friday five · spinning

Friday Five:

1. Ripples. In the past week I’ve felt the urge to pull out my crochet scrappy sock ripple afghan. Most of you know I’m not much of crocheter. I’m mostly self taught and I don’t find it nearly as intuitive as knitting, but I do enjoy it. This week I’ve been adding some leftovers of Christmas yarns and other assorted bits. It’s still a LONG way from complete, but it makes me happy to work on it during the holidays.

Ripple2018

2. Reading. This week I’ve been reading, or more accurately listening, to Front Desk by Kelly Yang and read by Sunny Lu. It’s a wonderful book about the hardships faced by immigrants, particularly timely in today’s crisis. I should also add that Sunny Lu is a friend from high school so it was fun to listen to her again. She reads the book beautifully and this version won an Audie Award!

3. On the wheel. This week I’m spinning a luscious superwash merino braid from Nest Fiber Studio in the colorway Foxy. This one will be destined for the shop. Even if it’s not holiday colors, the reds and purples and oranges remind me of cozy fall and warm snuggly blankets. This one would be perfect for cozy socks!

Nest Foxy SW Merino

4. Christmas cooking. This year we’re hosting Christmas at our house which means we have to come up with something to cook! In the past few years we’ve given up the tried and true turkey and ham in favor of experimenting a bit more. This year’s “new” addition is going to be cornbread stuffing muffins. We’re still debating recipes (there are a million to choose from), but I’m already hungry! Do you stick to traditional recipes or experiment a bit?

5. Ethical knitting. Last week on the podcast I talked about how I was working with some new yarn from Manos del Uruguay, specifically Cabrito, their new kid mohair base. One of my viewers left a critical comment asking me why I continued to use mohair given the proven cruelty in the industry. While I appreciated being alerted to something of which I was previously unaware, I also know that Manos del Uruguay is a certified member of the World Fair Trade Organization. I believe it’s up to every knitter to make their own decisions about the materials they choose to craft with.

The theme repeated itself later in the week with a PETA billboard about wool. I can’t say it better than Clara Parkes.

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