luxe

despite a headache again today, i did some more dyeing. i did a more limited palette than i had planned, so i did some other colors today and i hope to do a bit more to-morrow and get some batts done.

i actually used up a huge (kitchen can sized bag) of uncarded coated merino, just gorgeous soft, heavenly stuff. wowza. i actually want to get some more i love it so well for both carding and spinning. i used up more than a pound of locks, a few different kinds, some loose mohair, some sparkly nylon and some superwash top. some for spinning as is, some for carding. i talked to my buddy katrina today about dyeing, whilst dyeing (one track mind, eh?) and was saying how amazing it is how different fibers in the same dye pot grab the color so differently. i will post more photos to-morrow.

sorry for the boring posts lately. boring is as boring does, i guess:)
xo
n.

so, i live in headache city. i felt crummy last night, but i got up this morning and before i even had coffee or breakfast, i took a quick shower, got ready and did some dyeing. a good bit of dyeing, actually. wanna see?

i have been hanging on to this gorgeous uncarded merino from frenecreek. i love that they are a rescue farm (sometimes she buys sheep right off of the meat truck!) and that those animals have a really nice life. well, other than being in wisconsin in the winter. that sucks even if you do have a huge thick coat. although they do have a shelter for em in the cold. anyway, they wore coats, so this fiber is perfectly white and clean, but still spongy and soft and gorgeous. i plan to dye some more to-morrow if i feel okay because i didn’t get the range of colors that i had hoped for. i need to make notes for myself so that i actually remember. i didn’t think i had dyed as much as i had, so i have a ton of yellow and green. i saw some gorgeous robin’s egg blue and yellow art, so that inspired me. i would love to attempt to get a buttery yellow, tho. i will see. i need to do some soft pinks and turqoise, etc. happy springy colors. yay! there are loads more photos on my flickr, so pop by if you fancy. i plan to use most of this fiber for batts, but i will probably make a few bits and pieces bags which sell out as soon as i list em. why don’t i do more of em? dunno. i will. plus i want to do some bags according to color. i would have killed to have that when i first started, before i started hoarding. i seriously and working through the loose fiber i have, so i feel good about that. i probably only have a few more pounds of loose fiber. i also overdyed some light brown and cream fiber that looks really pretty. that will get carded up, too.

i am very excited that my friend jenn is going to come up and see me and help me out with some slipcovers (yayayayayay!) finally! i have a feeling that if i can’t pay her, i will let her mess with some fiber and the carder, if she likes. i got it running pretty well. much faster than i thought initially. i want to get a brush attachment for it, i think that will really help bulk up the batts. i need to get a hold of the pat green peeps and see what is what. i need to remember to do that during business hours to-morrow rather than at midnight, like now. sigh. i hate that. also, i hear that they have had so many different models in the past that they have to kind of see what you have to tell you what part you need, or to give you instructions. there is no model number, no date, no nothing. it is fun to have your hands free to feed in the fiber, rather than just the one hand and also, when i do lots of batts on my louet, i wear myself out. i will definitely still use it, but i can chill out and do batts on the PG.

okay, off to chill out, although i really feel like doing some batts. if i do, i will get wound up and not sleep. i mean more than usual. i need to weigh and take photos of the batts so i can list em. i really hope to get that done to-morrow. but i wanna dye. and i won’t have the energy to do both, g-d knows.

xo
n.

so, firstly, thanks for the kind emails and phone calls. i have been really out of it. yesterday, i did some dyeing and apparently overdid it, i get so excited when i feel good enough to actually do stuff that i overdo. i talked on the phone, sat outside in the sunshine, did the dyeing, hung it up, sat outside and talked, dyed some more, hung it up, made dinner (jake didn’t know what to do with himself) i even packed up the leftovers for 2 days lunches for him. last night, not so good. i had a fever, but my body was cold, i had a bad headache, i think i vomited a couple of times, and to make it even more special, my nose was so stuffed up that i couldn’t breathe. it was a miserable night. the night before, i hadn’t slept at all, literally, and then got up and did all the stuff, so i guess it was payback. i didn’t get out of bed today. i kept trying to get up, but i would fall back asleep. at 5 pm when jake called, i was still in bed. insane, eh?

so let me just send a little note to a long time “friend”…hey lupus…you suck my ass. big time. i always say that we coexist and i accept it and it is okay. it isn’t. you seriously, seriously suck. and to make it even better, i can’t even use you as an excuse for having to leave things early, not go out at all, etc, etc, because it makes me feel like i am making excuses. and your buddies chronic fatigue, epstein bahr, fibromyalgia, migraine, arthritis, and the awesome bouts of anxiety and depression that hang out with you, they all suck ass too. bunch of freeloading arseholes. if you wanna hang around with me, you need to start paying some sort of rent. bring a bag of chips, chip in for all the medications…something.

i had a custom order for chocolate brown yarn, and for any of you non-dyeing gals and gents out there, brown is a very tricky color. i initially dyed the fiber, and it came out so not right that i decided to spin the yarn, ply it and then dye the finished yarn. it took two shots at that, and it still has some light spots, but it looks okay. unlike oil paints, the fiber dyes just don’t follow color theory. they are made up of so many different things that even on their own they pull out odd colors depending on the fiber. i have also heard that different pans can make colors change as well. i got some really pretty fiber. here are a few photos. i will be listing that and the other ton of fiber that i still haven’t gotten around to listing. and i finally am getting my my electric carder from angela. yay!

i also took a photo of this “peaks” i have been crocheting. i have some really really big ones. this one was crocheted with noro yarn meant for machine knitting. it is almost as thin as thread. so i used a teeny hook and it took me forever to make. i don’t know what they mean, but i feel compelled to draw and paint and make them. here is one, not stuffed yet, finger included for size…and dye stained nail. ew.

xo
n.

somehow i have been in a world of my own and didn’t realize that maryland sheep and wool festival is this coming weekend. i don’t think we will be going. i mean, i know that jake will go with me if i ask, i just haven’t made any plans, whatsoever, and haven’t been listing new stuff because i swear i have been sick for the last month, so i am broke, too. hm. who out there is going?

in other news, despite waking up feeling beaten (again), i got some dyeing done, talked on the phone a bit and then totally crashed out for hours. you know that kind of sleep that you are completely baffled when you wake up and look at the clock? the craziest part about it is that i have still be exhausted at night and falling asleep at 1 or 2a, despite sleeping until 7 or 8 sometimes. i have to get all of my lupus, fibro, cfs, etc, etc, etc, bloodwork done to make sure that there isn’t something up. i keep putting it off, like everything will be okay if i don’t get the tests done, ya know? my allergies have been crazy, too. for example, i have tears streaming out of my eyes right now and i am not sad. plus the constant snot dripples. sexxxxxy!

and a few links for ya…
how cool are these organ shaped water bottles? pretty damn cool, indeed.
and you can engrave your laptop, or moleskine, or whatevah at engrave your tech.com kewl!!!

more to-morrow.
n.

1. i love giving gifts. i get so excited for someone to get it (and love it) that i tend to harass. especially if i think it is a super duper good one. and i can’t keep a secret. as soon as i get it, i have to give it.

2. if i see someone cry…even on tv, a movie…a commercial…i cry too. i don’t even feel sad, it just does me in. sniff. also, i can make myself cry.

3. when i was a kid, i wanted to be a veterinarian. after realizing that i suck at math and all of the sciences except for biology, i thought again. i have a big soft spot for animals. more so than for people. is that bad?

4. i have had pin worms several times as a kid from kissing the dog. i didn’t have a lot of friends cause we moved a lot and honestly, the dogs still would have been better friends. they really listen, you know?

5. i get really bad migraines from msg, blue cheese (even if it was on a salad that i requested to be without it and was removed in the kitchen), most kinds of alcohol, car sickness, being over tired or upset and other things i am not sure of. i have gotten them since i was in early grade school. if we had a party at school, i would gorge myself on doritos and cheezy things not knowing that they were poison to me. by the time i got home, i would be violently ill. i also would take the “accent seasoning” from the kitchen and lick my hand and sprinkle it on and then lick it off. accent is pure msg. yay! fyi, virtually every non-health store seasoning packet or soup mix has msg in it. so don’t try to feed it to me. k thanx. i still have them, but the medications are way better. i get panicky when they don’t kick in right away because i hate nothing more than going to the ER. as my neurologist likes to say “they give you the wrong thing and (gestures cutting throat with index finger)…” which is really true. they never listen.

6. my mom is a musical prodigy, as are her brothers. in south africa, she was a well known opera singer, cellist and pianist. she gave it up to get married and have kids, even though my dad said he would wait for her to go to grad school. the things we do for love.

7. i went to a state college for my first miserable year of college where i was tormented in every way possible for not being like everyone else. seriously. people stole my shoes, everyone whispered my name when i walked into lunch (i swear it. my few friends at school will back me up.) i took an art class at another college and ended up finishing out my education there. it was a women’s college and i loved it. no one wanted my shoes there.

8. for anyone that possibly doesn’t know, i have lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome and fybromyalgia. i won’t list everything else because then i will seem like a hypochondriac. mainly i just get tired out easily.

i got some dyeing done today. i did lots of locks, a bit of soy latte and some other rovings. i used the mixed bottles of dye i always use, except that clearly it was not as potent as it was, so i had to mix new dye for most of the locks. i think i will probably stop mixing bigger batches and mix as i need it. i make a mess anyway. and guess what cleans up dye stains even better than bleach? you guessed it! the magic sponge! i love those things! they rawk! i will probably take photos of my fibers and post em this weekend. i would like to do some more stuff with fresh dyes, too.

have you heard that the bodies exhibit is under scrutiny again about who the bodies are? it is in pittsburgh right now, it is on 20/20 tonight and here is an article in the post gazette. i guess you can buy something like those online. le sigh. it appears that the story that was initially going around is possibly untrue. or likely untrue. they get them into america as a “plastic model for medical teaching” rather than human remains.

off to watch 20/20.
xo
n.

i have blue/black grody fingernails. i did a bunch of dyeing, including some with fiber reactive dyes (i finally got the dye for your bamboo shannon!) although what was supposed to be teal, and i only used a teaspoon, looks navy. it isn’t rinsed yet, so fingers crossed. gah! i also found some “cotton” i got from little barn a while ago that i wasted 3 tubs of procion dye on, which literally just rinsed right out. why? well, because i think it is actually nylon. arseholes. i actually nearly tore my hair out over it, i couldn’t figure out what the issue was and dharma told me that it had to be treated or coated and that was why it wouldn’t take. or, it is not cotton. oh yeah, that is why i don’t order from them. anyway, i got some new colors, i tried most of them out, but had only rinsed out one roving and one bag of loose mohair (thanks chocolatte!), some ecru firestar (thanks barbe!) and some border leicester locks. i had some linen and hemp top from i dunno where that i dyed with the bamboo. i hate how it feels, so i am sure i will sell it. it is like rope. gross. so, i got all of that done today, plus a sam i am sock yarn at the yarn yentas request. cool! i will take photos and will be listing some loose fiber and some dyed top. there are some really gorgeous super saturated ones and some nice soft gentle colors, too.

i had an order from a regular that wanted more of an artyarn, except that i made it in a different batch, so it looked different and she was bummed. i actually need to make notes for myself so i know exactly what goes into certain things. i do remake lots of things at clients’ requests, or just sometimes because they are really popular. it is never just the same, though. i have several remakes to do this week. i relisted a few yarns that i have more of the fiber for, and of course all of them went at the same time, so i need to get them done and out in the next few days. not that i am complaining. i am happy to have business. i know things have been lean for a lot of people. everyone is broke.

after the dyeing, i worked on some of the softies i had halfway done. i hope to get them finished this week and they will probably have clothes, too! one of them is pink and cream striped birdie. the other is a kitty.

speaking of softies, i got the “plush you!” book which is fantastic. really a gorgeous book with some artists that i hadn’t heard of before. it is so good that i bought it twice. okay, i accidentally bought it twice. anyone who wants to swap me something for my brand new never read second copy?

i got a ton of spinning done today…about 6 hours worth and then getting some plying stuff cut, pulled apart and strung. i will probably be able to get the rest done to-morrow. i have had really bad cramps over the past week, but they come on suddenly like food poisoning. blech. i hate that stuff. anyway, i have been able to push through and get stuff done, so that is good. i have made some more neckwarmers, too.

i hope to load up new yarns and fibers, etc, to-morrow.
xo
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.

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.

whoa. that is all i can say. i am sitting down for the first time today. jakie went to new york for a business trip at the last minute, so i took the opportunity to get lots of stuff done. lots and lots.

i got up early to start dyeing, i will post pics to-morrow of the rest of it. i did lots of superwash merino, some merino/soy silk blend, some locks and some soy silk. lovely. i will be listing some to-morrow i think. i would do it tonite but i am so out of it that i can barely see straight. okay, so here is a pic of the yarny stuff for the day…

i also did some sewing, trying to make some baggy crappy shirts into something special. again, i will be sure to keep you posted. i had hoped to get em done tonite, but i am just too tired. i overdid it, i fear. i was just non-stop and then i was in the sun hanging up fiber and messing with it, cleaning up the back deck, bringing the fiber in. i cleaned the kitchen, the studio, organized a bit, did some sewing, is that all? literally, i only have one eye open. so. so. tired. i was sweating so much outside that my pain patch partially fell off. gah.

last week (i think?) i took this cheapo top that i have in olive as well and embroidered it with this vintage kitty “gardner”
and then did some other decorative embroidery and i now like it much better. i haaate wearing white. i feel large in white and it doesn’t look so good against my skin in its yellow glory. anyway, i may still dye it, but i do like how it came out. i used those patterns from aunt lydia (is that the name?) and the stencil looks like a coloring book page, it irons on in a second, literally, not like the other patterns and pencils i have attempted to use, you can use them multiple times and the pattern is black black black, and i accidentally ironed it on through the front and back and it washed out! and it was cheap! i like to embroider my own drawerings, too, but these are really nice.

okay, i am spacing out and i haven’t even checked email yet today, and i reckon that i won’t, either. gah.

mwah!
n.

look at the dirt in my eye and on my face! when i took a shower, the water was actually dirty! hardcore!
rough night. needless to say. i have been overdoing things, i know, but my mind is willing, even if my body is not. i have more dyeing to do but i should probably attempt to take things a bit easy this week because maryland sheep and wool is this weekend and if i am lucky, i will have made myself sick by then. you too, donna! take it easy, lady! i get to see her to-morrow i think. wooot wooot! we are so different but we have a really fun time together. very easygoing. you know how with some people there are lulls and you have to think of things to say or do? that doesn’t happen. she is a good egg. me likes her. mwah!

anyway, i was going to do some dyeing but was pooped out so i thought that i would do some spinning instead because i haven’t done a lot, etc, etc, so i did one yarn and plied it and then thought that it was so lovely outside, i would drag the louet onto the back porch and spin out there. we have a swing with an awning on it, so i figured i would do it on there so i didn’t burn the hell out of myself. um…spinning on a swing is really really hard! it reminds me a bit of sitting on one of those yoga balls or something. standing on a log in water. riding a unicycle. right zeeps? i bet you can ride one! anyway, i came out of it with a really sore neck and back. i wish i knew a message therapist that would do work for yarn. seriously. i mean it. or, i could get zeeps to ride a unicycle over my back? nah, that might cripple me. so, in closing, i don’t advise it. use a chair. that doesn’t move. i spun 4 big bobbins of yarn today. more than a pound of fiber. pretty good, eh.

on the riches you know the show with eddie izzard (woooooot!) and minnie driver? well! one of my most favorite actors evah…clancy brown! was on today. i hope he is on more episodes. oh brother justin.

i am sleepy and scattered, so off i go.

oops, i forgot, i got tagged by anja! i need to figure out who to tag though. hmmmm.

The rules
Start with 7 random facts/habits about yourself
People who are tagged have to write their 7 things on their blog
Then choose another 7 people to get tagged and list their names
Don’t forget to leave them a comment to tell them they
have been tagged and to read your blog

only 7 random things? sheesh!
1. i have the most sensitive nose and taste buds. i can smell bad things intensely and get bad bad migraines from it.
2. if i eat blue cheese, or anything that has blue cheese in it, i get sick in minutes. when i was a kid, i didn’t know that i couldn’t eat it and would eat doritos or chips at any opportunity, and they all have both blue cheese and msg in them which also makes me sick and i would get a migraine like nothing you have ever seen. bad bad stuff.
3.i love matzo with butter and vegimite. love. i eat it one row at a time.
4.my grandparents on both sides are from white russia. they came to south africa as children.
5.i was born in capetown, south africa. i didn’t become a us citizen until i was 12 (i think).
6.i love berries. all sorts of berries. i could eat raspberries and blackberries until i get sick. and i have. seriously. i have raspberries and strawberries in my garden. the strawberries are unreal. ask the squirrels, birds and rabbits. they enjoy taking a bite out of the perfectly ripe ones. sigh. eat the whole thing! geez. rude!
7.i have watched general hospital since i was in 3rd grade. i tivo it. i don’t watch any other soap and have no desire to. they seem stupid to me. odd? yeah, i reckon, but there aren’t talking chimps or psychic babies or anything, so it seems reasonable. sure, people come back from the dead sometimes, but there is usually a good explaination. right?

nighty night.
n.