luxe

being alone is so odd. jake and i are always together, always. we rarely do things apart and i miss him. what i notice, though, is that i don’t eat meals, except for breakfast, and that i push myself to do more when he isn’t around. i worry that i take advantage of him, letting him run around and do errands for me. ya know?

i got two ott-lights for 100 bucks, a desk one and a standing one and i put the desk one next to my bed to see if it was any better, because i do a lot on the bed, prep-wise, etc. at first, i thought it was making my eyes go funny, like a regular florescent light, but actually, i think my eyes are just trying to get used to it. i am really sensitive to lighting. if i shop at a big box store that has floro lights, i tend to get bad headaches. i didn’t really sleep last night and then woke up when the sun came up, actually feeling rather energetic. i wondered if it was the light. i know that might sound dumb, but i just don’t tend to wake up early and have enough energy to get up at 6:30 and make some coffee and cereal.

in izzy news, she has been pretty wild. she figured out how to climb up one of the scratchers (as well as using it to scratch on) like spidergirl, and does that with the bed, too. she got up on the scratcher and got onto the window sill and looked out the window. she really is just all over the place. and what else? i found her in the bathroom sleeping next to pavel’s socky. a sec later, pavel came in, i thought he would freak out, he doesn’t like anyone, even us, touching his socky, but he not only didn’t get mad at izzy but he laid down next to her…about a foot away. izzy thinks pavel is very cool, clearly, and he seems to like her following him around. cute. it would be nice for him to have a cat friend. plus, he doesn’t pee everywhere like peeps does, he is really good in that respect, so he would be a good cat role model for izzy.

so, i finished some yarn orders, packed stuff up, went to the post office, popped into the craft store to get some things there to do more beaded poppies (i have loads). i think i would to do a poppy scarf that is almost solid poppies. maybe on a lace scarf or a silk scarf or fabric. dunno. it would be expensive because it would take a lot of time, but it would be a showstopper.

i am being attacked by the kitten and typing is a challenge. i am going to sign off before i freak out. oh, i finished a couple of standing amigurumi and felt birdies that i will take photos of to-morrow. woooooot!

headache. sleepy. going. going. gone.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
n.

this will be short, i have been fighting off a migraine for the last 5 hours or so.

i got a few new yarns done and updated www.luxe.etsy.com, and i will be adding tons more stuff over the week, so please check in as often as you fancy. i have some lovely soft neckywarmers and scarves, some of my creatures, some buttons, fiber and of course some yarns. so. go. check it out.

i have to pack up orders to-morrow, do some updating, and some dyeing. shannon told me she has been doing some sun dyeing and it has been really warm and gorgeous here, so i think i will give that a shot. i haven’t done any in ages. shameful.

last night (i don’t think i blogged this yet), i didn’t sleep, hence the headache, i assume, but izzy ended up in between me and peeps, i moved her a bit to see what peeps would do, you know, peeps, the cat hating cat, and she woke up and started aggressively grooming izzy and then went back to sleep! she did at one point put her feet against izzy like she would kick her off the bed, but still. that is a big deal. and kahlo let me drag her up onto the bed to lay on me for a bit and she purred away and drooled a bit. she usually is all over me all the time, especially at night i have all of the cats up here, but since izzy, no one but peeps, who is just taking advantage of no other cats. and pavel has been avoiding us, and he is now starting to come up on the bed. i hate it because he has no relationship with the other cats (although he really seems interested in izzy) and is so close to jake, but has been staying off of the bed at night.

i am going to attempt to just lay here and veg out because i am seeing double. so.

mwah.
n.

so. i know, i have been absent. everyone knows why. a combo of lupus/cfs/fybro/migraines….and….ISOBEL. she eats my energy for breakfast. again, if you have children that are alive and have thrived…my hat is off to you. i am not wearing a hat, but you know, my hair hat. my kitten is off to you, anyway. so, i had a hectic weekend which involved errands on friday, the in-laws for dinner, they were gracious enough to come over here because izzy had been left alone for a few hours whilst i ran my errands and she doesn’t travel so well anymore. she is so fast. on the upside, she ran around downstairs and played the whole time we ate dinner, so she was pooped that night. i had a bad-ish headache and jake let me sleep in on saturday, which i hugely appreciated and then i went out to meet shannon (aka the knitgrrl), andi and lovely heather who unleashed her enormous stash of yarn on me (woot woot!) i felt guilty giving her two batts and charlotte sometimes (the pink bird with the white scarf, which is good because cleveland is cold!), so i will have to make her another package. all of the yarn is still sitting in bags in my bedroom, but i did look through all of it and ooh and aah. we met at ikea which is normally a bit more than an hour away in no traffic, i had a headache when i woke up still, but we had afun time and then by the time i was leaving, it was getting hurty. the traffic was backed up bumper to bumper all the way home, so it took me an extra 1 1/2 hours to get home. with the bad migraine. i actually got the panicky “i am stuck in a car an indeterminate amount of time away from home and i keep almost vomiting and i want to cry” thing going on. that night i totally conked out. let me add that i scored at ikea. i got these gigantor plastic bags…that thick plastic like the bags that mailmen use…from ikea that have handles and deep zippers, literally i could fit inside of the one, and the other is slightly smaller. i had to fight not to buy a bunch of em, but i can now take my stuff to the post office without having to attempt to hold the post office bag up over my shoulders to keep it from dragging. although, after my last deliveries of packages that made me have to do two trips, i think i will get pick up. i just don’t want to leave it outside, ya know?

so sunday, i did groceries and target and the pet store and then walmart because the pet store didn’t have the formula that izzy prefers…nay, the only one she will eat. so i spent the whole day out and today i woke up at 3pm and got no work done because i was so exhausted. so. to-morrow i am excited to do some of the halloween yarns and work on some buttons and get stuff listed. i have a stack of stuff. i feel like a jerk. i haven’t added much stuff in ages. gah!

wanna see some of the new neckywarmers with the handmade buttons?

not much else, i loaded up some new photos on flickr of izzy. she moves really fast, so they aren’t great, but they are cute…

she is all about getting into everything and if she is awake when i attempt to check my emails, she will run across the keyboard to hear the bong sound that the mac makes, swats at the screen and tries to eat the cord. the battery is dead on this laptop, so if she eats the cord, we have to buy a new one. so. if i move her or tap her on the snoot, she just goes right back to it, in a second. bad bad monkey. i actually lost my temper last night and just closed the computer. i would be a bad mom. she has pooped and peed on the floor by herself, which is good. we are trying to get her to use the litterbox, but she isn’t into it. i got the feline pine stuff because you aren’t supposed to use regular litter lest they eat it. i may need to get something different. additionally, i cannot get her to eat off of a spoon or saucer. she will only drink her milk and out of a bottle. really soon, she needs to get onto the 2nd step formula to get enough nutrition. i am mixing the two to get her used to it. wish us luck. all kittens, all the time.

i will take photos of some of the new knits and yarns. i have some ideas for some scarves with handmade felt roses. maybe fabric. i have loads. i dreamed about it.
eeeeee.

xoxo
n.

at the risk of sounding like a bitcher and a moaner (i kinda am though), i will just say that i have been too tired to do really anything. i have been trying to push to at least get something productive done no matter how bad i feel…crochet a necky thing, do the fimo part of buttons in bed, small things, but i get so bummed out and depressed. i know i am hard on myself, but it really is torment to feel so lame. i have the creepycrawlies quite often, which i have had issues with for ages and took zanax for it years ago and had insanely bad memory problems (beyond the usual) so i don’t take it. it did help with that stuff though. additionally, from the 2 hour feeding schedule with the baby kitteh, i am just in another world. i have a headache pretty much all the time and have had 2 really bad ones that didn’t want to go away and i got panicky that i would have to go to the ER which then puts me down for a couple of days from the drugs they give me. i am really sleepy and tried to avoid getting online, even though my head feels a bit better, but after taking my pain pill, which made the migraine manageable, but i can feel the migraine underneath the pill, if that makes sense. i am nauseous and tired but can’t sleep. i have so much that i need to get done and caught up on and i am just so behind and it bums me out. i got super behind on emails (don’t even ask about blogs) and then some wholesale orders and listing stuff and packing swaps and things for friends, etc, etc, etc. some people (like katrina, jakie and barbe) are so patient with me it blows me away. i am flaky. i admit it. anyway, here is to hoping i am feeling more normal (in a good way) to-morrow and can get stuff done. if i wake up with a migraine i am going to be seriously pissed off.

in isobel news, she has learned a new gear…reverse! and fast, too. if you shake her toy at her or something she will just run backwards really fast. i was impressed. i showed jake and he cracked up, too. she is climbing her carrier bag and when she is out of it, i lay it on it’s side for her and she plays inside of it with the zipper open and will fall asleep in there on her own. we used the same bag for pavel because i had to take him to the tattoo shop with me to feed him, etc, and he was fine sleeping in there, but once he got mobile, he just wanted out. izzy seems to like it in there. her little nest. she does bite, her baby teeth just came in and i try to redirect her with her crocheted toy, but sometimes she will come up to my face and bite my nose or lips, but she does it really gently. odd. pavel bit(es) like he was trying to eat you. not good. at all.

this photo of izzy is from a week ago i think.

i barely slept last night so i am going to try to do that now. wish me luck.

oh, also, i used fimo to make an ergonomic (if ugly) handle for my smaller crochet hooks. i haven’t used any of the small ones yet to check it out, but i think it should be better, although i saw that susan bates, my preferred hooks, is making metal hooks with bigger bamboo handles. finally. sheesh.

xo
n.

well, we are into day 3 almost with the kitten. we named her isobel cash (because of her johnny cash-like pompadour) which will likely end up being izzy or belle. i liked belle a lot, but this is the best of both worlds, i reckon. she is doing well, eating regularly, pooping big smelly runny kitten poops (to her chagrin…she screams and flails and is humiliated) and sleeping lots. i have a fuzzy hat i knitted a while ago that i used as a place to sleep in for her, and then inside of the little dog carrier bag we used for pavel, and then she peed on it, so i used a little dog sweater that i made as a prototype to put her in which she is all wrapped up in. she tries to search for a nipple in the fuzz of it every so often. cute. i found two fleas on her the first night, and i swear i saw one today, but then i couldn’t find it with the flea comb. anyone know any natural flea remedies that would be okay for a 2 week old kitty? here is one more for your pleasure…

as for the other cats, kahlo, who normally sleeps on me all night long…okay, anytime i am reclining, slept downstairs. she never does that ever. peeps laid on the bed but was peeved. pavel slept in the closet and is terrified of the kitten. he is terrified of everything, though. this afternoon kahlo came in and laid down on my waist, which is something, although she kept hissing. i feel guilty. here is a photo of k, so that she is involved. she is my best fuzzy friend, she is always there for me when i am sad or sick or…okay, just all the time. she is a sweet girl.

jake is absolutely enamored with this little baby. it is hard not to be. she smells of that baby animal milky smell. awwww.

otherwise, nothing. i have gotten nothing done. i had to get up every couple of hours for the kitten, so i woke up with a whopper of a headache. hopefully to-morrow will be better. it also POURED most of the day, as it has for the last week or so. i actually love the rain, although i know in lots of areas of the state people are out of house and home due to bad flooding. i wonder if i would still love the rain in those circumstances.

i reckon that is about all for now…
warm kitteh fuzzies
n.

so! excitement abounds! early this morning…1:30 a, i think, it is raining and cool so we have the windows open. i am reading mappa mundi and i think i hear a mewing. no. it is something creaking. no. no. mewing. you guys know me…i went outside in the dark and rain in my pj’s and followed the mewing 5 or 6 houses down the street and across the road to the side of a house full of vegetation (it was dark, okay?) up to my waist and an airconditioning unit and stick my arm to feel around because i can’t see a damn thing at night. seriously. i hate it. i am so scared of the dark. but not when a cat is involved! anyway, i ran back home (walked fast, i don’t run. i really don’t.) and located the flashlight that i originally planned to bring but couldn’t find and saw a teeny thing moving and looked to see if there were any more kittens or a mama. nope. what resulted is the most adorable teeny 2 week old kitten of all times. she has hair like brian setzer, but gray, i have never seen a kitten with such an odd hairstyle.

she is doing really well, we are not positive of what we will name her, but i think isabelle with all of its shortened versions might be it. anyone with any ideas, leave a comment. i was up every 2 hours feeding her, etc, so i am a bit pooped out, i fear.

i did pop in to tj maxx to look for a few new cardigans because mine are poo. they look awful. i will probably post photos of that. and the wire leg tutorial.

okay. sleepy.
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.

first…cuteable.com seen it? cute stuff. lots and lots of cute stuff.

amigurumi you ask? well. the pirate, i made him some clothes, although he still needs a belt and a sash on his head and the hook. that too. i don’t like his vest much, i did a bad freeform embroidered skull and crossbones and…it looks terrible. i will pull it out and do something else. dunno.

and i am workon on a lion with male pattern baldness…he is only partially done, but here he is. what do you think about a moustache to go with his sideburns and long balding hair?

my noggin is feeling better. because of the series of migraines, my brains feel a bit scrambled and it has left me feeling…well…a bit high. i don’t know why it is that way. and i have trouble coming up with words. dumb words. i have always hated that. searching for the words. anyway, i did some spinning:
at the left hand top the “HOTTT”superwash merino fiber that didn’t sell. how? i would’ve snapped it up. anyway, i still have some of the fiber left if anyone is interested. this one is 100 percent coils, so not a ton of yardage, i may do a single from the other 4 oz to accomany it. or just sell this little pinky skein. it was a whole bobbin of singles and probably 25 yards of supercoils. fun, though. the lower left is one of the batts i did spun up. there is still a couple of the red based ones left, not yet listed. if you want on, ask, they won’t last. they have mainly veggie silk fibers and sparkle and the rest is red, pink, or orange superwash fiber, or targhee. soft soft soft. a TON of sparkle in em. and twice carded. lovely! on flickr they are labeled by number. i will be listing different batts all week. and i think doing some more. i need to do some dyeing, but i think i might just take some of the dyed fiber i do and card em up. the market is so flooded right now, not that most of it is nice or anything, but everyone is selling fiber or purses or toys or what have you. crazy! oh, so the right top is fiber i got from the spunky eclectic club, they weren’t my colors, so i did all supercoils and added novelty yarns in the same colors to intensify them. it isn’t super soft, so it would be better suited for a something that isn’t next to the skin. and then at the bottom right is the ANA superwash sock yarn…lovely, no? i want one. i am fighting myself on it. big time.

i added some paper to the bottom of the box and added darker clouds that go the whole way out of the box, and more small trees and things…i think it is almost done…what do you guys think? do you think it lacks a focal point?

and my desk whilst working on the box and then a kinetic mobile i started yesterday. i will show you in a couple of days…

in other news, pavel has been acting totally crazy. seriously, i am concerned that there might be something mentally wrong with him. he was pretty laid back as a kitten. he liked to play/fight and bite, but he always seemed to be playing. now, he growls if the other cats come within 5 feet of him and he starts to act aggressive until a fight usually does break out because he has the posturing to bring it on. and then if he is just doing it to one sister, the other will come running and then it is a battle. the thing is, he is now doing it all the time. the other cats will not have aggressive posture, they are just walking by or going about their business, and he will lay his ears back and start growling until it escalates into a fight. any ideas what is going on?

i am getting sleepy. i will try to blog when i get up instead of late so i can think a bit more clearly.

mwah!
n.

i spun some yarn and worked on some paintings today and then we took peep to the vet for her appt. we had to wait a while and peepp was not happy about it, poor girl. jake was very lovey with her, and fell asleep with his head on the carrier. yeah. anyway, there was a substitute vet who was really nice and takes a lot of time with everyone, hence the waiting. anyway, firstly, she told us that peeps has a fairly serious heart murmur, and was shocked that no one had ever told us that. it was a 3 on a scale of 1-6. she said it just needs to be monitored and it should be okay. odd. 11 1/2 and no one ever noticed? um. also, she said that she didn’t think peep had a blockage because her bladder wasn’t full, which i thought too because her bladder wasn’t tender if i felt around on her. so it is most likely just a UTI and she is on antibiotics for the next two weeks. it wasn’t until yesterday that i noticed that she is having a hard time peeing, it doesn’t seem to hurt her (i hope) but little or nothing comes out and usually she is peeing all over the place in large volume. i told jake that it is her way of expressing herself, it is like taking a paintbrush away from an artist. ha. anyway, she is eating and seems okay, hopefully she will stay that way. how about another cute peep shot?
how nice is this… natasha yarn? ah carrie, such a sweet lady…

i gave myself a headache from overdoing yesterday and today a bit, and managed to deal with it before butter and his cute girlfriend came over. we had some pizza and hung out and went to the bookstore where i got the new fiber arts magazine (yay!) and checked out some really gorgeous new books, including shannon’snew felt book and the secrets of rusty things which is an amazing book on the assemblages of michael de meng. i think some crafters might think it is a how-to book, although i guess if you were able to work with every medium concievable, it could be, it is more just to see his process, and what each piece is about and the amazing amount of process that goes into each piece. ah i love process. there is no faux technique that can kiss multiple process’ feet. i love labor intensive art. i just do. you can see it, feel it. it is a different animal. i love layers. layers and layers and layers. i am actually messing around with just that idea. i will take some process photos tomorrow, i swear.

i checked out this book also, which is really gorgeous. there is so much going on in every page that i don’t know if my brain would let me absorb much of it. again, it is meant to give you ideas, but isn’t really a how-to. just more about growing creatively.

okay. tired. sore hands. gah.

xo
n.

let me first apologize for my absence. it has been a wee bit busy and i actually went out every day this weekend (i think. maybe not friday. hm. not sure.) anyway, i got bras, not sexy ones, but ones that fit, don’t hurt and my boobs don’t fall out when i lean over, so that is a bonus. i am having such a time finding bras that fit me. le sigh. such a hard life. shutting up. also, i got some super cute brown linen pumas, and pajamas, the top will be worn as a shirt because it is cute but not cute without a bra, and i won’t wear a bra to bed, so. photos to come of that. what else? i went to joann’s to get some sewing supplies, nothing exciting. a new spring wreath with a bird, some nests and eggs…how cute is that. photos..i swear. and all of the scissors were half off, so i got gingher pinking shears and the stork embroidery scissor from them, too. sweet deal. the rest was just bias tape and such. oh and a magnetic pin holder thingy, because i get pins all over the place. and that thing is suuuuper magnetic. hardcore. oh, and we went to barne’s and nobles yesterday and i got the new craft magazine, which is good, as always, and the new blueprint magazine, where i saw this cool stick of stuff that you wet and cover your big white roots between hair appointments and so far it worked well. i am wondering if it will come off on stuff, but it says it comes off when you shampoo. my grays are super white, actually, which would be fine if they were in streaks and not randomly all over the place. it smells like an old lady, unfortunately. not sure why it needs to smell like anything, really.

i do have some new yarns, which i will list some of to-morrow, plus some other new stuff, soon, i promise…wanna see? first, i handpainted some wool felt and made more poppies, most of these are on pinbacks (aw crap! i meant to buy barrettes to put some on) i usually give the pins away with orders, they are rather large and have vintage buttons on em. i plan to do more. do you think i should sell handpainted felt sheets, or the poppies? here is the before…


i used the only 100% wool felt that i can get around here, and it isn’t terribly soft. it is fine for this, but i would like a smoother felt. anyone know where i can get white or cream pure wool felt in yardage? and not for a million bucks a yard, either. anyone?
and some yarn…
this one, i have more merino that i am selling from this batch…i spun in these pansies, sparkle and then these border leicester kid locks i dyed as greenery…pretty, no?

here is one of the braids…

this one has loads of irridescent glass czech beads plied in…

and this one is another that i have more braids of the fiber from this yarn. pretty. and easy to spin, too!

i also have some incredible batts with soy, merino and sparkle or bamboo, merino and sparkle that are incredible to spin. i actually spun it thin! wha? yes! sportweight probably. i need to skein it still. but i will put up some of the dreamy batts. the fiber is pretty expensive, but it is nicer than silk, in my opinion. nice.

i am hoping to just mess around with the sewing to-morrow. not sure what exactly, but maybe i will try one of the skirt patterns from the sew what! skirt book. i will be sure to keep you posted.

in luxe news, i was very flattered to have this amazing metion on domestik goddes! fancy, shmancy. if she fancies, i will send her some yarn to play around with. she says on the blog that newby knitters and crocheters might worry that their projects wouldn’t be good enough for art yarns, but ironically, simple knit or crochet stitches on big needles look fantastic in fancier yarns, because the yarn can do all the work for you. that was what i loved so much about them. you can look fancy whilst knowing nothing. and unlike a plainer yarn, it is rather exciting each stitch to see what will happen. weeee!

jake showed me this sheep horror movie. um. yeah. killer sheep. killer, dude!

so mr. pavel enjoys washing his paws in the cat waterer right after coming out of the litterbox. additionally, kahlo has a foam ball, or sometimes several, that she enjoys putting in the food and water dishes. if you remove them, a few minutes later, they are back in there. peeps does not tamper with the water, but responds to these behaviors by peeing or pooping somewhere inappopriate. also, kahlo will puke right outside of the litterbox or in it, and peeps also responds to that with the peeing and pooping…in further too much information, peeps has been having poops that are like rabbit pellets. i try to give her kitty laxative and it doesn’t help. i think. anyway, i put a water dish in our bedroom, thinking at the very least, it was further from the litterbox and shouldn’t get quite as much litter in it from pavel, who loves to splash around in water (i know, strange for a cat. he looooves water.) so the cats are drinking more water than i have ever seen them drink. i am wondering if they were not drinking water like they should have because of the gross water issue. i am hoping this will help with peeps’ hard poops. we find them all over the place. it is actually not nearly as bad as the pee, especially since they are like little rocks. poor peeps’ butt. okay, no more poo talk. any suggestions would be welcome, though. she is 12, so i dunno if age is an issue as well.

xo
n.