31 August 2006

chooga chooga wooooot woooot!

aug 30 2006pavel says, "what an exciting day!" first i got all the web attention via whipup.net and craftzine.com. then...about a year ago, shortly after i started selling my yarn, i bought jenny dowde's book about scrumbling (freeform knitting and crochet) i went to her site to check it out and then sent her an email asking her if she would like some of my yarn to play around with. she sent me a really nice email back and i sent her some yarn. i sent it and that was it. a while later, she told me that she was going nuts working on her new book freeformations and that she had used some of my yarns in her new book. she asked if it was okay to put my shop info in there. what? are you kidding? about 2 weeks ago, she sent me an email asking for my snail mail addy to get me a copy of the book. i just got it today and not only did she use my yarn, but one project is striped with my yarn and then a plain yarn and has a huge thing about my and my yarn! i will take a photo of the pages and post it to-morrow. this is my first appearance in a book and i was so excited! i didn't think i would be, but my cheeks hurt from smiling, i was all giddy and jake was freaking out more than me, i think. so thanks so much jenny! you rock! it isn't available yet, but will be soon and you can preorder it. it is really a gorgeous book with some really unusual things in it and really clear instructions for those that are a bit scared to do a project sans pattern. ok. i will now shut it. woooot! oops. it slipped.

so, i got a lot of spinning done today and got a bunch more beads done. i am trying to figure out a way to seal and harden the paper without having to use heat. i found porcelinize it!, which would probably work and then, i found this which i think would really work well. i am eager to get some and see how it works. if anyone has any other ideas, please feel free to leave a comment. also, i have been making the beads on a piece of wire about 12 inches long, sealing them on there and then taking them off after. when i use vaseline on the wire to prevent sticking, it slimes up the paper so much that it won't stick. when i don't, they stick together. anyone have any ideas? it isn't a huge problem, because they break apart pretty easily.

i made a bunch of longer beads that i plan to seal and then cut into small beads. i sealed them tonight, i will let you know how well it works out. if it does, it could go a really long way to making a lot of beads in a reasonable amount of time. i also plan to work on some buttons to-morrow.

i was up until late last night doing some wire crochet, which came out really well, again, photos to-morrow. i also did a necklace with copper wire and some paper beads. really pretty. i will post the pattern asap. if anyone has wire crocheted jewelry, or paper beads, or something made out of paper beads, please post a comment or email me and i will make sure to post a link. i am so eager to see what you guys make and if you have any improvements on the method.

i was still up at 2a.m. and jake normally gets up around 2:30a. i decided to make him chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and woke him up with them. of course i made plain ones for myself and put cinnamon sugar on them. my favorite. so yummy! i should have taken photos. i slathered his pancakes in whipped cream and then sprinkled that with mini m and m baking pieces.

i overdid it a bit over the last few days, so i woke up super tired. i got a good bit done once i actually got going. sensio made me a double coffee which really helped. i spun two bulky bobbins of yarn and then another half. so that is good. it is a slight variation on the pink one, with more purple and some golden yellow. really pretty. pics to-morrow. i will try.
scrap 6 this yarn is spun up from one of the spinning batts that i sell on luxe. the batts look ugly, but you just spin it as is and it looks like you did something tricky. they are so fun to spin with. i can also do one in a certain color scheme if you ask, as i said, i am easy. so ask.

if you are new to my blog, please leave me a comment and say hi! i have had about 1000 hits yesterday because of the whipup and craftzine links and about that today, as well. and luxe isn't doing so badly either. also, if you see a yarn or scarf that you like, let me know, it is probably available but not listed. and i can normally make more. so ask. i am easy that way. ask anyone. that sounded bad, huh?

i just want to say how inspired i have been lately by everyone's excitement. i have had experiences with the people acting negative and unsupportive. i know that i can be a bit much, i am a bit obsessed (okay, really really obsessed) with whatever i am working on at the moment. i do it until i am sick of it, usually. i get a flood of ideas and i want to try to work on them while i am still into it. actually my pal, lynn, the yarnwench told me that i was obsessed (with paper beads) and i am. i get that way about the thing of the moment and it is how i get a lot done, and quite often it sticks. if it reads a certain way on the blog, it is 100 times that in real life. so i am sure i am overwhelming, but i cannot handle being dismissed or treated like i am annoying. i felt like that most of my life and i won't deal with it now. i don't have to. no one should. so. end rant.

i am planning to bake something for our anniversary, although it was yesterday. oh, i need to take photos of the purdy flowers he got me, too. and no carnations. i hate carnations. blech. so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to suggest away. i am thinking a ginger chocolate cake, dense and gooey. no other ideas.

must. make. knits. for. boutique.
ooh, and i get to see a really good pal from college and her adorable boy to-morrow! wooo hooo!

warm fuzzy smoochy poos!
n.

posted by natasha @ 8:50 PM  23 comments

30 August 2006

happy anniversary jakie! and more beads. ouch.

jake and iok! first things first. jake and i have had 3 years of wedded bliss as of today! he is the sweetest, most amazing person i have ever known. and i mean that. we are so different and somehow it works anyway. he is organized and neat, i am...not. ok, that is the biggest difference. he is good with numbers...i mix up numbers and letters. seriously. he never gets mad at me for anything...almost anything, and loves me more than i ever imaged anyone would, or could. and i never knew i could adore someone the way i adore him. if i kiss him will he's sleeping, he will mutter in his sleepy voice, "i love you baby." he will act like he doesn't want the last piece of something until he is sure i don't want it. he listens to my insane ideas and fears and obsessions. he loves the cats, even when they are bad. he has enabled me to be a professional artist. without him, i don't know where i would be today. i have never been so loved and felt like i have a home until we got married. he is my family. he is my world. i love you more than you can imagine, jakie.

ok. now. onto some excitement for the day! michelle emailed me with interest in the paper beads. i happened to be working on a tutorial anyway, so i got it done and let her know about it. she put it on whip up! thanks so much michelle! needless to say, my stats, which are never bad, don't get me wrong, but when i checked them at lunchtime, i had 500 hits for the day. yah! so then, i noticed that i had also been linked on craftzine.com! and i think there might be something else coming up. so. woot! i think i just wooted my own horn.

onto some bead news. i burned the hell out of my fingers and hand whilst using the UTEE. if you are planning to use it in whatever heating pot you have, be careful. it burns worse than hot glue, if that gives you an idea. it is like molten lava. it is hard to control. so. i tried a batch with modpodge instead, i used 2-3 coats. the only issue with that is that it doesn't get hard like the UTEE, not that you are going to abuse beads that much anyway. ok, so a lot more photos on my flickr. i am eager to actually use some of them. here is a photo that shows some of the paper beads next to amber beads:utee beads and amber beads

here are some photos showing how different the beads look sealed with mod podge rather than the resin:paper beads with modp

and the resin:music bead

do i still make yarn, you ask? well, yes. i am trying to do wholesale orders due in the next month, so i haven't been listing it. there are photos here pink n fuzzyif you see something you love, please email me and let me know. okay?

thanks for all of them sweet comments and emails! you guys!
xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 6:40 PM  18 comments

28 August 2006

the paper bead tutorial! LOTS O' PHOTOS!!!

ok, so i have had so many comments and emails about this, i decided to get my act together and do a tutorial. this post was the original one that got the ball rolling, and has loads of pictures, and some other basic tutorials. so check that out.

PAPER BEADS...WHY? this is why i love this project so much...i am cheap. i look at most things and think, "i could make that better and for way less money. and i could add this or try this or do this..." so, as you all know, i am really into crocheting with wire and beads and i realized that beads are really really expensive. nice ones, anyway. and while i may be cheap, i hate cheapo stuff. i saw some paper beads on etsy a while ago. i don't remember who made them, but they were just paper and glue not sealed or anything. i researched how to make them online, and had seen the idea before. the victorian women would make paper beads out of wallpaper scraps and then would string them to make curtains to separate rooms. it is odd that such uptight people were so very crafty. they did loads of neat stuff. anyway, at this point, i realized that you can use any kind of paper, i think that thinner paper is easier to work with, like origami papers or pages from books, but you can use whatever you like.

you can even take plain paper and stamp them or draw on them or paint or whatever you want. papers with really small details work well because you can see it in the beads, but in a lot of cases, it looks like a pattern...for example, these beads: paper beads closeupthe one on the left is origami paper, the one on the right is floral patterned thin paper, japanese i think. the more coats of glue, varnish, UTEE or whatever coating on them, the more glassy and glossy they look. if you aren't using them in a context that they may get wet, you could just leave them dry. totally up to you. i am a nerd for shiny. a crow. i think i am a crow. ok. so. paper. any kind you like.

WHAT NOW? cut the paper into strips. in some of the other tutorials, you can see different shapes to cut them into to make different shaped beads. i use a triangular strip, long and skinny, but you can make it shorter, experiment. i have a rotary paper cutter and that is the easiest way, i think, of cutting the paper. i initially used a heavy duty utility knife and the cutting matte and ruler, but scissors or whatever will work just fine. you could probably even use quilling strips. try to make the cuts as smooth as possible. for a different look, tear the paper and roll it lengthwise for a long skinny bead.

GET YOUR GLUE ON: the directions i found use white glue or decoupage glue...i think it just makes a total mess. i used a UHU glue stick, and later a UHU glue pen because it has a narrow tip, and it worked great. use a good bit so it is sticky enough to stay rolled up. you could use a toothpick with paste or glue, also.

i rolled my beads onto a piece of wire, as you can see from the pic. you want to roll from the wide side, as tightly as you can, ending with the teeny skinny side and make sure that that end is glued down well. i put about a dozen beads per foot long piece of wire. they will come off pretty easily. i tried using wooden skewers coated in vaseline, but the beads stuck to that. no good. so that is it. you could leave them at that point as is,paper beadsthis is what they look like unsealed... or seal them with mod podge, as many coats as you want. or you could paint the beads, add sparkle or ink or whatever you like. at that point, scrap paper beadsi antique some of my beads, jacquard has really great sparkly pigments that can be put right onto the bead, or, in my favorite way, added to UTEE which is thick embossing powder and then the bead can be rolled in it and heated or heat the utee in a pot and dip your beads in. the more coats of this you put on, the thicker. this stuff is amazing. use different finishes to make the beads look like metal, gems, or pearls, even...pearl paper beadsthese are a bit lumpy and bumpy, but you get the idea. head over to my flickr bead set to see some of the other ones, and new things will be added all the time.
once you are done, you can sand the edges a bit, or sand the whole thing for another look altogether. the options are endless. make small beads that are more plain, or big ones to use as pendents, and make them into any shape. if you wanted to just layer them, you can cut out a form and go from there, or decoupage over something and drill a hole later. so many options! oooh, and photos! you can make a photo bead or pendant. i am going to!

don't be afraid to try different things. this is inexpensive and fun. anyone can do it, and it is a great project for little kids. for those of us that save every little scrap, this is perfect. i am planning to try yarn and fabric, but keep an open mind and have no fear!
a couple of tips: use either a non-stick cookie sheet or some waxed paper so you don't get glue and paper and gunk all over your table or whatever you are using. also, if you use the utee, it can burn you, so be careful with it. baby wipes are a great thing to have handy so you can get the glue and smutz off of your fingers in between beads, as well as cooling off your fingers if your drip hot stuff. roll a really long bead and after it is dry, cut it into several smaller beads with a utility knife.

make sure to let me know what you make so i can check them out. i think a flickr paper bead group might be in order, eh?

go crazy with it!
n.

***edit...i used the melting pot today and burned the hell out of myself, so please be careful if you choose to use this method, as opposed to a paint on sealant or mod podge. i am going to do some with the mod podge and will post finished pics. and more bead pics coming soon!

posted by natasha @ 2:05 PM  86 comments

27 August 2006

don't hate me. and a contest!

we watched "garden state" on tivo. woah. what a let down. it wasn't terrible. just...boring. and i think that zak braff's teeth might be dentures. someone else's dentures. the soundtrack is really nice, but it was a bit trite. i am so jaded. although, i have seen a lot of movies lately that were great. just not that one. ah well.

we also watched "munich" which was really good. it reminded me in a lot of ways of "cold montain" oddly enough. the statement being that war makes no difference and the people get hurt, while the leadership that started it are warm in their homes unaware of what they are really doing. you cut off a head and two more with even more poison sprout. when the enemy does it they are fanatical, when we get our own boys to do it, they are brave. either way, it isn't right for them to die, for nothing to change, because it isn't supposed to. stepping down off of movie-inspired soapbox. down.

we did nothing whatsoever today. i woke up exhausted and slept off and on for a lot of the day. i woke up at 8:30p. so odd. i guess it is the lupus, but still.

i finished the circular cardigan and it looks awful on me. it is too small, i think, as well. my boobs are too big. it is wearable but i feel like a caveman. captain caveman! (on a tangent, one of my friends made herself a swimsuit by adding black fringe all the way around it, she thought that it looked like a flapper outfit, but it made her look much rounder than she was, and i told her she looked like captain caveman, like an arsehole, and hurt her feelings. hugely.)so i think i might sell it. but it has 300 bucks worth of my handspun in it not including all the frickin time it took me to make. i never make any garments i make other than socks. which aren't a garment. but still. drives me nuts. you never know if it will look nice because you can't try it on ahead of time, or if it will fit. i might stop making garments for myself for a while. i hate the weight whilst knitting, how hot it is on my lap and then they always look like poo. and that sucks. i don't like knitting things that take so long. if i knew it would be nice, that would be different.

i plan to knit some of my own sock yarn, and after i get paid for some orders, i need to get a big order of it so i can put some up for sale on the site. i didn't get all that i ordered. so. i will of course keep you posted once i start knitting. i have so much to knit for the wholesale orders that i shouldn't be doing anything of my own. you know i will take photos for you.

oh, the new sony cybershot wanted me to thank you all for the compliments. she knows that she has a good eye, but she claims that it is mostly good genes. or good microchips. you know what she means. she is sick of just being cybershot or sony...any ideas for her name? i'll send some paper beads to person who picks the name.

she wanted to show off for you...favorite brown fine tip. 83 cents each.

also, this will be going up on etsy, it is knitted with handspun and rowan big wool, you can tell which is which and is insanely warm and soft. and no one else has one. i think that is a good thing. it would be so strange if everyone had it. pinky burgandy ponchette

okay, i am all zoney, so off i go.
xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 9:47 PM  11 comments

25 August 2006

go peepee, go peepee...

ok, this won't be long because my head is pounding, but i did the coating on some of the beads and took photos, because i said i would. so there. i actually did it. they look amazing. the other thing i realized is that it might be better to heat the resin up and just dip them rather than the paint em with the fluid and roll them in the powder, heat it, roll em, heat it, etc. i think a dip might be better. also, it is easy to cut the beads, so it might work well to make a long bead and cut it into pieces and it is easy to sand the edges, as well. so. more experiments to come. i need to get an extension cord so i can work with them on a table rather than on the carpet int he studio, as you can see, a lot of the beads have fiber in them and not on purpose, and i was covered with all kinds of crap so i had to take another shower in the wee hours last night. pictures? i thought you would never ask...paper beadsthe first ones are made from super old sheet music and a really really old dictionary i scored a while ago for a few bucks that is falling apart.
paper beadsthe second are made of just scrapbook paper
paper beadsthe last ones are a combo of origami paper, handmade papers, scrapbook paper and i mixed in metallic pigment with the resin. a lot of the beads look like they have been glazed and fired in a kiln, or raku, and then there are others that look like pearls, exactly like pearls. amazing. i am going to work on bigger projects with this, the options are endless and it is actually really exciting. i think that these pieces could look so great used to make assemblages, or dolls, or with photos inside of them. lots of ideas. i want to make some really big buttons for closures on some of the handspun art yarn knitted and crocheted pieces, as well as on the wire crochet necklaces, etc. ok. i will shut up about it. very exciting. and thanks for all of the compliments. i got a few more comments and published them, as well as my responses and they disappeared. no clue what happened. but thanks to those of you that commented.

i know i go on about this every so often, but i get so much inspiration for all of the other artists and craftspeople and hobbyists out there in the blogosphere and i don't know where i would be in my arts and crafty life without you. honestly. it keeps me excited and fresh, even better than art school. i get ideas for things that i can apply in a totally different arena, but would never have had the idea at all if it hadn't been for seeing the technique somewhere. you know?

ok, i need to go sort out the mess that is my flickr. let me share this insane and huge spider i saw in my raspberry bushes first...i looked it up and it is a golden orb spider, it has this insane design on its back that kind of looks like a skull, and the bugs it has all wrapped up look to be a wasp and a big bumble bee. that is how big it is. man! paper beadsit spins this crazy zigzag into its web. can you see it? i guess that is its claim to fame.

we watched this week's deadwood tonight and man was it good. the actors are so amazing. that ian mcshane. i love him so. and who would thought that gerald from simon and simon was such a bastard, huh? oh, and anyone know why trixie bared her breasts and crotch before shooting him? what the hell? i am a bit baffled by that. but i did learn that a derringer is no good for killing people. go figure. cute is not the best feature for a gun. even if it does fit in your garter.

smoochies, y'all. oh, and more bead pics, of course on my flickr.

xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 10:51 PM  18 comments

24 August 2006

sticky fingerz

thanks for the comments on the paper beads, but you have to see what they look like with the resin on them. you have to see! i will take photos to-morrow and post them. not that they are all done yet, i have tons and tons, but i did a few dozen tonight and they look incredible. i will be forced to make a bigger project using the same method because i love it. i used an entire large UHU glue stick in about 24 hours. seriously. i talked to my friend at the art supply and tasted some embossing fluid..yes, tasted it, because i thought it was just glycerine and...it is! it is! so instead of paying 7 bucks for 1/2 oz, i paid a couple of bucks for 4 oz or something at the drug store. how sweet is that? literally. i am compulsively cheap. frugal. it hurts me not only to spend money unnecessarily, but for OTHER people to do so. what the hell? i also feel the need to always say what i good deal i got on each item, like my granny. who is in her 80's. how embarrassing.

i made some more beads from a dictionary from the 1850s that is in bad condition, dry rot, falling apart, so don't get made at me, and they look incredible.

more pics from the snazzy new camera? ok. here is a scarf i crocheted with kool wool, whilst it still existed and then, i made a zillion of these poppies out of a recycled angora/merino sweater, and sewed some on. i have more that i am not sure what i will do with them. i made some pins, i will do some barrettes...i am planning to list it on etsy, so let me know if anyone wants it before i do that...6 great iPhotos

and a photo i took just to see how close up i could get. i cannot wait to do some yarn photos! woot! notice the ants in the flower...new camera!

good photos to-morrow of the beads and some yarns (i hope). i have so much to do to fill orders. i need to get my arse in gear.

xoxoxoxo
n.

posted by natasha @ 10:56 PM  8 comments

23 August 2006

beady eyes. beady hands. beady beads.

i didn't sleep last night, as you may have guessed. the cramps were bad. i took a couple of baths, lay on my vibrating chair pad thingy, which does help, and the cats all fight for pole position next to it, as well. this morning, i had a fire under my ass to start the paper beads and buttons. so. i worked on them from about 10:30a until jake got home, so about six and a half hours and then, took the stuff up on my little lap desk because i had all the paper cut already and did a bunch more, so a few more hours. because i am insane. i feel crazy, due to the period, lack of sleep and my right hand and arm are really really hurting all the way up to my shoulder from the damn beads. and i wish i could do more. too sore. ay! they aren't finished, but here are some photos of the first stage of them...new camera! i took this photo with the new camera which i absolutely love love love. that fuji finepix peice of poo is not even in the same realm. it is so easy to use and takes amazing amazing photos. i cannot say enough about it. ok. so these are made with origami paper as well as a really pretty gold leafed rice paper and i also have some other ones using sheet music that is probably about 150 years old. and those look amazing, too. i am eager to do some more to-morrow, although i really need to start working on my wholesale orders. here is a copper bracelet that is awaiting a button to close it that i photographed with the new camera. woah!copper 2 i loaded the new photos onto flickr, if you are interested.

i called my local art supply because the embossing pad seemed like a crap idea for these delicate beads. it seemed like a better idea to paint it on and then roll them in the embossing powder and heat em up. i called to ask if there is a way to make the fluid or i can buy it as a liquid and the youngest sister who is normally in florida answered and said she is in town for a while! she was excited that it was me (she said, "this is NATASHA natasha?") and i said, "eileen? from florida? you are here? what?" so i am going to stop in to-morrow to exchange my stuff for the liquid and make some plans. she is a fantastic artist just like her sissy, ceci and loves to hang out and do crafty stuff. and they own an art supply, so she always would offer to hang out and do art projects. so i am so jazzed. fun! anyway, i am hoping to have the first batch of finished beads to show to-morrow. there are so many options with these things, especially with the embossing stuff because it makes it hard and waterproof and you can put fiber underneath or anything you want. i am going to do some big beads as closures for necklaces and scarves, etc, and i know i can make better ones than i can buy, you know?

my hand is killing me, so i am going to go and put my splint on and sit here like a wounded nerd. which is what i am. it was a gorgeous day, though, and i sat on the front porch on a big pillow with all of the stuff i was working on. so it was a nice day. really nice and peaceful.

i talked to my mom and we have been really getting along well (knock on wood) and we are able to actually talk about what is happening in our lives more like friends would, which is a new thing for me. i hope it continues. i made her a crocheted belt and a bracelet when she was here and she got the belt's fringe caught on something so one piece is longer than the rest and she is afraid to try to fix it. i told her to go to the knitting store and just ask them to retie it for her. i am glad that i have found something in common with my mom. it makes me feel really good to make things for people that they really like. it makes me feel like i can communicate that i care about them, whether i knit or crochet something, or make a collage or spin yarn for them, and it is nice when the sentiment is understood. sometimes it seems like you give a friend some handspun yarn that you know they like but can't afford and then they don't care about it. and that always bums me out. i really put my heart into everything i do. my work is who i am. the good part of who i am, anyway. the capable part. the non-sick, non-tired, positve and energetic part.

i am so out of it. off to take a bath. or something.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
n.

posted by natasha @ 10:13 PM  3 comments

and a meme...

1. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence.Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
"In Sydney, Butcher used his remaining funds to buy new paint and he must have got a bargain price. Those tubes were so old he had to unscrew the caps with pliers. I hold my nose. Sure enough the bacteria had been feasting on the extenders in the paint, bless me, we had this trouble before. The reds were now all related to the CESS PIT family, the blues smelled like rotting peaches. Soon the development site was very WHIFFY, hot and rotten, the chemistry of BODY ODOUR was brought in to assist."
from peter carey's(one of my top 5 favorite authors) new book about an art thief called "theft". it is written from two alternating point of views a bit like the sound and the fury, except it actually makes sense. peter carey wrote oscar and lucinda (one of my most favorite books ever ever ever, and a lot of other wonderful books. i can't say enough about him. and he does so much research, this book is so on the money with all of the artist and art materials references, like the paint going off and smelling like mouldy peaches. brilliant.

2.stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first?
a sleeping jake.

3. what was the last thing you watched on tv?
general hospital on tivo

4. without looking, what time is it?
12:38a

5. what is the actual time?
12:13 a...i am good!

6. with the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
jake's breathing, pavel knocking something around in the hall, the massage pad underneath me humming.

7. when did you last step outside?
we came back from the farmer's market at about 5p

8. what are you wearing?
an olive green tank top and blue plaid boxers.

9. when did you last laugh?
whilst i was in the tub earlier and pavel was on the side splashing around in the water.

10. seen something weird lately?
in this town...you always see something weird. at the farmer's market they had purple okra. i saw a really bowlegged man with cowboy boots on. not that it is so weird. hm. that may be it. lame!

11. what did you dream last night?
i always have nightmares, since i was a little kid. i had this strange dream about working for hulk hogan's family at a resort in florida and when i went to the bathroom, there was a giant spider on the ground with an old man/vampire-ish head on it. i put a can of cleaner i found in the bathroom on top of it, and it lifted it off and scuttled away. i was trying to carry a bunch of stuff and a dude said he would help me carry it, after i accepted his help, he asked what i would do for him and jake was standing behind him when he said it, so he looked at me like i was a ho, even though i hadn't said anything yet. way more happened, but i can't remember it at the mo. and i always have freaky dreams like that. every blessed night.

12. what's on the walls of the room you're in?
i had a shelf beside my bed that fell down, so it is now propped against the wall, and we made an upholstered pleather headboard when we first moved in that is mounted to the wall. our bedroom is an utter wreck.

13. what do you think of this survey?
not too shabby.

14. what was the last film you saw?
i watched a really sweet (no, literally sweet, no like "sweet, dude") french flick called the chorus. it was a bit of a mr. holland's opus, but french and a bit darker, but really sweet. i highly recommend it.

15. if you became a multi-millionaire overnight what would you buy first?
actually, i would pay off all of our bills, give my in-laws some payola to pay off theirs, and give my folks some payola. lame, eh? and then, we would be forced to move to a place by the beach, or maybe a place in pdx and place by the beach. a nice nice beach. and the friends and family could visit. and my blog friends, of course. and i think i would want to get an engagement ring that has a champagne diamond in it. and maybe another wedding on the beach. like we originally wanted.

16.tell me something about you that i don't know.
i am a hermaphrodite. just kidding. i was a nanny for about 8 months after i graduated from high school and before i went to college. also, i wanted to be a marine biologist, or a vet. and i wanted to go into art restoration but my asthma (dust, anyone?) and other maladies, in addition to my lack of chemistry skills killed that dream. plus, someone needs to die for you to get a job.

17. what would you change about the world?
i would take men out of positions of power (presidents, etc) and replace them with women. think that if women were in charge there would be no wars, okay, maybe wars, but not physical ones, and there would be more concern for our environment, and for families and small businesses, etc. i think that women have a more practical view of things, in a lot of ways. i am not saying that men are bad and women are good, there are shit people of every race, creed and sex, but, i think that things would be really really different. and i wish you weren't allowed to get a gigantic car if a)you don't need it (like people who have loads of kiddies, etc. or b)you don't know have to drive it, if you get caught on the cell phone in a car driving like an ass, they should take away your license.

18.do you like to dance?
yes! i don't do it very often anymore, and i am as white as white can be, but i enjoy it and i don't think i do any dumb raver moves/herky jerky moves like some people i know. i hope.

19. imagine your first child is a girl, what do you name her?
i love kiki (i named my wheel kiki), i love eva, i love ophelia, but it has such a negative connotation. i am sure i have loads more.

20.boy?
something biblical, i think. i love noah, oooh....anselm, although he might get picked on for that,

21. would you ever consider living abroad?
oh yeah! i always thought i would. i never thought i would live here, not that i don't like it. my biggest issue would be the cats, my in-laws, my friends and my doctor, who i love.

consider yourself tagged if you want to be!

also, whilst trying to catch up on blogs, i read this cool post on erica's blog about whiskers and felt the need to pass it along. it is crazy! i wonder what dog whiskers do? but check it out, and check her blog out, it is always really fun and interesting. somehow, she is always upbeat no matter what mayhem ensues. also, she has a good post about how to get your cats to stop wizzing all over your house. i wonder if it would work with ms. peeps? hers is sheerly bratty, jealous behavior. she wants to be the only cat and that isn't really possible. jake threatens to make her live outside. yeah, right. he is less likely to chuck her out than me. plus someone would take her in no time because...well august 17 she is such a thoroughly adorable creature. she is around 10 years old, believe it or not, and doesn't look or act any different than she did when she was a kitten, although, she is more cuddly. she is so outspoken and full of attitude and friendly (unless you are a cat, in which case she is a total brat) she comes when you call her, or more often, when you call someone else, she looks huge, but actually weighs about 7 lbs, and has always had a muscular little body. her fur glows it is so white and is soft like angora (actually, i collect it to spin at some point. it is easily 4 inches long. for real. and despite her insanely long and thick fur, she never has furballs. how odd is that? her sister, who is shorthaired and compulsively licks all the time has had such bad hairball problems that she has been operated on, in critical condition in the hospital for weeks. not good. and still licks, anyway. no clue why.

ok, it is after 2a, i am going to try to knit through the cramps and into sleepiness. i have two cats on me because of the massage pad thing vibrating, they love it, oddly enough. must. go. to. sleep.

smooooooooooooooooch a pooch. or kitty. or hamster. whatever.
xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 12:13 AM  1 comments

22 August 2006

craaaaaaaaaaaampppppssssssssssssss.

bad ones. i hate them. i did little today, although jake and i did go to the farmer's market and got baby golden potatoes, corn(it has white and yellow kernels!), his favorite hummus and pita chips, his favorite pumpkin choco chunk cookies which are amazing (the combo of the spices and chocolate is wonderful. i need to figure out her recipe), amazing nectarines(the first of summer that actually SMELL like a nectarine) and a cantaloupe from amish stand (jake said that the smiley amish dude freaks him out. he does seem like he might be from a horror movie or something. and his poor daughter all bundled up head to toe with a bonnet and petticoat and apron and dress. man! and it is like 90 degrees out). i cut up the cantaloupe and it was so juicy and ripe, unlike the shite from the grocery store. yum!

after that, i made a quick run to my favorite local art supply to get embossing powder for the paper beads. i found a method using a glue stick rather than coating it on glue, which seems much less messy, like something i could do on the porch rather than in a bubble. and the embossing powders...they have so many! i was stunned. i just got clear, because i can use stains and paint on the paper before rolling, but i am going to see if they have an amber one. i am also thinking that i could make some really great big buttons. so. i hope to do some to-morrow. cramps permitting. i was on the verge of tears with these hideous cramps. normally i can deal, but they were so so so bad. man!

i am almost done with the circular shrug. i have a few inches more ribbing to do. it weighs a ton because of the handspun. but it is really pretty. the colors are not ones i would normally wear, so i don't know what i was thinking, although they are gorgeous.

a while ago, i read on another blog that they didn't feel the need to blab every detail of their life. oddly, that blog is so vague that you get no sense of who is writing it. none. and it makes you not care, because you feel like they are just busy trying to show what they think is interesting or cool, for lack of a better word. that said, i do blab every detail, every mundane thought, dream, idea, etc, etc. where am i going with this? well...does it make my blog more enjoyable or more boring? i read an entry of mine from months and months ago and i thought how boring it was. so maybe i should filter things out. i am not a filtered kind of person. if you are my friend, i will tell you anything. i have never been much of a liar, even when i want to be, because i have the biggest mouth in the world. i can't do surprises. or buy gifts ahead of time. i can't keep secrets. i like to share the things that i like. or hate, or whatever. that is who i am. and if i don't tell you, it means i don't know you, or trust you. and i feel that when people are secretive with me, that they feel that way about me. it bothers me to no end. i think it is so important to try to be at peace with who you are. it is okay to be a dork. i am. i get excited about things that other people might not care about. whatever. one of the saddest, most pathetic things in the world is to spend your life trying to be aloof and better than other people, so they will never find out who you really are and what you really think of yourself. and as long as you keep that up and maintain a negative attitude, you will never have real friends. you will never be happy. how can you be? you don't even like yourself.

do i always like myself? no. but i am open about it. maybe too open, but i accept who i am (most of the time, anyway) and surround myself with people that appreciate me for who i am and what i am...as well as what i am not. and i can't ask for anything better than that.

stepping down from my soapbox, i am going to attempt to get some knitting done and pray for my uterus to just calm the hell down. what did i ever do to my uterus to piss it off? if it doesn't behave, i will go down to the animal hospital and get spayed. so calm down, uterus. behave!

smooch! ow!
n.

posted by natasha @ 11:43 PM  9 comments

21 August 2006

peeps says hi.

i have been a bad blogger. bad. my mom visited over the weekend, so i had my hands full, but it was a nice visit with nothing bad to speak of. go figure! my mom wanted a wire crochet bracelet (and necklace) so i did the bracelet whilst she was here. she went to the bead store with me to pick out beads. i still need to do the necklace. i got my wire and was stunned at how amazingly soft the wire is. the softened stuff is called "dead soft" and i actually need to get the thicker stuff for a bit more structural integrity. but i was really glad that it was so easy to work with. and did i mention fun?

so, now that i need nice beads, i really prefer the gem chips for the crochet because they sit well, and i need sometimes a few hundred for one piece of jewelry, i have decided to make some paper beads to work with. i have loads of paper. and you can use wallpaper or magazines or whatever. origami paper. tissue paper. and glue. that is really it. although there is all taht stuff about the embossing powder...ooooh! so wanna know how to do it? i found a ton of sites, most of them have some gorgeous photos of the beads on them. really gorgeous paper beads that look like glass, wanna go to paper university?(i think i went there...)this one is hilarious because it is 2 great-grannies, one who is 91, in the directions and you can see their crafty old lady hands, which is very inspiring. i hope i am just as crafty till the end. they tell you how to use church bulletins. of course. and there are photos of the grannies. rock! and then this one that has a different method that might be a bit easier, in fairness, as well as using embossing powder to make them look like glass, so i may need to go buy some to-morrow.

i used the fancy new camera today. it is a joy. i love it. hey fuji finepix! i have a GOOD camera now! kiss my ass! i hope your lens falls off. again. anyway, the LED screen is so clear and nice, and there are so many features including a manual mode that is actually...manual! you can control the shutter speed, take photos in really low light, it has a super fast shutter speed for action shots, a really really nice zoom. oh new sony camera, i love you so. you are so fun to take photos with. my tripod is lonely because you work so well by yourself. how do i love my sony cybershot, let me count the ways...

i spun 4 bobbins of yarn and plied 3 of them, carded some crazy batts and spun em up. fun. i have a bunch on luxe that have been on there for a while, i am not sure if they look crappy in the photos, but they are really fun to spin. they make a crazy yarn with no work at all. i will skein it and take photos to-morrow.

whilst reading a really crappy women's magazine at the salon, i found a perfume sample for J-lo's new perfume called....LUXE! woah! and it actually smells really fruity and nice. i try to smell as fruity as possible at all times. i may be forced to pick it up. even jake thought it smelled nice. i am not a flowery perfume kinda gal. i get migraines from lots of fragrances, but fruity things tend to be safe.

i feel like such a crap blogger these days. i don't feel like i have much to say. not much drama. and i haven't even been on the internet much, other than to check mail, etc. i have orders to fill, so i have been just keeping busy.

and i can't figure out what i did with my cell phone. i had it this morning. now...no clue. story of my life.

xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 4:31 PM  4 comments

18 August 2006

eeeeeeeeek!

ok. first things first. our camera that kept breaking...they finally gave us a refund. so we got this rockstar camera. i haven't gotten a chance to mess around with it, but i am so excited. we had a fuji fine pix that was an expensive piece of poo. took shitey photos, and i think that most people just take bad snapshots anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

what else? my wire came yesterday. i was so excited! and after using the stuff i had, i was shocked how incredibly soft this wire is. so so soft. i made a bracelet and a necklace last night but didn't take photos of it yet, but it was a pleasure to work with. pleasure.

my mom has been with us since yesterday, it has been nice to visit, although i have gotten no work done to speak of. i will try to get caught up soon.

i will leave you with some photos of new yarns (most of which were already laid dibs on by my bestest client in the world, sherri)...
august 17

august 17

xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 8:16 PM  6 comments

16 August 2006

let them eat SUGAR!

we just got back from pittsburgh to show the lovely owner of sugar boutique fall samples. something in the huge bags of knitted and crocheted things caused her allergies to kick up..quickly...and she was itchy and sniffly in no time. i felt like a jerk. AND she is preggers, so she can't go home and take a benadryl even. suck. i felt bad. and she said she is allergic to mohair, so i couldn't figure out what would have had mohair in it, although there was some noro stuff in there, and then two yarns knitted from some fiber i got at MSW which has mohair and llama and all sorts of nasties. god, i feel bad. i think that making a pregnant lady itchy and sneezy is one of the deadly sins. i may burn in hell. good thing i am jewish. no hell. ha! still. i feel bad. she liked lots of stuff, but the outcome is do what a want and she loves handspun and not really any other kind of yarn. so. not too shabby.

after sugar jake and i went to the church brew works for a delish dinner. i was never so excited by the restaurant, who my great friend john from pdx first took me to, but jake digs it. so. we went. plus it is right down the road from sugar.

i spent the day prepping stuff for sugar, cleaning the house in preparation for my mom's arrival to-morrow and...that is it i think. i didn't get a chance to take photos like i promised, but i will to-morrow. hell or high water. i swear it. hand to g-d. swear. and i have to pack orders and send em. and my mom is coming, so i hope she doesn't mind me doing work, although she may want to go shop, anyway. so no biggie.

i meant to mention this a while ago..ok, so i blogged about an episode of dr. phil that i had the misfortune to see:

"happened to see dr.phil which has info about all the girls that were probably abducted from cruise ships or on vacation and put into the sex trade. awful. even if they ever get back...how damaged do you think they would be? it is unthinkable, not only to be a woman in that situation, going from being a middle class pretty white girl in college on a cruise with your family, or on spring break, to being forced into prostitution. and i imagine that it isn't like being a prostitute in america, as glamorous as that is...third world prostitution....woah. " this was in november. so, a couple of days ago, i get this comment:

".Wow, are you ever ignorant, do you really think that prostitution is lower than working in a sweatshop? maybe you should check out these sites http://www.empowerfoundation.org/

http://www.durbar.org/

Maybe if you heard it from sex workers in 3rd world countries themselves you would have more knowledge."

so, of course, i had to see what the person's blog was and it is a pro-prostitution blog. not that i have anything against it, i guess. if it is what someone really wants and it makes them happy and they aren't being mistreated and made to feel like shite. although i guess working at a horrible job might make you feel like shite as well. anyway, she left this mean comment like i was ripping on prostitutes as opposed to saying how insane it would be to get abducted and forced into slavery. whatever wendy. whatever. how odd. how very odd.

and one of the three canvases from some collaged paintings i did in april...collage thursday on canvas 2/3

xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 8:21 PM  9 comments

14 August 2006

postcard from nogirl's land...

well! long time no blog. i had one of those rockstar days today. what do i mean by that? well, one that i can't wake up and can't get out of bed and have the heeby jeebies, like i was partying all night. let's say i was, just to make things sound more exciting. i don't want to let anyone down. i fear that i overdid it yesterday and then i couldn't sleep. i had so much to do today and did literally nothing. the only project that i have started to knit is the shrug, which is big and heavy and HOT. so i can't stand working with it on my lap and wrists for very long. so, i did nothing but fall asleep every so often, all day long. every hour or so. fun! woot woot!

yesterday i spun a lot and finished (i think there is enough yardage anyway) for a trade with ashley. plied a bunch of stuff, etc, etc. i was really hoping that my wire would show up today, to no avail. sigh. i feel like a junky. must...crochet...with...wire. i never thought that i would like crochet so much. i had this idea of what it looks like, and while it CAN look like granny squares made with squeaky yarns in eyeball peeling colors, is can also look like regina's work or any other number of things. unlike knitting, that really does have to be knit or purl, crochet gives you an amazing amount of freedom, like willy wonka's glass elevator (didya hear that lynn?, you can go in any direction from any direction. for some people, it may be scary to not use a pattern, for me it is scarier to use a pattern and have it come out wrong. no pattern=no wrong way. i like that. so want to see the bracelet i made? wire crocheted bracelet i am still just learning, but it is so fun. i have some other ideas i have been journaling. so.

we went over to my in-laws for dinner on saturday that was really yummy. after a little while i started to feel funky, and sweaty and chilled and i drove myself home while everyone got some icecream. i am so lame. jake wanted to come home, whilst i know how badly he wanted icecream. so sweet. we then went to the grocery store at about 1 a.m. it was great! no one was there and the cashiers are the most miserable people ever. and honestly, i would rather work there at night then when all the crowds are there to bitch at me. you know? we had a fun time.

my mom will be in town next week, staying with us for a couple of days, so of course i am getting nervous about it. i am such a dork. and i am behind on all the work i need to do for luxe, etc, so i really need to bust my ass this week, as much as possible anyway. i need to keep vertical, anyway.

when i did sleep last night, i had really crazy nightmares, i have been lately. i dreamed about someone that i stopped talking to a while ago, because i had to, and i miss like crazy...anyway, i dreamed that she got a teaching job in alaska and moved away and when i saw her, before she left, she told me that she didn't think that i have a crap about her, or thought about her. i saw a quote somewhere that if you can't go a day without thinking about someone, then you need to have them in your life. i can't bear to see her being taken advantage of, or putting herself in bad situations all time, but more and more, i feel like other than her aunt, everyone around her just takes advantage of her, from what i know. and i think that my stubbornness is not the right thing here. in my family...we will cut off our noses to spite our faces...yes we will. i haven't had a nose in quite some time, thank you very much.

ok, well, i am just a miserable sod, but i am going to show you some cool antique buys to end on a happier note. bambi supa close
lil horsey
cute, eh? how cute are they? and! also got this amazing plate from the 1970's..the photo is shitey, but it is hard to photo shiny things, you know? kitsch

i put some new stuff up in my luxe etsy store and hope to take photos and update luxe to-morrow, as well. i will let you know. there are some freeform scarves, among other things.

xo
n.

posted by natasha @ 10:07 PM  8 comments

09 August 2006

i've got my hooky hand! i am a pirate!

so! i got this book from amazon today. it is gorgeous. i really want to do some crocheted wire jewelry...not the usual crocheted necky things, etc, but really gorgeous things that are from another time and another world. really inspiring. you can check out some of her things here, if you like. right there is a lady who has tough fingers. let me tell you. i was pissing around with some single crochet in thin wire and a small hook and my hands are killing me. i just bitched to regina about it. i am typing anyway. although, i put some aspercream on first. seriously. all the way up to my elbows down to my fingertips hurts like hell. and blisters and my nails are all chewed up on my left hand from doing it, too. maybe i need thinner wire. hm. or to toughen up. anyway, very exciting stuff!

i got orders packed and sent and went to the post office, fought with the machine, saw a few other local business peeps that i used to see everyday, so i was there for a while, then went to the antique place and got a few things, which i will show you to-morrow or friday...really good stuff. cheap! my favorite! 2 of the things have deer on them! woot! deer!

then, i left the antique place and was looping around to go to the vet and get pavel ear mite medicine...i pass a building that i love and there are piles of cool stuff on the curb, like it is being thrown away. i back up my car down the one way street i was on and went down the alley. i start nosing around in the garage that the stuff is outside of to see if someone is around. i don't see anyone. there is a spectacular rustic red table...like 5 feet long and skinny that i am digging...and then the antique guy that i know, Mick(sp?) pulls up in his van and gets out and says, "hey natasha! looking for me?" no clue it was his storage place. he then showed me all sorts of stuff, and my car was running. jake calls to tell me that dinner is ready and i have just left. crazy. 20 minutes of errands took about 2 hours. sigh. nothing new.

i wound up 6 skeins of yarn for orders. big skeins. and i did a few of them crazy fast. oh! speaking of winding, my other skeinwinder came today from www.oreganwoodworker.com. he makes great swifts/skeinwinders that work really well and come apart to be put away. if you buy anything there, please let him know i sent you. i have the mamabear. the papabear is so giant that it doesn't fit anywhere for me to use it. really really big.

here is another of the freeformish scarves from my handspun which is merino with sari silk spun in and sparkles...i have been doing either just a crocheted chain or a single crochet and doing multiple strands in different lengths that make up one scarf. they look really pretty on. hopefully the boutique (to-morrow evening jake is going down with me) will agree. i actually really enjoy knitting for orders. i am much stingier with myself. i don't want to "waste" gorgeous yarn. i have no idea why i am like that. when i was a kid i spent every penny i had on stickers and i NEVER stuck any of them down for fear of making a mistake. like a freak. when i use a kleenex, i need to really use it or i feel wasteful just blowing my nose and tossing it. i am a hoarder. i am not sure if i would be any different if we were rich. i dunno. my granny is just the same way. i like things better when they are cheap. although, if it is something that is expensive for a reason...that is fine. it just needs to seem worth the money to me.

i also got a book about different sheep and their wool, although, i still will probably only use the super soft wools. i am just that kind of gal.

pavel loves the pistachio icecream...ice cream 2

ooh! i almost forgot! whilst i was checking emails i had flava of love II on...and a girl pooped on the floor! during the ceremony thing. i tivod that bit to show jake, who was super duper sickened. it was so gross. literally poop fell out of her skirt/dress/underpants/butt...yikes! how does that happen? and, it is questionable if she might have picked up one(?) of the poops and then dropped it. um...i think i may be forced to kill myself if i not only pooped my pants but did it on tv! and i have a fear of fainting and peeing myself. pee is nothing! nothing! so check out the show if you wanna see poo. well, you don't SEE the poo, i'm just saying is all.

i am sore, so off i go to shower, loosen up a bit.
smooochies,
n.

posted by natasha @ 9:29 PM  7 comments

07 August 2006

yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

i feel like i have a hangover. i don't. unless pirates abducted me, made me party with them and then returned me home. that may be why i have big gold hoop earrings in my ear and a peg leg. and a hook for a hand. shit! a hook? how am a going to be an artist now? it could be my gimmick. and! the yarn wench will be sure to like me best! i will be her "pirate friend, natasha" maybe i should get a better pirate name. any idears? and i should talk like one more...aaaargh! captain natasha kitty. no? hm. i woke up early, and was exhausted and had the headache. migraine. so one side of my head feels like it will squirt my eye out. ew! and my tongue felt like i was licking sandpaper. so maybe i did that on a dare or something.

i had strange desertion nightmares last night (again) about being with jake at the airport and he said he was stopping somewhere and when i tried to follow him, he was gone. i was sick (i am guessing the real life bleeding into the dream) and i was too tired to keep looking. so i sat down. and then freaky people were hitting on me. another part of the dream had me stealing a tiny puppy from the neighbor's yard that was sick from the heat and they didn't care and they were after me. and, my mom is supposed to stay with us for a couple of days when she is in town next and in my dream she didn't come and i was hysterical about it being blown off. which i don't think i would be, but i was. hm. puzzling.

the movie suggestions look good, i haven't seen most of them, especially because i have developed an aversion to watching movies in the theatre, after seeing a couple movies a week in the past, i think because of the scene in the movie "outbreak" where everyone is coughing. also, i start getting panicky and fidgety and i need to pee and i get bored, or at action movies, i tend to fall asleep. kill bill...felll asleep after maybe 30 minutes and woke up right at the very end, completely confused, yet not really caring. so, jake goes with friends. i feel like a bit of a jerk, but i am funny about lots of things. that is one of them.

also, the older i get, the more afraid to go to shows i am, because i don't want to get sick at the last minute and waste a ticket (they aren't $5 anymore) or worse, ruin it for other people because i have to leave. jake is really understanding about this, although other people seem to get really irritated. we went to a show that i REALLY wanted to see in DC and i got not only a migraine (perfect for a loud loud show) but had a bad kidney infection, so i sat in the back on the benches where no one sits because you can't see anything, doubled over, sweating and trying not to cry, and not to let anyone see me and feel like they had to leave. and then the hour ride home on the train and then trying to sleep in someone else's place and not to wake them up when i keep getting up all night long. and then, puking all the 4 hours home. yay! and when you take pills and puke em up...yummy! so i start getting scared to go away, and i was never like that before. almost every trip we take something happens. and the harder i push myself to deal with it and try to be okay, the sicker i get. if i take it easy, i am just tired and maybe a bit sick.

growing up, my parents didn't know that i really was sick, they thought i was a faker, i think, and when they found out that it is for real, they felt guilty. i think that a lot of people i have dealt with on a personal level feel like it is my way of getting out of things, or maybe it is just annoying. i cut people like that off. my ex treated me like that, and if they think that it is annoying to them...it is much worse to live it. they can go without me. i get to stay home and be sick. weeeeeeeeeeeee! if i didn't have knitting and the other things that i do, i would wither and die. when people who have everything going their way and choose not to see it...they can do anything they want and still complain all the time, i can't handle it.

i wanted to go to grad school. i always thought i would. when i started trying to get my classes, etc, together to do it, i realized that my health would not permit it. not only can we not afford it, i could not physically do it. the studio time for one class is usually more than 20 hours a week...not to mention that i would not be able to get my degree nearby...not even in pittsburgh, likely. cmu is the only one that would be a possibility, and even if i got in, i could never afford it. i would love it. i loved being in college. well, at seton hill, anyway. but it isn't something i can do. and i couldn't teach, because my health is unreliable.

i make a point not to be negative, not to talk about things that aren't accessible to me. i try to think about the things that i CAN do. and do them. not be afraid to do anything. not be afraid to fail. i try to accept the things that i can't do, and attempt to grow as an artist and as a person in every way that i possibly can.

negativity was my whole life. it is a black hole. it eats you up. and when you have chronic pain and chronic fatigue, it is way to easy to fall right into it. to just stop trying. i can't do that. i won't. i will cling to the things that make me happy, make me good. i will have a direction in life, and i will follow that. until i physically cannot. and then, i will do whatever i can. i won't give up, and if someone doesn't realize what a delicate balance there is in my life and brings their negative crap into my life and blasts me with it all the time...i can't be around it.

i fear that sounded mean and cold, but i have to take care of myself, or i can't do anything for anyone. it is so important to appreciate all of the things that you have in your life, and all of the things that you are. if you don't...life just sucks. and really, you suck by extension.

and on a fuzzier note...here are some of the freeform skinny scarves...this one is uncarded targhee with a novelty trim crocheted in a spiral around it, one of my new favorite techniques...luxe 4 freeform again

and here is one of the skeins of the flower yarn crocheted up...the lilacy coloured sections are mostly caterpillar-y chunks, so you can see how those work up. i have 2 more skeins of this, as well.freeform scarve with handspun pansies 2

nuff said.
pics later. i swear it.
xo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 3:23 PM  13 comments

06 August 2006

do you say excuse me...

when you burp and you are alone? i do. always do. also, when i trip or do something dumb, i mutter to myself about it. i told jake about the burp thing and he asked me why i did that. well...i always have and i guess that way if i am on hidden camera, no worries, right? that said...

i feel like i am from another planet, lately. i have been busting work out because i need to take samples to pittsburgh of knits either wednesday or thursday. i know that i owe you pictures and...well...i took some and then misplaced the camera in my studio. i think. i have cleaned most all of the rest of the house, so that is where i imagine it must be. i don't even want to spin it is so frakking messy in there. bad. and i was into the yarn for all the stuff for sugar and so not only is there fiber and handspun all around, but beads and cards and papers and books and all of my big containers of yarn. man. i am not good at keeping things neat. at all.

the weekend was uneventful. i got a lot done and was tired but not sick, okay, well a migraine on friday, but no big thing. i taggeed 30 skeins of yarn for a wholesale order which always takes me forever. packing stuff, too. i am slooooow. and i suck at multitasking. i really wish i could figure out a method to be able to use time better. i can't switch gears. it has always been much easier for me to just put my head down and work. i think i need a coach. or a boss, maybe. hm. i need to think about that.

my newest aspiration is to do some crazy wire and bead crocheted jewelry. i saw some things that gave me some ideas...but...i don't know if i can physically make the thing that is in my noggin. so. i will probably try it out to-morrow. i ordered a book over the weekend, but i imagine that it is fairly straightforward and just about what the wire wants to do. if i can make something that looks pretty (ish) i may order some silver wire and decent findings. we shall see.

what else? well! i got the new clothpaperscissors magazine as well as stampington's home mag at the bookstore. i am always blown away by them. i don't like much that i see, but in those books there are just fantastic ideas. even when the work doesn't appeal to me...although often it does, they tell you the techniques, the products that they used, which more often than not are non-traditional art materials or something that someone discovered in the art supply sorts of things. i love mixed media work. i always have. i have a really hard time just doing one thing at a time. although, i have really been trying to slow down and not overload so much. my mind races enough without any help, thank you very much.

ok, back to the magazines, i while ago i was contacted about doing a swap. well, she does work with stained glass but also with soldered glass necklaces, etc. for ages, i have been trying to figure out how to incorporate yarn and knitting and crochet into fine art...i want it to ...(*sidenote...i heard one of the cats going nuts on something and got up to see what it was...i took my bra off a few minutes ago because it was squishing me and she had taken it and was doing the wrap all fours around it and kick and bite it thing. and when i asked for it back, she scratched me and ran away. hmph. sorry...back to what i was saying...)ok, so i don't want knitted things or yarn to be sealed, of course, or not be sealed and get dusty..but i want to be able to see the fact that it is soft, it is yarn...blah blah...so...glass. it can be between two pieces of glass and then soldered in there. and of course, there are so many ways you could use this for little drawings or whatever and then hang em up. no framing needed. this is how bad i am at cutting mattes. and! from making my tattoo needles i know how to solder. really well. i have the hands of a surgeon. i am sure my parents would prefer me to be a surgeon than an artist but...ah well folks. scatterbrained works better in art than it does in medicine. really. what else? well, my local art supply does framing and always let me take whatever boards they have leftover and glass and will cut them for me, mike is so nice, so i can get glass for nothing, or not much. so i just need to get some glass cutting stuff for cutting smaller pieces or when i am at home. they have the gigantor glass cutter for framing there. i have the soldering gear. i had to do that stuff in metalsmithing, too, but i would rather just use the iron than a torch. i don't trust myself with a tank of flammable gas. so.

also, one of the freeform scarves i did this weekend was with the pansy yarn i spun up a while ago...woah! can i say fun! why do i not use it more often? why? i think that knitting with the big flowers would maybe be a pain in the arse, but when you crochet, you can pop it out of the loop before you are done, so you can choose where it will be as you go, kind of. if that makes sense. especially for beginners, you don't need to mix yarns or do fancy stitches, you just get a fatty hook or needles and do 2 stitches, or whatever you like and bob's your uncle. looks super duper. i was crocheting at lunch on saturday and the waitress kept asking about the yarn and could she get some, etc, and when i showed her that i wasn't doing anything fancy at all, to a newby knitter like her...she almost peed her pants. i sound like a braggart, but i imagine that all of us that make crazy yarns have a super fun yarn to knit with. fun! it makes regular yarn...well...regular. not that it doesn't have it's uses. a guess that socks with big flowers popping out all over the place might not be so useful...although if you had a slipper with this on top and regular yarn on the bottom...pretty fancy! woot!

oh, also, my in-laws have a place called "just dogs" in the westmoreland mall, they have freshbaked and gorgeous doggy treats and other things, so if you are a local, go buy some stuff! they have a second store about an hour away that grooms dogs as well and i got a big bag of black collie fur, super soft, and if anyone wants any dog hair for spinning...ok, nonspinners, i am sure it sounds gross, but we spin dirtier things...like sheep, for example...or silk..let me know, i can get you all you want. and this is nice and long, a few inches anyway and really shiny deep black. so. do people like dog hair yarn...the fancy name is chiengora. that sounds better, doesn't it? and i have been saving up cat hair, too. peeps sheds like nobody's business. her hair is soooooo long.

jake was really really tired all weekend and actually went to sleep around 8p tonight. although he could have gone to sleep hours before that. poor guy. and to all of the well-wishers...thanks! his shingles are gone! he finished his herpes medicine and he is good. my mom swears that a had 5 chicken pox when my brother's had it, which i don't remember, so i guess i am safe. i think i told you that if you haven't had the pox yet you can get it from someone who has shingles because it is the same virus.

i took the advice of sean and got some borax for the ant problem. we just put it down this afternoon, so i guess we will have to wait and see. there were ants in the cat's feeder, which makes me mad, so i was picking up their feeder and putting a bowl down until we could get the problem sorted out and managed to accidentally pop the bottom off of the feeder. i scared the shit out of myself...doing the..."ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhIT!!!", which scared pavel and peeps who did the run-away-so-fast-that-their-legs-move-but their body doesn't like fred flintstone and hiss and take off, which scared me further and i dropped the feeder. it shot food all over the kitchen, the laundry room, in the litter boxes, out the kitchen doorway, on the table, under EVERYTHING. so in an attempt to save some of their expensive organic food from the ants, i dumped a bunch of it out. and i just put borax down for the ants, so i thought it really would be best to throw the food that was on the ground away. sigh. i hope it works. i am going to try it in the laundry for sure!

speaking of laundry, i put clothes outside to dry (did i mention that i never realized how many pairs of underwear i have? jesus. more than 100 i would guess.) and a bird pooped on two shirts. jake said it is the same bird that poops on the cars when he washes them. and on our porch railings. buggers. they have the whole world to poop on.

i bought these folding cat cube things at the store and they connect together by velcro, so there are holes all the way through and they can hang out in there or play or whatever. pavel is hanging out in there with not just his socky jojo, but socky's much cleaner and less liked twin, socky II. additionally, he has pulled his scarf (which amy knitted me for my birthday a while bag and he appropriated while he was teething...it is about 8 feet long at this point), a catnip mouse and a couple of other stuff toys in there. $12 well spent. he digs sitting in pretty much any kind of box, even if it is an inch deep and 2 inches wide. he will put whatever part of himself that fits in there. when he was a baby, we put him in a little tiny basket that a gift came in wrapped in a tea towel, so maybe that is why he likes boxes. or, he is a cat. he tried to squeeze himself into the flat-rate $7.85 fat envelope priority male box, so his entire back half sticks out. so. nerd. he really is a nerd. if cats can be such a thing. he eats candy, as well. i will stop the cat talk. i am prepping for my later days as a crazy cat lady. oh...on that theme...a friend of ours found a cat who recently had kittens (they are weaned and have homes now) who has now been fixed and has her shots, but had her tail amputated and is missing all of her bottom teeth. she is in good health and is super super sweet and friendly, so if anyone has room for a sweet kitty, probably around 2 years old, gets along with kids, cats and dogs, email me and i will get you hooked up. we would take her, but peeps does bad things when other cats are around. bad things that smell bad. if you know what i mean. and i have a soft spot for wounded animules, even though she is all fixed up. poor girl. they think she was hit by a car or something. she has a black beard, too. how cute is that?

we watched part of "sin city" before the dvd started going crazy and i was super let down. by the movie. sucketh. it could have just been animated. i dunno. it seems like the idea was cooler than the movie was. so we watched about half of it, i think, and neither one of us cared that we didn't get to see the end. blech! i haven't done so well with movies lately. we saw kingdom of heaven and that was not so bad. no complaints. if anyone has some movie suggestions for the netflix queue leave em for me. i am all ears.

i am going to shut up now and do some work before lights out. i will put new photos up as soon as i find the camera.

xoxo,
n.

posted by natasha @ 9:56 PM  13 comments

03 August 2006

beep beep beep honk!

i actually got a lot done today. i did some spinning, some knitting, worked on samples, skeined yarn, tagged yarn, cleaned up a bit, got to talk to my buddy shannon, the www.knitgrrl.com herself. oh, i also did laundry and hung it outside to dry and got it back in about 2 seconds before it started to rain like a mofo. laundry? me? you know what i realized? i have a LOT of underwear. really cute ones, too. i pride myself on getting rid of unders once they are the least bit sketchy. there are few things grosser than sketchy underpants. you know? also, i have been using the "method" laundry stuff and it works really well. good stuff. i even plucked my eyebrows. shaved off my mustache and beard. shaved my chest and trimmed my nosehairs. nah. several of those things i didn't really do. i won't say which ones. you figure it out yourselves.

i wanted to work on the painting for jacey today, but time got away from me. so. to-morrow. after i do the post office, etc. also, it is my mom-in-law's birthday so i need to get her something. that she will like. which is a bit tricky.

i had a strange isolated feeling all day. i missed my friend heather so much that i came really really close to calling her a few times. and then shannon called, so it was just in time. i am not a terribly needy person usually. i dunno what my deal is. and poor jake can only absorb so much female bitching. i have seen on a lot of blogs that people are feeling forlorn and odd. so maybe it is something in the air. the thick, hot air. the hot air that dried my laundry in about an hour. crazy. actually, a blog that i read said that she had been feeling gross when she touched wool lately, and i know that when i do skeining or winding of yarn it makes me want to barf. i am funny about sanding things, even an emery board, and i feel like that, the nails on the chalkboard things. blech!

i cut the neck off of a t-shirt...i am like a body builder...no necks on the tshirts, i hate them...and i cut too much and the shirt has been falling off of me all day. jake thought it was funny. it has a flashdance look to it, although the shirt isn't even big.

ok. i feel a bit off, so i am going to wash my face and crochet a bit...oh, speaking of which...does anyone have any recommendations for books or otherwise on crocheting or knitting with wire or other things to make jewelry? i have the little book that annie modesitt had with her first book, but the pictures are not great so i don't even like looking at it. i guess i should just put beads on and start freeform crocheting and see what happens.

off i go to see the wizard. and to watch project runway from last night. velma said it was a letdown. i try to keep the drama in my life limited to tv. that is why i like it so very much. plus, tv doesn't get mad if you are knitting or spinning and listening to a cd or talking on the phone all at the same time. TV...don't let anyone tell you that you are bad. how can something that spawned al swearengen or project jay or the wonderful BBC show HEX be bad? how? tell me, dammit! i am going to cuddle with the tv now.

oh, quick, on the subject of cuddling: pavel, who is 2 in around august, is not into cuddling unless he is super sleepy, if he is just moderately sleepy, he gets mean and bitey, but when he is super sleepy, he wants to cuddle with jake, and only jake. for the first time ever, since he was a kitten and couldn't resist me, anyway, he plunked down between me and jake (jake was sleeping) and put his arm on me and his foot on me and let me smooch him and cuddle him. what do you think of that? i couldn't believe it. i am totally second best. ok, actually, he has his sock, socky, that he loves like a littermate, so third best...no wait, he would rather be with one of the other cats if they would let him...so 5th best...but hey, he used to bit the underside of my bumcheeks while i was reading. so this is real progress! i think it might have been that i let him lick off of my icecream cone. he likes raspberry sherbet as well as pistachio icecream. he is very versatile. i will post the adorable pic soon.

kitten cuddles and smoochies...god, i am a dorkus.
n.

posted by natasha @ 11:36 PM  0 comments

02 August 2006

i got up today! woot! woot! party at my house!

i spun a bunch of yarn today, including (hopefully) enough to finish the circular shrug, which was 2 of the baby lendrum spools and one regular louet spool full. i didn't even set the twist, i just wound one into a ball straight off of the bobbin. i know, bad bad me, all overtwisted and crazy single. just like me. overtwisted. better than undertwisted because then i would just fall apart. and i don't do that. evah! i also spun some of the fiber i dyed last week...it is an amazing soft robin's egg blue, one of my new favorite colors to be mixed with strange things that shouldn't match but do, like a soft golden olive green. so soft and nice. so i spun a gigantic bobbin of that and plan to spin more. i am so behind on everything. eeps.

after that, i cleaned the bedroom a bit, which had enough yarn for 20 sweaters beside the bed and books and magazines and pill bottles and everything. shameful. i emptied the canister of the crappy vacuum that we have which had what appeared to be a full-sized cat inside and then jake actually ran it because my asthma goes crazy...the filter doesn't...work...on the crapovac. it shoots dust. so i went downstairs to make some dinner and pavel was down there cowering because he is terrified of the vacuum, and when he is scared, he wants to be held and clings on like a baby monkey. any other time, he will claw your eyes out. and actually, cats don't normally want you to hold them when they are freaked out, they want to hide. so i held him, and it was super hot, so my face was sweating and he was shedding from being scared and i had my face coated with fur. blech. gross.

i was knitting the shrug and it was so hot to have the knitted garment on my lap that i could only do it in small spurts even though i wanted to. and we have airconditioning, even. craziness.

i talked to my mum and told her about jake's shingles and that the doctor said i was at risk of catching chicken pox because i had never had them, but my mom insisted i had them when i was in high school and only had like 5. i don't remember, but i hope it is true. i have been exposed a ton of times and never gotten it, so i guess it would make sense. jake is on herpes medicine for it and they seem to be going away now and he isn't as itchy, so that is a good thing. my dad said you can get immunized against shingles once you have had it, that it is meant for older people, so jake may get that done.

we are having issues with the teeny ants all over the place. mainly in the kitchen, but some upstairs in the bedroom. i got a smelly clove spray that doesn't seem to work very well. anyone with ideas that will not poison us and our pets would be appreciated. in the garden i used this disgusting clove and garlic combo on the mites in the berries that smells unreal. like a hippy burp. barf.

my mom told me about a family friend's daughter that was 7 months preggers and didn't know it. she was the sort that doesn't get their period anyway. she was feeling nauseous and felt a "churning" in her stomach. she had gained a bit of weight but nothing too crazy, i guess. she is a tall, thin girl. at least she figured it out before the baby came, eh?

so you would like some gratuitous yarn pics, eh? first, this is the secret ingredient in my fiber...pavel sleeping with roving
socks that rock

also, i have gotten a few emails about my blog page being all crazy and i am not sure how to fix it. it looks okay on my firefox and safari, so i have not a clue. maybe it needs to be scooted around. or...you all need to get macs. that sounds like a plan. you will be glad that you switched.

ok, i had to add this...this girl's work is sickeningly good. it is not often that i am just utterly blown out of the water, but this girl...and she is super young, so when she is elderly, like me, she will be a master ten times over...she normally does drawerings but took a drawering and made it into a 3-d piece...check it out here.

also, for people who want their babies to never feel alone...the creepiest thing evah! evah evah! here i found this via www.swissmiss.typepad.com, a fantastic designy blog. ooh la la!

okay...i am off to catch up on my blogs, knitting and watch too much tv. carry on.

thanks so much for the amazing emails and supportive comments and pressies. you guys are a big fatty ray of sunshine! although, it is hot as hell outside, so maybe cut down the sunshine and send a breeze or something. okay?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
n.

posted by natasha @ 9:18 PM  17 comments

01 August 2006

MY socks that rock!

firstly, i finally got pics of the superwash sock yarns that are going out to knitch in atlanta, and some that will be listed soon, i always give one of my clients first dibs, especially since she has been waiting for the damn yarn forever, so the ones she doesn't get will be listed to-morrow or thursday...wanna see some? ok. sweetpea socksilk slipper II sock
three mint sock
and there are more on my flickr, and more than i took photos of, for some reason. they came out really really pretty, and i feel like i have come a long way, especially after getting handpainted yarns back that i had done in the winter (i think) and the blends werent so nice and they were blotchier, really different. also, i tended to keep with certain colors and now i try to really stay open to the possibilities.

i have been working on some freeform crocheted scarves for sugar'sfall line samples. i have been using noro yarns and will use some handspun, as well. i have made some sashes, i will take photos to-morrow. try, anyway.

speaking of freeform crochet, i sent jenny dowde some yarn to play around with ages ago and hadn't heard from her. she just put out a new book called freeformations that will be available soon, but she is sending me one because....she used a few of my yarns in there! what? how cool is that? she is the person that made me want to learn to crochet...and i love doing freeform things...it is like the elevator from willy wonka that goes in every direction. it always amazes me when people are afraid to do things without a pattern, and how even when using a pattern, people tend to use the most identical materials to those used in the example that they can find. something like 90% of people knitting patterns buy not only the same yarn in the pattern but the SAME COLOR! jesus. to me, the point of making things is to make it your own. to not be afraid to "mess it up". you can tear it out, rip it up, make it into something else.

so, i had a headache for days and days and when i didn't have the headache, i was so exhausted and out of it that i couldn't get out of bed, didn't check email, didn't do anything. it is so odd. i was really out of it today so i just worked on the samples so at least i am getting something done.

i called best buy to see what is up with the camera because it is more than 2 weeks now. no word. they didn't have anything to tell me, but they did say that as long as everything goes as it should (they agree that the camera kind of...sucks...and is broken for the 4th time) they will give us our money back to get whatever. so. hopefully sooner than later. my in-laws have been letting me use their camera for the last week, but i feel bad keeping it. so.

i have been feeling really isolated lately, not only because of having a rough month, with being sick...all the time, but i miss some of the people i can't really talk to anymore. i start to think that maybe i can. maybe it will be okay. it won't, and i don't want to be a hypocrite. i don't want to pick on anyone, or be mean. and i don't mean that in a high and mighty sort of way, but rather in the way that i would call because i missed her and that is selfish.

amy took me to my doctor's appointment on monday because one of the cars was in pieces (it is fine now, no worries) and it turned out that i was not feeling too well, so it was good that she took me. we were going to go to ligonier afterwards, but i was so out of it, that i went back home, twisted her arm to hang out a bit and then, whilst watching tv, i fell asleep, like an old lady. i slept until that evening. i suck. it is incredibly frustrating. i feel lazy. i really really do.

ok, well, my headache is back, so i am going to go, but i will be back to-morrow if all is well...
xoxoxoxo
n.

posted by natasha @ 10:57 PM  10 comments