SP8 Questionnaire

I got curious about Secret Pal 8 and went to the site and discovered that I'm supposed to have posted answers to a list of questions! And I'm also supposed to have received an email of some sort from my group coordinator.

So, since I can't do anything about the email I haven't received yet, I'll take care of the questions:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I don't get along so well with cotton or Red-Heart style acrylic. I like to mess around with the occasional skein or two of novelty yarn. Otherwise ... think high-end (even inexpensive high-end, like Knitpicks alpaca-silk blend). I really like a nice wool.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Um, a basmati rice bag for my Addi Turbos and a pencil holder for the straights that aren't downstairs in a drawer.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting off and on for about 30 years. I guess I'd consider myself an intermediate knitter - I don't know everything, but I can follow instructions and I've done cables and multi-colored projects (and both at once).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Huh, I'll have to look into that.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Lavender. Please, please, please no candles. I just gave away the last 100 gift candles I was given. Actually, I have to use a soap with moisturizer in it. I don't use bath oils or bubble bath (makes me itch). Um, shampoo might be good.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Dark Chocolate. I can resist anything but dark chocolate.


7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I don't spin. I like to recycle stuff. But mostly I knit. Occasionally I crochet, but I'm terrible at going back and forth. I prefer to knit. I just got myself a couple packages of easter-egg dye and am about to try dyeing a little knitpicks dye your own sock-weight yarn.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

MP3s ... not so good for me. I've got an MP3 player which I use to listen to podcasts, but that's it. I stick to regular music CDs most of the time.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I prefer ... it depends on the use. Take, for instance, my sockapalooza experience. My sock pal's socks were in colors I would never wear, but they grew on me real fast. I asked my sock pal to avoid green and orange and stick to pastels. But then those same colors were really nice in the socks I knit to send to my pal. I'd never wear a sweater in those colors, but socks... maybe. I prefer pastels usually...but vivid colors are nice, too. Red looks nicest in barn red, I really don't get along with orange much. Truthfully, I wear all kinds of colors, including the bright yellow and neon green I would tell you I don't like. My idea of putting something together is contrast. And Black jeans will go with anything. (And a gray sweater will tone anything down.)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have a cat who has a bad kidney and is on a special diet. I'm actually allergic to cats and didn't know it. This is the last cat I'll have. I also have a fiancee. We've lived together for the last ten years and we're going to actually get married now. He's from England. Neither of us owns a television and between us we have about nine computers. I, um, used to raise earthworms.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Please no ponchos. Scarves and hats, yes. Mittens ... not so much. More gloves. You know what I could really use? A pair of any color kick-around-the-house slippers. I'm wearing holes in the second pair I knit myself and I don't have a lot of Red Heart left 'cause I hate it so much (I gave most of it away). I wear size 8.5 - 9 shoes, so a standard "adult" or "women's" size slipper will fit me.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Hats, scarves, socks, socks, socks. Oh, yeah, that's right, le clapotis. I've knit a bunch of 'em, though only two full-size and none in the Lorna's Laces.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I've got a short-sleeved lacy jacket nearly done, two pairs of socks OTN - one in Sockotta (first time) and one in Knitpicks essential. Oh, and I'm knitting a scarf. I really, really needed to have some wool in my hands. Yes, I realize it's May.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I am looking for some long - 10" or longer - double pointed needles. I don't care what they're made of. Any size 1 - 8. I've got plenty Addi Turbos and a friend gave me her entire needle collection (they're all regular straights).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Finally, YES! Oh, I couldn't live any longer without both. Neither is jumbo sized.

17. How did you learn to knit?

My grandmother taught me. I miss her. I knit continental - she was from Germany.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

About a year old.

19. What is your favorite holiday?

My sweetheart's birthday - June 28th.

20. Is there anything that you collect?

Actually, I've always had a special place in my heart for giraffes.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I'm disappointed in Interweave Knits (the ads have much better photos than the projects in the magazine) and I think I recently bought a subscription to Vogue Knitting. I like Sci-fi and mystery stuff. I mentioned the needles I'm looking for. I like gadgets. A row counter I could wear around my neck or a yarn cutter I could wear around my neck or a gadget to measure the length of a skein would be neat. I like Knitty more than Mag Knits ... I wonder if that's helpful or not. I'd really, really like any of the Adrienne Vittadini fall pattern books (except 2001, since I have that one).

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

At the moment I'm learning Orenburg lace - thank Franklin's Olympic Knitting project. I'm actually trying to design a sweater for my sweetheart based on a DNA design. He wants something multi-colored - one of those plain backgrounds with a band around the chest. I'm not too thrilled with the DNA cable-scarf, so I've been collecting DNA pictures off the internet trying to come up with something classy but knit-able. Hmmm.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

foot length - 9.5"
ball circumference - 9.5"
I'm finally knitting myself some socks. I have really sensitive feet, and the location of the seam in commercial socks is very painful for my toes.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

February 17th.

I will put a link to this post in my sidebar when it's getting close to being archived.