Ep 31: Frozen Fingers, Goodwill Confessions, and Eggnog

This week Kelly has two finished projects! She finished her Crochet-Along project, the Happy Hippopotamus by Heidi Bears. This was an excellent pattern and the finished hippo is soooooooo darling! Also finished (but not yet blocked or worn) is the Color Affection, a shawl designed by Veera Valimaki. Kelly had a skein of heavy fingering and 4 skeins of DK and used them all, creating a shawl that is ENORMOUS! It will be a challenge to figure out how to wear it or where to put it once out of the cold :-) The colors are great together and it used some 5+ year old stash, so it is a clear win! Kelly's current projects all require some knitting repair, so let's not talk about those. ;-) Marsha isn't finished with her Lanata Cardigan, but she is close. Once sleeve cuffs are on, it's done. She is very happy with the sweater's design (by Amy Christoffers) and with the fabric she got from the German yarn that she used. She also continues to work on her brother Mark's Crazy Scarf from the Stonehedge Crazy yarn. She is also close to finishing her Stripe Study Shawl, another one of the designs from Veera Valimaki. In the spinning arena, Kelly is carding a lot! She has challenged herself to make significant progress in processing fleeces that are 5 or more years old. Since this is the last month of the challenge, she has put on the speed! No finished weight estimates yet, but her fiber stash was over 50 lbs at the start of this quarter. Marsha has been on a learning curve for spinning Lincoln. As a long wool, it is different from what she has spun before. Also, she is hand processing it and spinning from the lock. She is thinking of using it for a blanket, but will wait until the yarn is finished to determine a use. Lincoln is an excellent fleece for rugs, bags and other high wear uses that don't require "next-to-skin softness," but do require a stable and "unbouncy" yarn. Here are examples of some (pre-Ravelry) projects that Kelly has made with Lincoln and Lincoln crosses over the years. Leftovers from these projects are destined to be used in a punch-needle rug hooking project one day soon. Marsha was a finisher in the frigid Seattle Marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Despite the cold and some challenges to her training in the month before the event she finished! Hurray!!! Kelly talks a little about the Locke family eggnog recipe and the revised version that can be made in a kitchen bowl rather than a bathtub!