the behinder i get . . .

i just don’t know where the time is going; what i do know is that it’s running through my hands like water lately. maybe it’s all the travel, eh?

i have not blocked my wasp and rose yet, can you believe that??
i would really like to do that today, after i write this post—i had planned to do it last week, but then we had a big photo shoot, with lots of photo editing afterward and by the time i got through that, it was time to finalize my book chapter for the month and . . . yadda, yadda, yadda.

now that the october chapter is put to bed, i’d like to block the shawl as a reward—something quiet to relax and get the kinks out, if you follow me, before the flurry of getting packed for rhinebeck begins (tonight). it all depends on how efficient i can be this afternoon, starting with this post, haha.

not to cheat you after being away so long, but time is of the essence this week . . .

one nice side effect of me being away so much is that david has been working some long nights to finish up the renovation of our main bath—we are picking out trim colors and towel bars (we’re thinking that the middle gray will be good for the wood trims). it’s been underway for some time, but between taking on the operations of our clubs and the increased maintenance of our property as we improve it, he has been as busy as i have.

but he’s made a special push in the last couple of months to get it done—which i really appreciate; we can do without another winter of running over freezing halls and stairs to the third floor to use the facilities in the middle of the night, haha.

as you can see, the tile is all up and a new scratch coat on the walls awaits the finished plaster coat; the tile just needs grout. the floor is covered right now, but it’s tiled in marble mosaic.

the original layout in nearly the same, with some tweaks to optimize the spacing and placement of all the major components. despite its size, with three doors and a large window, the room presents challenges. in order to keep the closet and have the larger shower we wanted, for instance, we had to let go of having a tub (but the one on the third floor is really nice).

the new walk-in shower will be enclosed in glass; we used these salvaged slate stair treads to trim the top of the doorsill.

we also salvaged the old bullnose tile from the original bath to trim the new tile—it cleaned up great and we had just enough to do the job (seriously, there are maybe five inches of that tile left over!). everything will look even smoother and cleaner once it’s all grouted.

david has to figure out where he can get the plaster he’s been using throughout the house, which is made from ground marble dust; the local supplier where he used to get it went out of business since he purchased it last.

who knows, maybe when i get back from rhinebeck or san francisco, we’ll be using it.

for myself, when i haven’t been catching up i’ve been trying to get ahead a little. haha, i just reread that and it made me snort—whatever happened to just BEing?

anyway, when i do get a chance to knit this week, i’m focusing on two public projects and one secret project—a manageable enough quantity for the week i’m having.

on saturday, i brought my big sweater project bag over to debby’s house, where i cast on for the right front of my bloch ness sweater. i knit and chatted and knit and then looked down to realize that i’d completely goofed up by knitting two and ahlf inches of ribbing on the hem, instead of the pattern i was supposed to be knitting where the textured motif goes all the way to the hem—ri-i-i-ppp.

fortunately, it was the tiny front piece and i didn’t lose that much actual knitting; by the time i left, i had completely regained what i lost and doubled it, even, yay.

my secret project is pulling together very nicely, though i really do need to buckle down and put some work into writing up the pattern; with any luck, i’ll have a draft before i leave on thursday. that would be good because once i get on the road, it’s awfully hard to corral quiet time to do calculations and writing. fingers crossed.

once i finished wasp and rose, i had a yen to put a new, fun project on the needles—something small that wouldn’t take long. i meant to start a new accessory design—christmas is coming, after all—but then when i was at chris’s we got talking about nate’s sock yarn and how yummy it is and what kinds of projects knit up well in it and then  . . . before i knew it, i had cast on a little sticks and stones prototype shortie in it.

see, i’ve had this idea for quite a while that i wanted to make a child’s version of that pattern, maybe in a one-piece construction, either top-down or bottom up. i would knit one for each of our small nephews so they could have a sweater like uncle david’s for christmas this year (the whitfield shorties were a huge hit with them two years ago).

this first one in the smallest size is just an experiment to figure out the construction, but doesn’t it look awesome in nate’s sock yarn? i love that deep dark color for a baby . . .

i’m knitting it bottom up in one piece so i can see what i’m doing; i was originally hoping to do it top down, but i’m not sure how it will work with all the cables i’d have to set up on those first rows.

i also totally forgot to do my sleeves first (my usual preference), so i’m doing those now. the second one is nearly ready and once it is, i can join the whole thing up to knit the yoke area. i gotta say, it’s taking hardly any yarn at all—i think this skein was 600 yards and i have at more than half of it left so far.

i have no idea at all when this pattern might be ready for publication—right now i’m just finding out if i like the design and if so, what is the most sensible way to construct it. will keep you updated . . .

speaking of yarn and how much we love it, erica, david and i have been finalizing the details of the next barenaked club, because guess what? signups will be coming up at the end of november for that already. yes, if you enjoyed our last foray into the realm of the undressed sheep, you will love the lineup we’re putting together for the 2013 edition. look for more news as it develops . . .

not quite naked, but certainly possessing loads of seasonal charm—these skeins of handspun BFL from cheryl at newhue handspuns. what we have here are shaded DK color ways that are spun and skeined up for specific projects—the larger skein will make a hat and the two smaller skeins will each knit one mitt. once knit, the piece will be shaded from top to bottom; the solid accent color can be used to knit trims or a colorwork design. i’m going ot play around with this sample kit to see what i can come up with in terms of a pattern—i’m thinking something fairly plain with a modern stranded motif near the top and possibly some i-cord edging will be really nice.

and if you didn’t want to wait for a new pattern to develop for it, these would be smashing as a very special hot waffles, lacunae, high peaks, matterhorn, or the newly released oktober zest set.

i LOVE the pine tree colors of this particular set—i’m completely smitten. this is just the kind of thing david would want to wear; hopefully, i can figure out something clever to make the most of it. i’m thinking it’s time for hat and mittens, how about you?

this is a new item that will be in stock on cheryl’s website soon; she is happy to take custom orders by email until that time, which she can ship out within two weeks.