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flying on sunshine.

Monday, April 14th, 2008

we had an okay weekend. jake left work way early in order to change his brakes, which he had done before (well, the rear ones and these were the front, which proved to be a different animal) anyway, he expected to be back in a couple of hours. i was up early having not slept, and had been doing spinning all day, so the time kind of went by. anyway, it ended up that he got home at 9p and still didn’t get the breaks fixed. i felt bad. he was so tired and annoyed and felt guilty for not spending time with me. i miss him when he is gone, but i got a lot of work done, so it really was fine. on a day that i feel okay, i am happy to do work. no biggie. i feel like i am the shite partner in this relationship, not he. he just has a lot to do. i understand. what else can you do? act like a jerk? i am not that sort. i know couples where the other is not allowed to do anything or go anywhere, whether it be to have a hobby or friends (which always disappear when you blow them off for many years) or to work on the car, i know people who are not so nice to their significant other. i have never really understood that. if jake only had 1 day off and he wanted to go play some blues with his friends, as long as he would have fun, i would want him to go. and he, me. we end up together most of the time, but i would like him to feel free to do whatever he wants to do. especially things he enjoys. he works so hard. he deserves to have some fun sometimes. anyway, as you can tell, i have been really paranoid that i am a bad, lame, boring wife/partner and just don’t do enough for him. for us. to keep things spicy and fun. i feel lazy. and selfish. when i feel well, i work on art or yarn stuff.

my studio is an explosion of all things art and fiber and desperately needs to be organized, but i don’t want to spend that little bit of time i have on cleaning up. i know that when the studio is clean, i like being in there more, but still, i can’t just pick up a bit at a time, i am easily overwhelmed and i can’t break things down. i see every detail. so. i need to. i have a sort of organising method in mind, i think it would work well. i also need to get rid of old clothes and i have some sewing to do. i need summer clothes, have lots of fabric and big tshirts to make into other things. so.

also, if anyone knows a local hairdresser that rocks, that knows how to do everything, that takes new classes all the time, that suggests new things and has a good sense of what looks good on who, let me know.

so, on friday, i got a lot of stuff done. lots of yarn. on saturday, i skeined up some yarn, some custom, and then went out and took photos of it, check out the flickr if you like. i have a couple more to do and i have a ton of fiber and yarn to list, plus my big electric carder from angela of material whirled will be coming tomorrow i hope, so that will rock. i hope to put it on a rolling cart that i use on the back deck to avoid making the house even more fiber covered. i am excited.

i have to get orders packed and one resent, etc, etc, etc. and potentially a very exciting thing to announce soon. i will keep you posted. as far as good news, i got accepted into a softie show called crammed organisms, there are several other people that got in that are excellent. i didn’t get into another one that i applied for and it bummed me out a bit. i don’t apply for shows ever, really, and that is something that i need to turn around. i have to do it. especially for my fine art pieces. i have to make myself do it. i also got invited to do what sounds like an amazing show in ireland, which i will keep you posted on. i am really excited about it. i just need to be organised to maximize the amount i get done, regardless of my energy. so.

i will be listing the mixed media collage/gouache pieces in my etsy shop soon. there is one in there now. i also will be listing some of the circle pieces, although a couple of them i have grown a deep attachment to, and will likely keep.

i also have some fantastic fiber charities that i want to tell you about, but i am not feeling so hot at the moment, so i will do that on the next post.

i have been paying for all the work and running around i did this weekend, which is okay. as long as i have something to pay for, rather than the sick sick sick with not cause.

here is some work i have had for a while. the amigurumi tree is new. i am planning to hone it a bit more and write up the easy pattern.

and the new yarns, one is organic brown cotton, gorgeously soft, veggie and fair trade, too! and the white one, is dye your own, it is uncarded bamboo and organic green cotton. so lovely.

oh, lastly, dunno if i mentioned it, but i would love to have some slipcovers made for my couch and two chairs. i don’t know anyone to ask. i would totally be happy to swap fiber or yarn for the sewing, or pay munny. anyone local interested, or know someone they can recommend?

xo
n.

Posted in amigurumi, art, crochet, fiber yarn floods president, marriage, sewing, spring | 3 Comments »

acknowledge angus belvedere

Saturday, June 23rd, 2007

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.

Posted in purses, sewing, shopping | 4 Comments »

scrumptious fiber and yarns anyone?

Sunday, April 29th, 2007

ooooh girrls! (and boys)i have some good stuff on the update in the luxe.etsy.com store tomorrow afternoon! very exciting stuff. seriously. so make sure you are signed up for it. if not email me at natashaluxeatgmaildotcom to let me know you want to be on it and i will add ya. you want a peek? well…
i am literally fighting with myself to figure out what to keep and what to sell. i know i can dye something similar again, but still. the sock yarn that is grayish green and the pinky purple color…oh my. i love her. love. i started a pair with one skein of the two colors of green sock yarn for jake. it is fun to knit with. i am just doing a standard sock magic loop two at a time. as usual, i had to screw it up on the cast on and do it ass backward before i got it fixed. i am doing a strange box rib on it so it isn’t insanely boring, but is knit on every other row, i can handle that. not too hard.

i also listed some vintage clothes, this amazing dress… and will be listing some vintage aprons and this rockin’ dress which i wish would fit me because it would be mine. i am so tempted to do something to it to make it fit, or cut it into a skirt and a top, but it was handmade by someone and is in perfect condition. i just can’t do it. it doesn’t seem right.

i overdid it a bit yesterday and totally conked out, so i will be doing dyeing tomorrow unless it rains. again. sigh. we went out for groceries and stopped at marshall’s where i knocked over almost everything i passed, but did manage to find a really nice escada perfume, i always get similar things that are sweet and passion fruity. it is all that i can usually wear without making me sick and i get lots of compliments on them. what can i say, i am sweet and fruity! i also got two cute dresses for summer and a bra. jake treated. what a nice boy!

i need to go and buy felt this week. as you can see on the big mosaic for the update, i dyed all of my felt and it looks lovely, but because i used it in a big ole sheet, it wasn’t as splotchy as i like. the good thing was that it went from feeling like cheapo craft felt, even though it was 100% wool felt, to feeling like nice quality felt because i was really rough with it and kind of felted it, i think. it worked out well. i feel much better about that. i am planning to start dyeing sheets of felt, as has been suggested by several different pro artisans. they said it is impossible to find in any colors (i know!) and it is poor quality, and handpainted…forget it. so there we go. and it is fun to dye and i don’t have to worry about messing it up. love it!

i have been using my gigantic electric roaster for dyeing and just bringing the contents up to a simmer and turning it off and leaving the lid on and bob’s your uncle. i have sockyarn to do for the upcoming club, so that is on the list tomorrow. i have a bit more fiber to dye, but i am nearly out, so i need to order my giant 25+ lb bump. woot woot! i think i will get some bulky cotton for summer, too, although i had using fiber reactive dyes. you have to use it right away or it is no good. i hate that. and i am not good at mixing those colors. grow up. i know. it has been so damn humid that nothing wants to dry around here. sheesh.

we were supposed to have the in-laws over for a cook out tonite, but the weather did not permit. maybe tomorrow, we will have to see. i have work to do, so i need to get some stuff done, whether they are here or not. maybe i can drag the carder outside if it is nice and save my nose and lungs from the fuzz. i swear, the fuzzy lung is bad stuff. seriously. i really get a lot in my nose and mouth and hopefully not any further.

okay, i am growing very sleepy, it is rather late, coming up on 2a. there was a bunch of stuff i wanted to talk about, but…you know how that goes. what things? alec baldwin? yeah, that was one. oh, i know, a question for the fabric peeps out there…i have been thinking about doing lots of summer things that have a deconstructed but really simple feel about them…think mad maxx but a wee bit more romantic. what fabrics would work well for frayed edges and distressing without falling apart and being summer weight? any ideas? i am thinking neutral colors…chambray in any color, i would like tops and skirts and dresses but things that could work well with a pop of color, too. i would love the waist to be that way as well as the hem, sleeves, straps, whatever. idears?

mwah!
warm (damp) fuzzies
n.

Posted in deconstructed, dyeing, sewing, update, vintagedresses, yarn | 2 Comments »

gratitude smatitude.

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

i am having such issues with feeling lazy, etc. i had a hectic weekend, was exhausted sunday, shan came that night, we spent the day monday, i did NOTHING. no biggie. vacation day. on tuesday, donna came over just for a bit, i woke up late due to the headache from the night before. she left fairly early, the dentist called to say that they could squeeze me in to do my prep for the crown so i go in. i forget to remind the dentist that the regular novacaine or whatever it is makes me sick and doesn’t work so well on me. so, i was expecting that because i had the root canal already that they were just sticking my crown in. um…no. not so much. drill. drill. drill. different drill. another drill.

an hour and a half later, i walk out feeling queasy, migraine well on its way and my mouth and jaw hurts like hell. on the upside i knitted my 2 socks on one circular the whole time, which was the only thing that saved me from writhing around and acting like a crybaby. the main thing is, i didn’t expect it to hurt, so it made it worse, i think. i didn’t even drop any stitches! pretty good, eh? i don’t know how i lived without having portable crafty things to work on when i feel anxious.

whilst getting finished up there, filing down the temp crown, the assistant was talking to me about how her mom was dying of emphysema(sp?) and that her younger sister who lived in baltimore disappeared 4 years ago and there has never been any word of her since. they found her car in a bad neighborhood a few weeks after it happened and it had absolutely no fingerprints in it, including her own. nothing. there was no paper trail, so no one used her credit cards or anything. one of the things that i learned in the 10+ years that i owned the tattoo shop is that you have no idea what is going on inside anyone’s head. no idea what may or may not of happened to shape someone’s life. perfect, gorgeous women who seem like they would have it all got cancer and their husband left them. men whose wives took off and left their children behind. all kinds of things. before then, i always had a very hard time meeting new people. i always took everything personally. i thought everything was about me. in a negative way. which is even worse. and i know grown people who are like that. it is sad. they are people that no one wants to be around. people who can’t be happy for anyone. can’t empathize with anyone. think that whatever they have is better than what anyone else has, or worse, or whatever. it is just sad. i learned that it means a lot to people to have someone to open up to. even if you are a stranger. it means a lot to someone to have a little bit of kindness. to be a little bit spoiled. to feel special. even if it is the smallest thing, just for a moment. it is so easy to lose sight of that. to wallow in your own crap. i don’t ever want to be that person. i don’t ever want to lose sight of how much i have. i don’t want to lose sight of the fact that for all of the really hard days that i have where i feel awful, i have some that i am inspired. i am able to push through. i am able to roll around like a pig in mud in the fiber, the paint, the cats…my amazing friends who love me and never give up on me even when i haven’t talked to them in months, my family. and most of all, my jake, who has taught me that you really can have unconditional love and support. that someone really might think i am incredible…no matter what i grew up thinking or feeling. and that means so much to me. i think of those dark, miserable people who see everything as negative despite the fact that they usually have fairly easy lives all things considered. sad.

so where am i going with this? well, i have major guilt issues about being sick. about not feeling up to doing work. or cooking. or cleaning. or making phone calls. anything. and i know that all of us with health issues have the same guilt (don’t worry, i won’t mention any names) so i try to push it aside. but even still, i can’t help but wonder if someone else could push through it. i see how hard my jake works, waking up at 3:30a and getting home anywhere between 4p-6p and sometimes cooking dinner if i am not up to it. and never acting crappy about it. ever. or i see how hard shannon works, like the damn eveready bunny. or any number of other people who have their hands full with kids, and all sorts of other things. but there is nothing i can do about it. so i have to just accept it. i have to.

i am slowly learning to sew. i can put in a hidden zipper pretty well, it doesn’t scare me anymore. i used the bi-fold bias tape for the waistband of my one skirt and it looks really pretty. i have made a few things and have been doing sketches for some purses and tops and skirts. so that is exciting. i am going to attempt to sell some handpainted felt and fabrics, because i think color is my forte. the ironic thing is that growing up and in college, i was not a color person. i used dirty colors, and blood red, and that was really it. i don’t know how i lived without color. i wish i could go back in time. but i can’t. so in this life, i will try to be open to what i love and what i am really good at. i see people fighting that, they are good at something, but they want to be good at something else. they just won’t accept that it isn’t their thing. and it is a shame. so much of being happy and successful is accepting yourself as you are. striving for excellence is a fantastic thing, but some things, like me being a basketball player, are just not going to happen. and it is important to be realistic.

so, to drastically change subjects, here are some of the photos i had promised…here is my spring wreath. is it the cutest thing ever?

here is jake looking sexy in his yardwork clothes and steel toed shoes. seriously, he is such a sexy mofo. he thinks i am just saying it, and that you guys just say nice things to be…nice. so go ahead, leave him a comment telling him what you really think. i seriously am not sure how i lucked out like this. scccccooooooore!

here is kahlo’s hairless belly. she is a licker. i think it may be allergies, but she licks pretty much any part of herself that she can comfortably reach, her tummy, inner thighs, parts of her outer thighs, her feet, paws, etc, etc. anyway, the result is pink, cool as a cucumber and the softest thing you have ever felt. wanna see?

i finished my first pair of magic loop 2 at a time socks today and while they are not perfect, they came out okay. i will take a photo tomorrow. i need to make my dad a pair that promised for months ago and then jake is next in line. i let him try on my pair as i was knitting them (cuff down) and he said “ooh, it feels like i am not even wearing socks!” so i am excited to make him some. he said he wanted big thick ones for walking around the house in, so i think i might just spin up the yarn myself. in worsted weightish yarn it wouldn’t be that much yardage. my only concern is that a single ply will pill a bit. my other choice would be to buy some yarn or use sportweight doubled.

in music news, we got several new cds, amy windhouse being one of them and it is really fantastic. she is a 23 year old londoner and has a voice from beyond, amazing. they call it neo-soul. her voice reminds me of lauren hill a bit, but better and more consistent. also, lauryn hill made incredibly nasty racist comments against caucasians. not cool. we also got the fratelli’s new album. they are from glasgow and it appears to me that lots of good things do. it is a really good upbeat album that is good from start to finish. lots of fun. it reminds me of the commitments soundtrack. anyone remember that? good stuff.

we also have been really into murder by death. good stuff. i promise you. i will post some more soon, too. i need to get a new ipod. mine is a zillion years old and has to be plugged in and i can’t update it anymore, and is only 10G which holds a teeny fraction of the zillion cds we have. i forget all of the stuff we have because my memory is really bad and on ipod, it is there, you can listen to whatever you fancy. i am getting sleepy, so off i go. sigh. so so tired. man.

i love all of you guys. i hope you realize how much i have gained from having this blog…all of the things that have happened as a direct result of it. you rock!

xoxo
n.

Posted in amywinehouse, dentist, fratellis, gratitude, migraines, sewing | 5 Comments »

wanna see what i got?

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

so here is some of my score. the fabric and some other odds and ends i didn’t show. yes, there was more. a lot of this stuff will be listed on my etsy store to-morrow.

i also found some fantastic vintage sewing books that are actually really great and have wonderful illustrations. i am assuming that they belonged to the same person.

i got some sewing done today, i will take photos, soon. i swear. in one of the sewing books i have, i think the sew what! skirt book, there was a little blurb about using bias tape to finish a waistband if you didn’t want to actually sew a waistband. i did that today (i used the dual fold 1/2 bias tape) and it works so well and looks so nice and polished. i also did my third hidden zipper and it went well. fancy, eh? i had made a pattern for a skirt and somehow managed to make it incredibly enormous, like twice as big as me. i dunno if i did the math wrong or if i was bloated and did the math wrong or what, but i only figured out how off it was after i put in the zipper. sigh.

after all of that, our friend jason and his adorable girlfriend came over and we made some digiorno pizzas (waaaaay better than delivery. you wouldn’t mistake it for delivery because it ROCKS) and then got italian ice (for you locals, the meadows has italian ice now. passion fruit. yum!), and they had a flavor called…wait for it…get the kids away from the computer, this is really vulgar…DIRTY TURTLE. how sick is that?? so creepy. and worse yet, jake and jason both ate it! ewwwwww! he needs to rinse out with bleach if he wants to kiss me. jake, i mean, not jason. we had a nice time. i sewed a hem whilst chatting. we ate outside on the back porch and i let peeps out onto the grass because she had been crying all evening. she loves to eat grass, she must need greens, i guess. she is like a little weedwacker. she heads straight for the long grass that the mower misses and eats and eats and eats. billy goat peeps. i took photos which i will load up to-morrow. we had a really nice time.

i am really happy with my hair. i feel like i can do lots of things with it and before, i really felt like my hair had no style at all. when it was short it had a specific style and i could do things with it, but for a while it was just blah. thanks tammy!

oh, another quick mention, dharmatrading.com sells a product called reduran that removes dyes, ink, grease and i now found out…hair dye, from your hands. it is amazing. you all know that i hate to wear gloves if i don’t need to, and i personally think that acid dyes are not a big deal in their liquid form. anyway, this stuff totally takes the dye off of my hands. jason’s girlfriend is a hair stylist and had hair dye on her hands and said that nothing gets it out and i gave her some of this to try and it worked. she couldn’t believe it. it doesn’t have harsh chemicals in it, i don’t know how it works, but the link i put in here has a video of it in action. it is a must have for anyone who does messy stuff that stains you. even dyeing hair. i wish i had this when i used to use vegetable dyes on my hair. ah well.

i had other things i wanted to chat about but i am really sleepy. shhhhnore!

i am not sure if i posted this or not, but i am planning to do a batt/roving of the month club and a sock yarn of the month club, also. there aren’t many slots left already, so please let me know if you are interested. i will be sending it out in the update email.

oh, and my brother josh wrote the newest vampirella comic which is out in comic stores now. pretty cool, eh?

i don’t feel like drawing, i am sooo tired, but i need to. everyday. no. matter. what. such a hard life i lead. ha.

xo
n.

Posted in reduran, sewing, thrift, vampirella | 2 Comments »

gatrink…gadrink…gadrink…

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

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.

Posted in cats, poop, sewing, wreath, yarn | 10 Comments »

books rock! image heavy city.

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

okay, so i got a bunch of books from amazon, a BUNCH and can you believe it…they are all fantastic. i looked at people’s opinions on amazon and i am really impressed. i got this book, the starving artist’s way which came out a few years ago and i hadn’t heard of…have you? anyway, for the art school nerds out there, this book is so cute, for anyone, but it has little blurbs about practically all of my favorite artists and her take on their art as used in decorating, stuff for your home, furniture, and even some really cool recipes, like mole chocolate and chocolate peanut butter cubes and pierogie grilled sandwiches. cool? the only downfall is that there are no photos, you know how i feel about that, however, the website has all kinds of stuff on it that makes it not such a big deal. the book looks like it is written on kraft paper which cracks me up, too. 2 paws up! really cool. additionally, the auther, nava lubelski is a rather accomplished artist that i hadn’t heard of because i no longer keep up on modern fine art, whatever that is, really, but her stuff is incredible. it has lots of crochet and embroidery. really textural and it really speaks to me. it has a really familiar feel to it, like she is my sister or something. i get that feeling about people and their work now and then, it is really odd. so i immediately looked her up and shot her an email. i hope her publisher will do another push for the book, or put it out again, because i think that the diy craft movement has gained so much momentum since 2004 when the book came out that i think it could really go. i am still stunned that i have never heard of it before. anyway, any crafty book that mention the velvet underground, lucien freud, louise b, josheph beuys, frida, paul klee, mark rothko and virtually every other artist that i hold dear, is a go with me. so buy it, it is cheap on amazon.

what else? well, i got sew u the built by wendy guide to making your own wardrobe. it has all of the basics up to advanced projects, and has all of the equipment you need, how to store things, tons of tips and tricks and from my perusal so far, seems really well laid out. the projects build in complexity and each project shows the initial plan with a drawing over the top of it showing what you are adding or omitting. i am a very visual learner, so this is a good thing for me. it also has paper patterns for a basic a-line skirt, a blouse and a pair of pants and then variations on each of those. i like that a lot. okay. next book? i know, i got a lot, but they were at really low prices and i got the free amazon shipping. i got this book new for 18 bucks. it would be 26 bucks plus tax if i bought it at my local bookshop. not too shabby!

next, sew what! skirts which has 16 skirt patterns that are really pretty and straightforward with lots of possibilities to change em up. it seems like you could make pretty much any skirt once you got this figured out. and again, that is how i learn, i am really bad at blindly following steps, i have to understand the whole process, so these books look like they will be perfect. here’s one of the cute skirts from this book:

moving along, generation t one of the tshirt deconstruction books. actually, one of the only ones that got good reviews. the other ones seemed more geared towards teenaged kids or younger. this one has a lot of really cute things that i would wear. there are some bikini and halter tops that are a bit more skin baring than i could do, but if you added some length to a lot of the designs it would be really cute. also, in the patterns, they use pretty much nothing but tshirts, and a lot of the designs would be amazing with other fabrics added in, or just using other fabrics in general. i love the idea of using really cheap fabric and tshirts to learn to sew and actually have cute summer clothes. here is a top i really like… also, thissy skirt… and there is a super cute wrap top, too. seriously, lots of things i would make and wear. oh, and on amazon, i paid around 10 bucks for this book new! at the end of the book is the big finale…a tshirt wedding dress! and it is very pretty, too!

next up, tshirt makeovers which is fairly new i think. here is one from there… and this cute top…
the projects are rated for difficulty, but they are actually very fresh ideas, unlike most of the tshirt books that are just a cut up tshirt and look like a cut up tshirt. some of the tops are skimpy, but i think with length added and maybe some other fabrics added, they could work for most anyone. which is very exciting to me. i may start to get excited about clothes again! i have desperately wanted to design and make my own clothes since i can remember, but had sort of an irrational fear of doing it any way but with a needle and thread. the complexity of patterns and my inability to follow directions blindly also freaked me out. so these new books are so exciting, in case you haven’t figured that out.

i actually got a lot done today, although i feel crummy all of a sudden. i had a very hard time getting out of bed this morning, but once i got up and going, i felt okay. i got orders packed, i dyed a bunch of fiber yesterday, so i braided those, rinsed another batch and dyed a cashmere sweater for a client. the color came out brighter than planned, but it is pretty and looks even from what i can tell. i will post it, although i should have posted a before. it was an oatmeal color before. i did a bit of spinning, caught up on some phone calls i needed to make, realized that my dentist appointment was today not to-morrow. sigh. cooked up some dinner, hung out with jake and attempted to upload photos to flickr, which has been giving me lots of issues and then realized that the flickr uploader for mac is really rather good. you can tag and label everything ahead of time which is pretty cool. but i feel queasy and pre-migrainish so i will finish up here and take a shower.

before i go, some things i have been working on…

and i have some softy patterns i am working on if you wann look at my flickr. oh, and also the new dyed fibers. i will be listing them soon, but if you see something you like, let me know and i will put it aside for ya.

oh, and shannon, aka knitgrrl will be visiting this weekend and i get to see her new louet victoria!! woot woot!

xo
n.

Posted in art, books, fiber, headaches, moleskine, sewing, starvingartist | 5 Comments »

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Thursday, April 5th, 2007

ask me what i am up to? well, not a whole lot. i overdid it and my hands have been killing me. and with both of my wrist brace thingies on, i am not so agile with the hands. to-morrow, will be better! i know it! anyway, when my right hand only was hurting, i did some drawing and writing with my left hand practicing, like i mentioned before. i actually told my mom and she didn’t even seem to think it was odd. she asked me why, and i said for fun. or if i have a stroke, i am all set. how morbid! just being prepared. sheesh. anyway, i am much better at drawing with my left hand than writing. isn’t that strange? i meant to ask my neurologist what that meant and forgot.

so in crazy news, my mother-in-law was visiting someone’s house with a friend and the neighbor from a few doors down had an autistic son who got her car keys (the kid’s mom’s, not my mol) and drove the car into several cars on the street, a fire hydrant and my mom in law’s new suv and the lady’s house! the best part is that i guess that the woman’s insurance has a $25,000 cap, so any damages over that (and i imagine they
will be waaaaaay over that) will be paid by the people whose stuff got wrecked. i guess they will have to pay their deductible? i am not really sure, as i know the person who causes the wreck is supposed to pay. anyway! after all of that, today, on oprah they had a show about autism, which affects 1 in 150 kids! did you know that? i thought it was really rare. i was shocked. i know a few people who have autistic sons (it seems like it affects boys more than girls, but i could be wrong) and the thing that is so crazy is that it seems like it most often becomes apparent when they are around 2 years old and all of the speech and other skills they have learned just disappear. it seems to be clearly a genetic presdisposition, but it seems like something must cause it to actually kick in, and there is not much known about it, and not much research going into it, even though it affects so many people. 1 in 150. that is crazy! the big thing with autism is that if you catch it as early as possible, it can make a big difference, so if you have a little one, go and look at the site and the warning signs. my younger brother had a little boy in his playgroup as a toddler named leo that ended up being autistic, he was a gorgeous little boy, and his two older sisters are doctors, i believe. it is just so amazing how different children from the same parents can be. i know a couple of people dealing with this in their lives (and amazingly well!) i don’t want to say names, but you have my admiration.

last night i got a bunch of sewing books on amazon and actually feel guilty about it today, although they were all things that i knew were good, including sew u, and some other basic books. i have already been sketching up designs, i have bunches in old journals, too, in hopes that i could learn some day. there are several really cute new skirts on amy butler’s website, but the links for stores that carry them, no one has it, so i emailed her (she is my friend butter’s aunt) to ask if she knew where…the variations are so cute. also, if you have her book, in stitches, there is an apron pattern variation (which is free on her site) to make that into a cute skirt. super cute! she sent me some patterns a while ago after i sent her some yarn to play with and one was a cute stuffed toy/pillow, super cute. i plan to make a few of those, but on her site, there is a free pattern for a kitty pillow, so pop by…

joann’s has a sale going on this weekend on sewing stuff and patterns, so i plan to go in and get some notions, bobbins, needles and cheap patterns. eeeeeasy ones. any interest donna? i am excited to go. i also need to find out how i can get my machine tuned up. it is a “white” so i think i may name her betty, oh, or maybe betsy…hmmm…unless karissa had her named already.

on the tyra banks show, they have this single mom that makes pr0n movies for a living, and lives super duper well and only works 70 days a year. tyra was obviously grossed out by her, or thought she was evil or something. it isn’t the best thing in the world, but it is in another way rather amazing to be able to be home for your kid and to take them where they want to go, spend time with them, give them warm meals, etc, etc, even if the job isn’t the best case scenario. i have major issues with pr0n as a woman and a women’s college graduate, but i also see how hard a lot of single mom’s have it. feel free to yell at me if you like.

back to business, i will be updating with new yarns and fiber probably monday or tuesday. with it being easter, i don’t know how busy the internet will really be. or does someone know if it is normally a busy time. i don’t celebrate easter, and i guess nothing is open, so maybe it will be busy. hm. maybe i will update on sunday. just for those of you nice enough to pop by. hm. i will keep ya posted for sure.

wanna see some yarns now?

i found this really cool link that i hadn’t heard of before…ever heard of it? threadbanger.com…i plan to listen to the podcast, although, we all know i have a short attention span for them. i have also been thinking about doing a personal podcast that goes along with my blog and what i am up to, into, etc, etc…what do you guys think? if you lurk and never post, leave me a message, okay? on bloglines, i have close to 100 readers now, i think…although in the end, like my blog, it is just another form of documentation, that i feel compelled to make, like a sketchbook or photos, even if no one else cares but me. as long as barbe still wants to do fluff-a-licious we will do that one, which is more of a crafty blog, we will do that one. again, i am still not sure that i should bore anyone with my blabbering. i would love to interview people, although i know that if you don’t have good chemistry, or don’t know them well, or they are shy, it can be rather hard to listen to. you know? just thinking out loud, here. it would most likely just be me talking about whatever. we will see. you will know first. or second, i guess.

off to return emails…
mwah!
n.

Posted in autism, drawing, podcast, sewing, yarn | 6 Comments »

seeeeew fun!

Sunday, April 1st, 2007

i feel like such a terrible blogger, but i have been really pooped lately, so please forgive me. today, donna came over to help me with my sewing machine and she couldn’t figure out what was going on and we sort of left it at that, hours and hours later, i decided just to give it a try to see how it was and it worked. no idea what happened. it is still a bit fussy, but through all of the fussing, i figured out how to thread it and wind a bobbin and am over my fear of it. one of the things i didn’t realize was the needles don’t just snap and shoot at you for no reason. the people i knew that did that were sewing over pins full speed and nine layers of denim, etc. i didn’t actually know anyone who sewed well, i guess. anyway, donna was a super teacher and we had a really fun time. and! i got a skirt almost done! i need to finish the waist and the bottom. it isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but we put a zipper in and it looks good. i used the zipper foot! check me out! thanks so much donna, you rock! i tried on the skirt and it fit, i need to finish it and i looked so gross with no makeup and a tanktop on that i couldn’t bear to take a photo. i just looked too bad. soon, though.

as a result of the concentration, i am a bit pooped out. i have had a sore throat and swollen glands over the last few days, i think it is allergies, so i feel pretty sleepy. but i had to check in.

on redshirtknitting.com last night, i found e’s rant on pro-anorexia blogs and thought she might be overreacting…um…she wasn’t. i was so stunned at the fellowship on those blogs with girls giving each other tips and tricks to starve yourself, get down to your goal weight of 80 lbs and trick your parents into thinking you have eaten. they idolize nicole richie “for what she has done” meaning her physique.

anorexic queen is one of them. the worst thing is that the media helps to push these ideas. they scorn one of the olsen twins for being unhealthy and sickeningly thin, and the other who is a few pounds heavier looks hot. wha? they mock nicole richie for being “fat” and then when she melts away to nothing, they say how gross it is. gee, i wonder why girls have these issues. it is so hard not to. when i worry about my diet, i become obsessive about it. i was on the atkins diet and followed it to the letter, and it does work amazingly well. anyone that says it doesn’t is cheating. period. anyway, i kept losing weight, i couldn’t maintain weight without gaining, and on the strict diet, i lost my appetite to the point that i just didn’t want to eat at all. and the scary thing was i didn’t want to let go of that control. it made me feel powerful to be so thin. guys hooted at me. even guys that knew me and never even looked at me before. i loved telling them to kiss my ass. ha! so i do understand the addictive nature of dieting. i am sure you have figured out that i am an all or nothing kinda gal. the things i am into…i am INTO.

anyway, to extend this rant, i got a pattern for an aline skirt and donna warned me that they ran super small. well, i figured that it goes up to an 18 and i don’t wear anything near an 18, what’s the problem? well…according to the pattern, an american size 8 is the smallest size, with a 24 inch waist…what? the size 18 was a 32 inch waist. seriously? maybe they are euro sizes, but it doesn’t say that. so when i had been cruising sewing blogs and saw complaints about no patterns for bigger gals, i suddenly understood. women who are actually the average size in america are considered plus sized. sigh. on america’s next top model, the two girls who are 5’10 and wear a size 8-10 are considered plus sized. sigh. i won’t go on about this. the worst part is that most of us are critical of ourselves and of other women and it is so hard not to be. i don’t read fashion magazines and have gotten to the point of loathing fashion and feeling that it is utterly ridiculous. the costumes look silly on the teeny girls, who would possibly wear it? hence, i would love to be able to make my own clothes. no more disposable clothes. i am hoping to refashion some of my things that don’t fit or are ugly, or get rid of them. but i am excited to try to tear stuff up. i will keep you posted. again, we all know how obsessive i can be, so i fear that sewing might be the next big thing in my life. especially since i can make things for really cheap. that always gets the ball rolling. example? spinning, dyeing, etc, etc, etc. ok. end rant. i think that sewing will be healthier than what happens to me on the atkins diet. plus, i have been accumulating vintage fabric and linens for ages for when i learned to sew. seriously.

i stumbled across bookins.com another book trading site. if you want a book, you pay 3.99 for shipping, if you send one, you get a prepaid thing that you can print off of the computer, so no trips to the post office. i hoard the books i like, but i have loads that i don’t love so much. i need to get my bum in gear for one of these sites so i can get them to someone that will enjoy them more than i do. speaking of books, i just ordered some new things from amazon, which i haven’t gotten yet…but i got patternless fashions not a new book, but it came highly recommended. what else? sew what? skirts… which got rave reviews from new sewers and seasoned sewers alike. and spiral bound pages! woot! there are several more i want to get, although even as a total newbie, i see lots of things that have really simple patterns that i could make up myself, and i am not so into that. i will try to resist buying anything that isn’t inspirational. so. the other books i got are just fiction.

whilst cruising sewing blogs i found this adorable penguin tutorial from the moonstitches.typepad.com tutorial. too cute. oh my!

i also found a contest for something that can be produced from recycled plastic bags here which is purdy cool, no?

i got my new t-shirts from threadless.com today, which i will post. i got one of there girly t-s because i loved the design and the color, but i normally get guys shirts and cut of the next and stuff, and i got an xlarge because girl tshirts are not made for my boobs, so i assumed it would be like an american apparel xlarge which fits, but is tight and shorter than i fancy…anyway, it was almost the same size as the guys medium i got jake! i was so excited! the sleeves were a bit shorter, i will still cut off the neck and maybe do something else with it, but still, that is nice!

i guess that sums it up. i will be forced to give you some photos, because i like seeing photos when i read blogs. so. red couch from my sketchbook…

sooo sleepy and out of it. i am off to read and watch the black donnelly’s. so good. good soundtrack, too.

mwah!
n.

Posted in anorexia, sewing, tired, weight, yarn | 7 Comments »

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