138 - Breathing Fire

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Susan Dolph joins Abby for this week’s episode!

Latte: Susan is knitting a sweater for her husband, hoping to replace an old sweater with a new “Doug’s Lounger” of her own design.  

Abby has been knitting totally monogamously on the Dragons! scarf for her “Eeks Steeks!” class with Mary Scott Huff at Madrona next month. 

Grande: Susan made two Halos of Hope Hats — for Team Knit Knit Cafe, of course! She used some Florette yarn, which is very soft. Thank you, Susan! Susan also finished her pillbox type hat and matching scarf and mittens; the project is called “Warmth”.

Abby finished the Skew socks out of Fab Funky Fibres Sargent Peppers color way. They were a FUN knit!

Stir: Susan has been spinning fiber from Huckleberry Knits. Abby had challenged Susan to spin a gradient, but it didn’t work out exactly the way Susan was expecting. Still, she is happy with it! Abby sent her Matchless wheel to Schacht. It needs a lot of work, but she’s looking forward to getting it back in perfect condition. We talk a bit about travel wheels, and mention the Schacht Sidekick, the Hanson Mini-spinner and the Majacraft Aura. Susan also talked a bit about her locally-made Earl Oman wheel. 

Brewing: Abby has been thinking about the folly of New Year’s Resolutions, but would like to explore how to change habits we don’t like. In that vein, we invite listeners to join our read-along of Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit. There will be a thread in the ravelry group for us to share what we’re learning and what it is (or isn’t) doing for us. Susan mentioned that she gave up lists and projects for a while, but that it hasn’t made her happier. Abby mentioned the book Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert which talks about our inability to necessarily know what will make us happy ahead of time. Susan mentions the Rich Roll podcast.

Chai: Abby visited Susan at the home of Abstract Fiber and it was a delightful visit and “tour”. Abby also visited the Portland Japanese Garden which was deeply inspiring and very beautiful. Abby mentioned the book Peaceful Places Portland and she hopes to explore more of these. 

Caffeinated: Abby is excited about a pattern called “There and Back Again”, a double-knit scarf that “shows” the story of the book The Hobbit. 

Sofa: Susan talks about books by James Lee Burke, and his daughter Alafair Burke. Susan would like to know whether any listeners have read and recommend the Samantha Kinkaid series, set in Portland? Abby mentioned Good Reads as a place to find book recommendations. Abby mentioned A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which Susan recommended a few episodes back. Abby recommends the movie Not Fade Away and on TV: the Call the Midwife holiday special, Psych’s new season. Abby is excited about Tim Gunn’s new show Under the Gunn. Finally, Abby recommends the podcast Books on the Nightstand, which was a listener recommendation. At that podcast’s recommendation, Abby is reading We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Susan has just finished watching The Wire and as a result discovered David Simon’s book The Corner on which the series was based. 

Events: Abby will be at Madrona and Stitches West. Also coming up is the Rose City Yarn Crawl! Join me! Susan is doing a Knitajourney mid-winter retreat. It’s too late for you to go to this one, but you can find information here, and learn about future retreats.