for its chocolate and candies and pastries. the chocolatiers were influenced by the spaniards that came to sicily who had been influenced by the mayans who didn’t make chocolate with the milk and the heat and cocoa butter oil, etc. basically, the grind up the cocoa beans into a paste (think turkish coffee) and add pure sugar cane crystals which crunch in your teeth…ooh it is amazing. and hardcore. like the most amazing coffee/chocolate you have ever ever had. when i first ate it i didn’t know what i thought, but it really grows on you. incredible. and it seriously gives you a rush. if you are a big coffee snob, you will go nutso over this chocolate. it isn’t creamy or melt in your mouth, it is a whole different beast, but oh my! and! it is really hard to find it in the US, but it is available through amazon here it is 6 bucks for a bar, but it is a big bar and one piece of it will knock you on your ass. they are also made into squares that are ready to add to warm milk or water for the best hot chocolate ever. they have pistachio (good!), plain, cinnamon, vanilla, chili, and bergamot. needless to say, i am buying some. big time.

whilst serching for this stuff online, i cam across this cool website, 101cookbooks.com that has recipes from famous cookbooks reviewed. the one on the link is for sweet pistachio butter. are. you. kidding. me? ummmmm. um. um.

i am working on another fuzzy amiguri. he is just a head and arms and legs, i imagine it will reveal itself to me, as the others have. i don’t tend to have a clear idea of what i am doing. i tried to do some sketches last night, but i was uninspired, although i did come up with some that have a head at each end, or have a teeny upper body and big fat lower body. otherwise, dunno.

okay, “traveler” is on, so i am off to watch that. too sleepy to do more than one thing at once. other than crochet and tv. although the crochet will likely look like poopies.

xo
n.

clearly, he needed to be linted. sigh. story of my life. anyway, he is not yet finished, i am not sure what to add to him. i was going to give him yarmulke, but it didn’t look right, so i didn’t. hm. i also wanted to give him wire legs so he could stand up, but without a whole internal skeleton, i duno how i would do that. nothing can just be simple with me. ever.

i woke up EARLY this morning, 6ish, i think and felt much better, peppy, almost. i got my orders packed, went to joan’s to buy some safety eyes for amiguri, although ms barbe gave me the option of ordering eyes from a supply place for taxidermists, there are some cool ones. i ordered a catalog. it might be interesting to use with the amiguri. i got some cool yarns that i think would work well for it that were on sale, and i got some new crochet hooks on sale. they are the kind of actual hook that i like best that have a really nice deep head on them. clover hooks have a wonderful handle, but the hook is blund and not very…hooked. grrr. here is the yarn i got:

i got this super cute postcard/invitation to my good friends john and diana’s baby’s 1st birthday party. being that it is on the opposite coast, i don’t think we can go, i wish we could though. i cannot believe she is a year old!

i would love to get some kind of something done today that isn’t packing orders or grocery shopping, but i am falling asleep on my feet. sheesh. we had an insane thunderstorm here and the rain washed away the insane heat. ooooh i love the rain in the summer, it just smellllllls wonderful. i love it. i would love to sleep in a screened-in porch or something. amazing.

okay, too sleepy.
mwah. mwah. mwah.
n.

Your Drag Queen Name Is:

Pussy Galore

i saw this on barbe’s blog, so i had to do it. and let me saw, i don’t really have pussy galore. i have the little girl sort. yeah yeah, too much information. now you have another strange fact about me. sheesh.
and here is a piece of me you may not have seen. the plastic is my pain medication patch, a source of embarrassment, so i always try to hide it somewhere…
anyway, i did not much of anything today. literally. i forgot my meds last night and fell asleep at some odd time, woke up at some odd time feeling out of sorts and wretched. so. i had a bad day. tomorrow, i aspire to having a good day, getting lots done, including making some handpainted boxes and props for a couple of amiguri. i made an owl yesterday, he is very cute, but i would like him to have feet that can support him, he is a little guy, but i am not sure how to do that. i am thinking of making a tree stump for him to live in as his display. any ideas? i am thinking that i will maybe do boxes for each one, so when i sell it, it is a whole art piece and you can display it. cause what else do you do with it? i am more apt to buy things that i can display and are ready to hang up. yeah? plus i love em, so they won’t be cheap and i am sure the box and props help to justify the price to people. dunno. we will see. we all know that the softie, plushie, doll crew want their doll. so.

nothing else to say. out of it. poopy. need to get stuff done, so i will take my drugs tomorrow, because i need to get things done. period. somehow i am sleepy. lazy woman, i am i am. i will show photos tomorrow.

mwah.
n.

okay, so firstly, i will be udpating some NOICE stuff on luxe:
and that is just a teeny taste. a teeny teeny taste. so. go. check it out! here! each yarn order will come with gorgeous handmade stitchmarkers from my buddy katrina, as well as all kinds of fun stuff that i usually wrap up with the orders. go on, spoil yourself!

what else? well, i have a new amiguri princess for you to check out. her name is collette. she is really cute and she knows it. she was born fuzzy and his a lock of pink curly hair. she is a bear, but has no tail, oddly enough.

she aspired to be a chiropractor, her specialty being fish, birds and snakes, but realized that chiropractics and these sorts of animals are a deadly combination. deeply discouraged at the animal carnage, as well as the destruction of her dreams, she turned to gambling.

she has a gambling addiction, her game of choice? yatzee. she is a poor loser, going utterly nuts when she loses, curses, accuses everyone of cheating and throws the dice across the room. ironically, she herself is a cheater, has magnetic dice and is really poor at math so most often, she loses anyway. additionally, when she wins, she dances around, shakes her fuzzy butt and acts snarky. it is difficult for her to find anyone to gamble with her, so she frequents old age homes and rips off septegenerians and older, taking advantage of their poor memories in order to cheat and get extra turns. how wrong is that?

she eats nothing but scharfenberger chocolates with at least 85 percent cocoa, and dissolves this in her triple espressos. i know. crazy stuff. especially when you are only about half a foot tall. hardcore.

her favorite colors are pink (like her hair) and purple.

additionally, i spun some loose mohair singles that are just amazing to do some amiguri with. i am curious to see how they will look, but i think, judging from how good cheapo fun fur feather stuff works that well that mohair would look amazing. i have something on my hook right now and then the mohair will be next.

yesterday our friend jason and his girlfriend came down for dinner. we grilled out (of course) and grilled pineapple (my fave) which is amazing if you haven’t ever had it. it is awesome alone, but would rock on icecream or custard. so good. just slice em as you like and lay em right on the grill. i also cut some zucchini lenthwise and marinated it in balsamic vinegar with some salt and pepper and a bit of oil and it was really yummy. we went for icecream at rita’s after that and my stomach had started to really hurt by that point, and yeah, i ate a kid’s cup anyway. we got home, i was trying to upload photos, but kept falling asleep, so i had a headache and couldn’t see right. i took a shower. whilst in the shower, my stomach started to feel bad. really really bad. i spent the next hour and a half (i think) sitting on the toilet with the garbage can in front of me trying to talk myself off the puking fit. fortunately, i didn’t blow out my bloodvessels in the eyeballs. i woke up with a sore throat and a funny stomach. not haha funny. gah. i think i just can’t eat pineapple, as much as i love it, the acid does bad things to me. i have such a lame stomach. sheesh.

off to update. go…now!
xo
n.