luxe

i feel like i really should post because i feel like i have been on a different planet all damned week. i got my meds switched and have had more energy, but in a different way, so that i have been overdoing it all the time and screwing my self, although i feel so much better about myself when i get stuff done. i feel better in my brains. like my body is tired and things ache or whatever, the usual, but my brain feel more able to shut it out. that is not so good sometimes. i really zone out when i am doing things.

i forced myself to get up early, even though i haven’t been sleeping, but shite, what difference does it make. i might as well get up and get stuff done. i feel like utter poo until i get some coffee…seriously like i am ill. dying. sick. coffee…okay, in honest, what equals4 cups of coffee in one cup…i am ready to get going. i have just been pushing through, ignoring, doing, going, painting, spinning, cleaning a bit (wot?) i am just in fear that my body will normalize to what i am taking and i will feel like poo again. i am hoping that the old meds were the cause of the big change in my energy. and, i have no appetite. i eat meals, but i don’t snack. i feel good about that. in control of myself. not that some fruit or cereal is sooo bad to eat at night, but for someone that doesn’t exercise…it can have s dire result. we know. don’t we. i don’t want to be sick and unable to move. i want to look young and healthy. just those that see my guts and blood will know i am gimpy.

okay, clearly, i am totally out of it, i have tons to say, but not the brain strength to say it. i finished another bird and some artwork almost. photos tomorrow if i have the time to do it…

xo
n.

well. i had the ear issue for..okay, well, i still have it. this morning, i didn’t call the dr. because it seemed way better. as the day goes on, it gets worse again. although, in fairness, my nose wasn’t running and my eyes weren’t watering all day.

so, i got up to run some errands and chatted with one of my favorite peeps, gabe and found out that they are still attempting to get a small arts festival in our town going. after talking to him for a while, i kind of realized that i have become so stressed about getting sick and having to ditch out on plans, or leave early (i stopped talking to someone because of that.) in addition to attempting to avoid the people that i dislike, i often don’t do the things that i want to do. or, i make myself so stressed about it that i feel like i don’t really want to do it at all. i don’t want to be that person. i don’t want to be uninvolved in my community. that has never been me. that isn’t me. i am going to try my best. let me go on to say that gabe has been really pushing his work out there and has kept on it and has gotten to be really well known in this area, and for an area not really so open to art…that is something. it really is.

i found an awesome bra at…TARGET! i have been spending at least 40 bucks on bras that are not terribly comfy and not terribly attractive and then saw one there that was 15 bucks and tried it on and it is fantastic! i have big boobs and it is really something to find a good bra. that said, i bought 2 more today. i was actually looking for this dress in a medium, the dress was on sale cheap at my target, but they didn’t have it in a medium, so i went to another target but they didn’t have it either and online it isn’t on sale. although, honestly, it is only 25 bucks. i know, i am cheap. i got the same dress in black with white polka dots and it is really flattering and comfy. i think i should wear this style of dress every single day. i wish i could find em in cotton. i would love that. this is why i need to learn to sew. seriously.

i went to st vincent depaul, my favorite thrift store, where the checkout girl is a retired lunch lady from my college who gives me even more stuff for even more cheap prices. i always try to argue, she never lets me. she used to let me eat meals at the cafeteria even though i didn’t live on campus. she didn’t know. you hill girls remember margaret? such a sweet lady. i got some really cool stuff there…
and there is more on my flickr, so go check er out!

also, i got photos of the two birds i finished…no backstories yet, though.

we have a mohawk on the boy, and his cute tie and then the girl has a little stray feather and a crocheted scarf. cute? i have a couple more of em stuffed but no faces or legs or anything yet, so that will be to-morrow. i also will be updating the luxe.etsy.com store in the next few days. i have a bunch of yarns and fiber. bunch!

i think that about does it. i didn’t sleep last night. literally. i finished the new chuck p. book yesterday and it was fantastic. i will have to read it again. so clever. and i started a book called mappa mundi which is about technology that is supposed to treat mental illness and help people to feel happy and content. it of course falls into the wrong hands and they are working to use it as a mass weapon. it is actually really good so far and her writing is a nice change of pace and fun to read. i am not so good with the words myself, not even to describe it. gah.

mwah!
n.

i just saw on tv that tammy faye is very very very ill with her 3rd bout of cancer, now spread to her lungs. for the total sack of shit that jim seemed to be, everything i have ever seen about her has shown a really open minded and kind person. i send my best wishes out to her and her family. this is an interview with larry king, she is only 65 lbs, so for those of you that might get shaken up easily, don’t watch it. tammy. man, it sucks. it makes me realize that i need to quit my bitching. seriously. i bet she would give anything to be able to complain about fat thighs, you know?

in other news, something not sad, but really funny, is a show called the flight of the conchords which is about a new zealand band (2 dudes) trying to make it in new york. it is soooooo funny. they are so uncool in the most adorable way. and the songs they do are hilarious. and as odd as it sounds, i am not a comedy person, but this shows just rocks. rawks.

my ears are still all plugged up. i went to my doctor today and there was nothing apparent, so i need to go to the ENT if it doesn’t go away. i can hear about half with my left ear of what i can hear with the right. and i can hear my pulse. aaaargh!

whilst packing an order, or attempting to, and searching for a particular yarn, i realized that i have a lot of yarn and fiber that isn’t listed. so that will probably happen this weekend. excited?

i will post photos of the new softies to-morrow, i swear!

mwah!
n.

my allergies have been acting up, in fact after handling some of the carded vintage buttons yesterday i was wheezing. yay asthma! anyway, today, i was sniffing and my eyes were watering and now my ears are both feeling all clogged up, like when you are floating in the pool and can hear your pulse. and. it. won’t. stop. jake told me to hold my nose and blow, and it did nothing at all. driving me bonkers.

today, everything hurt. my hands, my feet, my legs and i also felt antsy and my feet were like ice. i sat in the house with the a/c off with wool socks on. i used to be cold all the time and for some reason in the past 6 months i think it has gone away. my hands and feet stay pretty warm and now i get hot easily. before, i always had a cardigan with me. dunno. anyway, i did pretty much nothing, although i did finish off two amigurumi that were waiting to get their personalities. one of em is a bird made from one of my first ever handspun on a spindle yarns. not good for anything…but that! who knew? i think it is kool-aid dyed, although i am not sure and it has white silk in it, which is strange. no clue where the fiber came from. especially because when i first learning a few years ago, there weren’t many suppliers and i didn’t know what i was looking for and where to look for it. so. hm. anyway, he has a tie and a mohawk. jake loved him and offered to pay me for him. um. anyway, i told him he could have em and he got all excited. i need to take photos of him. and then a cute pink bird that needed his wings, and i crocheted him a white fuzzy scarf.

i think that is really it. i mean, when you do nothing all day, there doesn’t tend to be much news, you know? pray for me that my ears will go back to normal. you know, hearing? grumble grumble grumble.

mwah!
n.

see my impressive resultshere and take your own test!

soooo…i actually got out of bed today! and took a shower! i know, i know, you guys are blown away. i had a few really crap days, i must say. i didn’t answer the phone, i didn’t do ANYTHING. i slept. and read a bit.

today, i put together the mobile and i plan to make more, but i will probably do a few things differently, like maybe adding a small weight to the bottom of each strand. here are some photos, although they aren’t so great. it is hard to take photos of something that big that moves.



the photos suck, but i am not really sure how to take em. it is rather large, it hang more than 4 feet long and a couple feet square. any idears? i used paper patterns with mod podge and varnish and copper wire. i love how the paper looks, especially in the sunlight. i think i might do more that are just a single row of descending size.

i tried to organize the carded vintage buttons and got overwhelmed. okay, first, i had an asthma attack from the crud that must be on em, so i went outside to sort em, then i got overwhelmed. my organizational problems make me think of all the different ways i could organize and then…forget it.

my sister in law has been pretty sick for the past month…longer, actually, so i decided to make her a wrap. she wears chocolate brown a lot, so i used some uncarded chocolate merino i had and carded it with this rose gold angelina i have (a fave) and then added a bit of pink sparkle to that which has a blue flash, i plied it and added some coppery novelty yarns, some from the lovely laine zin zin and then some sparse eyelash with sparkle i had in copper and a hot pink with blue and gold in it. i will post pics. i crocheted it, which ate a big bobbin full in about a foot of crochet. needless to say, i will need to card up much more. that was 2 giant batts worth, i am surprised at how gorgeous it knitted up. it seems like it would be plain, but i would love to have a wrap like that myself. in fact, if i am not really really really sick of spinning this yarn, i might just do that. although, i make myself something, i never wear it. anyway, i will get photos up. purdy. i was going to add sequins later, but it is really pretty as is.

otherwise…nothing. i have several softies to finish, as well as all of the birdie legs for softies i have been working on…basically just a wire frame with both legs connected and then papier mache over that. i am just not sure if they will balance it. i wish i could see one of the birds from ann wood or one of the other birdie makers to check out the legs. although, lots of them make legs that are attached to something. i think a softie bird that comes with its own perch and little box would rock. i would love to make boxes for all of them, but i am just to slow and anal about that stuff. i keep picking at it. i do have a few that should be done soon. i have orders to pack up to-morrow and then i can do some art stuff. oh, i will be listing more loose fiber to-morrow too! most of it sold! how cool is that? and i have loads more. and some gooooood batts! and i re-weighed them and realized that my scale was underweighing them by an ounce or so…
i am really tempted to keep that last one for myself. really.

off i go.
xo
n.

soooo…after i posted this morning i slept off and on all day long. slept enough that i actually had dreams. i did nothing, i didn’t shower until almost 4 o’clock, and i have a headache now, too. so. gah! i hate not getting anything done. i wanted to at least update today. i will be listing some of the vintage things i have picked up lately, so if you saw something you liked, let me know. i also have a ton of loose fiber that i bagged and labeled that will be listed, as well as handpainted top. really pretty. i will do that to-morrow barring pulling another rip van winkle. gah!

in other news, i came across this and i am wondering if i owe my large butt and boobage to double boobage? what do you think?

and here are some kitties who lub their handsome, sweet papa…

somehow, i am tired, so i am going to read and watch a bit of tv and hopefully to-morrow i will feel better. or awake. oh, also, i picked up coffee from a local coffee shop that roasts their own. i got some decaf and some regular so that if i want it later at night i can. the bags are marked with some other kind of coffee altogether, i think that it was just whatever bag they had, but i have no idea which is which and they look identical inside. so i have no idea if they are or aren’t. sigh. the coffee wasn’t great anyway, but i really won’t be buying more. i am a coffee snob. ah well.

xo
n.

yesterday i was exhausted after our day out. i forget sometimes why i don’t go out a whole lot. i start to think that i am just being lazy or uptight. in reality, i get really pooped really fast, like a baby. or a cat, maybe. anyway, i woke up this morning feeling beyond exhausted. i was hoping to get up earlier, but i had to take meds before i felt well enough to even check mail. i will be heading down for coffee in a bit and i have been up since before 8. it is now after noon. i hate it. we had a really good time yesterday.

while we were out jake took some photos of me unbeknownst to me (i was in a junk induced euphoria) and when i saw the photos i was truly horrified. i am not trying to be self deprecating, i really am unhappy with myself. the worst part is that i know it is because i don’t exercise. i don’t eat a lot and i really don’t eat anything bad, or not very often, anyway. i have major food issues as does my mom and my grandmother. i was on the atkins diet and lost a bunch of weight but literally lost the urge to eat. anyone that says that diet doesn’t work isn’t actually following it (or has a serious hormonal issue. my appetite absolutely went away. and i was thinner than i had ever been and was totally addicted to losing weight. the thing with that diet is that i am an all or nothing obsessive kinda gal so i couldn’t start adding carbs. ones i was off of the extreme phase which is less than 20 grams of carbs a day, and i was literally doing way less than that. just sugarless gum, sugar free chocolate (i found some brands that are soooo good) and coffee. if i have to start adding carbs to do the maintainence, i can’t do it. i fall off the truck and slowly gain the weight back. which is what has happened and i am not happy about it. i have to exercise and the thing that sucks is that i know that i have limited energy and if i blow it on that, i may not have any left for work. my mom keeps telling me that i will have more energy if i work out, but lupus and chronic fatigue (and then some) are not the same as just being out of shape, you know?

okay, well, coffee time. yay!
xo
n.

some of the most incredible wire work i have seen. ever. woah. make sure to check out the cow jumping through the building. swoon! polyscene…and paper dresses…and paper wigs…and and and…

lovely swallow mobile and it is under 25 bucks! kondrads.com has tons and tons of different mobiles from teeny to huge and all prices between, although most or suprisingly affordable. look at this one…i love it.
anyway, i was looking for some ideas for the top part that it attaches to which appears to always be just functional and not attractive in any of the mobiles i looked at, art ones or just cheapo kids room ones alike. i found this tutorial that looks good. i already have put together most of those strange wire framed paper pieces. i really like how they look and i hand strung and twisted 28 gauge copper wire to connect them, i am not sure just yet how the top will work. i wired just about all of them in strands, so i just need to figure out the top connector, although it will likely be more than one mobile. they would look incredible in front of a window or light source. i will take photos tomorrow. i may be best off just wiring them onto a curtain rod or pole in front of a window, i reckon. hmmmm.

did i show you the lion so far? he has chest hair and armpit hair. he is balding, has sideburns and a bit of a comb-over in the front. he has little knees and nipples. he has no name yet and is naked so far. what do you think of him?

it is now sunday night. i was too tired to finish the post yesterday, we got up at 7:30a to go to one of the bigger outdoor flea markets this morning which was rather good. i scored a shopping bag full of vintage buttons still on the cards, a sewing box full of all sorts of things…here are some photos, but i seriously didn’t get photos of half the stuff…

that said, if you need any vintage buttons, let me know what color you are looking for because i have loads and i am happy to sell em for a couple of bucks. after getting home i washed and organised the loose buttons that were just tossed in the sewing kit. i took tons of photos and then realized that i had accidentally put it on the low light setting. gah. i was super exhausted from not sleeping last night, getting up early and spending a few hours in the sun being overexcited, and then called barbe to squeal about my score. no worries, i am sending her some nice stuff, it wasn’t just shear gloat. i wouldn’t do that. the booths at the fleamarket that have only a few items and they are just utter crap, like a plastic cup from a convenience store and a dirty george foreman grill and a hot wheels car with a half chewed cookie on it. those people baffle me the most. although, i remember when i was in san francisco for a convention and crackheads tried to sell us similar stuff. so maybe that is the issue.

and, i should have taken a photo, but there was a booth that had defibrillators and some other really really strange electronic equipment that looked new. i wish i would have asked what the price was. just to know.

we left there and went to a coffee shop that roasts their own coffee to have a bite. i also got some coffee beans from them. i hope it is good, because we all know what a snob i am. bigtime.

we then went to burlington coat factory. i got these shoes which i plan to either add beading to or embroider. i have to think about it, though. they came in khaki and camo, too! i will walk around in em for a while and i may get another pair. in the summer, i have such a hard time wearing anything other than flip-flops. it kills me. or open heels, but i try to have my feets showing as much as possible. i need to take a photo of them on. i initially imagined iridescent black seed beads on em, but a little embroidered thing would be really cool, too.

i guess that is about it. i had planned to do an update on fiber and softies, but i was too tired to do anything. i will be doing it to-morrow, though. i put photos up of a lot of the things that will be listed. lovely and soft loose kid mohair, merino, targhee, baby cotswald locks, border leicester locks (so cute and teeny little curls) and then superwash merino top and 80’s grade merino i dyed that is luscious. seriously. so so nice.

okay, enough for now.
xo
n.

well, i got up and did dyeing. i did loads of loose fiber for batts and to sell as is. i did border leicester, kid mohair, baby cotswald locks, mohair locks, a gorgeous merino loose fiber that still has the nice squishy-ness to it. ummm!(all of this is from a rescue farm), some 80’s grade merino and some superwash merino. i used my vintage roaster, as i have been doing lately and packed it full of loose fiber and made sure it was covered with water. i brought it up to a simmer (somehow that is 150 degrees on the roaster, the lowest temp possible) and then poured in the dye and used tongs to squish it into the lower layers. i was surprised that it didn’t strike right away, but it was a ton of fiber. i did it in shades of hot pink and fuschia with a bit of golden yellow, so those parts are a really pretty orange. i did the superwash in a separate plastic bag which i had used so much that it sprung a leak, so i put that in a used grocery bag and then squished the loose fiber in the roaster aside and put the bag in there to get hot. the superwash was orchid with black and gray. i know i don’t usually do dark colors in the summer, but after some overly dark yucky fiber i got, i had an idea of what it maybe was supposed to be and i thought it would be pretty.

it rained like crazy here so i couldn’t put it outside to dry, so i left it all where it was and will hopefully put it outside to-morrow. i think jakie and i will hit some yard sales to-morrow. we will see.

so after all of that, i made more of the wire framed paper and mod podge wingy figure 8 thingies for the kinetic pieces. i am excited to put it together and see how it looks. these are some of the first ones, the ones i have made since have much thinner paper and the wire is more stretched out. i am hoping that it will move with the air like those pods that fall from trees…like propellers. here are some of them, and i have way more…

have a fun weekend!
mwah!
n.