Indiana Jones and the Mantel of Doom
I have two cats, both adore yarn, and I like to keep current knitting near me at all times when I’m home. My solution? Stick it on the fireplace mantel. I just looked up to see pieces of Satomi, Torc and various other projects taunting me. Hi, projects! Hi! [waves] Mantel’s getting a little full, though.
This past month has been a bit of a whirl, what with traveling to Boston twice and running two big shows here, let alone doing other shows and making things to sell and trying to keep the house from becoming one big mess and doing all the everyday grocery shopping/laundry/etc… I think one of my favorite shots is this, from Boston’s Logan airport:
I could use a coffee that size right now. For Christmas + my birthday I’ve asked for nothing but help renovating the kitchen. Dad is a carpenter, too, and my mom is great when it comes to painting, mostly because she tears the brush from my hand and sends me out of the room. What can I say? I’m a knitter, not a painter (and she is).
Away with you, foul late-70s kitchen! Goodbye, avocado backsplash! Sayonara cheap white linoleum that shows every cat and dog hair! Ciao stupid countertop extension! Don’t let the door hit you on the (dropped ceiling tiles with fluorescent fixtures)-rear, lighting!
Speaking of lighting, the house is 1920s and so we’re thinking more this than this, with recessed lights in the new ceiling for overall warmth. We have not, as of yet, figured out how to ditch the stupid stucco some idiot put on the walls. Am considering just plastering over it, flat. Ugh.
I have two big projects I will attempt to have finished before mid-January. One is finishing up the pre-press stuff on my publishing company’s next book and the other is the kitchen. My ceramic-goddess friend Gina is going to help me make new backsplash tiles, which is super exciting, since I’ve always wanted to learn more about tilemaking and glazes. I’ve already been working on the book stuff. And as much as possible between now and New Year’s Eve, I am going to rest so I can get the other stuff done.
This might, in fact, be the first ever New Year’s Eve where the mister and I are not both working on simultaneous major project deadlines. Issue 3 of his comic book is FINISHED and comes out tomorrow (joy!), and I’ve flat out told everyone I’m taking a few days off.
What are you doing for the holidays, dear readers? seems I’ve fielded a lot of “I’m knitting this for my [x]” questions about my patterns, especially Reboux, so it looks like there’s a ton of holiday gift knitting going on. Knit! knit like the wind!
I was expecting a picture of your mantle. The coffee was a surprise!
For the holidays? I’m trying to finish the neverending sweater of doom for my husband. I swear to God, this thing gets smaller every time I measure it. And of course, then he’ll wear it and it will expand to encompass our entire apartment.
I’ve also been cheating on his sweater with other small projects. Just so I could finish SOMETHING.
And I’m going to DC for Christmas, and have my list of LYSs there to check out.
Oh show us before and after photos of the kitchen redo!