Not dead, just preoccupied
Started a pair of socks using Classic Elite Alpaca Sox. The yarn is wonderfully soft with great colours, but I hated knitting with it. Hated it! It has two very loosely plied strands that come apart at the slightest touch, it's thinner than regular sock yarn, and I wasn't having any fun with it.
A quick stash-dive brought up some Fiesta Baby Boom, which is wonderful! This is a six strand yarn (three two-ply strands), velvety-soft with rich colours. This yarn rarely splits and it feels great to work with. I'm using the Mochachino colour and putting in cables along the foot.
I got a Golding RingSpindle last week, 0.9 oz with cherry whorl and a walnut shaft. It is smaller than I expected, and the shaft is short with lengthwise grooves. Pulled out a lock of CVM and spun the thinnest single I've ever produced, and the thing spun forever! Love the spindle, just need to decide what to spin on it.