Secret Pal 10 Questionairre

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

I am obsessed with Alpaca yarn :D Alpaca yarn is just...to die for! But I also love wool, cotton, silk, bamboo, even some acrylics if they're SUPER soft. I'm a VERY tactile person and can't handle anything that feels plasticy or rough. I have a fair amount of alpaca, wool, alpaca/wool, wool/cotton, cotton, alpaca/silk, and some soft acrylics like Simply Soft and some Patons. I do NOT like anything "fun fur" ish or novelty yarnish. Otherwise, I think I'm pretty easy to please :D

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

I store my needles in an over the door shoe rack :D It's inside my coat closet, which is right next to my fiber arts center :) I have one pocket for each size needle, with the extra pockets for cable needles, Knit Picks Options cables, etc. I only use circular needles, so they fit right in each pocket just perfectly :)

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

I have been knitting for a little over a year now. I was taught when I was little by my Grandma, but I could never get the purl stitch down and lost the skill all together over time. About a year ago, I was loom knitting and I decided to pick up some needles again and try to learn. It was easy and seemed to stick this time :) I am probably an advanced beginner or early intermediate. I can do cables, lace work, short rows...but haven't tried any color work yet. I knit almost exclusively on circular needles, so I have no problem with circular knitting. I'm a big fan of the Magic Loop method :D

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

I do not, because then I would just have a list of things that I want and probably will never have and it would depress me, lol.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I love citrus-y cents a lot, as well as jasmine, vanilla, apple. I do not care for spicy scents and I have an aversion to the smell of coffee and tea. I know, I'm bizarre :P

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

I guess I have a sweet tooth, yes, although I don't eat chocolate. My favorite candy is swedish fish...YUMMMY!!! but I also like things like SweetTarts or Smartees. Outside of candy, I like things with peanut butter or cinnamon...such as peanut butter cheerio treats (like rice crispy treats, but made with cheerios and has peanut butter in them) or cinnamon toast, lol. I always put in that I do not drink coffee or tea at this point, because I know those are common goodies sent along and I would hate to not enjoy your packages to their full extent!

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

Besides knitting, I spin (mostly spindle, but I am borrowing a Ashford Traditional wheel right now and am in LOVE with it). I also sew, make jewelry, and other misc. crafty stuff.

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

Yes, to the MP3 question...all my music is on my computer, lol. I like the genre of music I refer to as "Chicks with guitars." Basically, Indigo Girls, Garbage, Ani DiFranco, Gina Young, etc. I also like most 80's alternative rock...Erasure, They Might Be Giants, B52s, INXS, stuff like that. I'm also a huge broadway musical soundtrack freak. My secret love is Barry Manilow and Cat Stevens music, lol. Recent artists I like are K.T. Tunstall, Scissor Sisters, Evanescence, Bowling for Soup, Gnarles Barkley. Basically, I like most anything except for Country, Heavy Metal and Rap :D

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

My two favorite colors are green and orange. I love all darker earth tones...browns of any ilk, rusty reds, cobalt blue is okay, forest green, dark purples even. I'm not a fan of yellow in almost any format and pastels are just not me.

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

Does a toddler count as a pet? Okay, well in that case, no, I don't have pets :D I have one son who will be 5 years old in April. I co-parent him with my ex-wife (yes, I'm a big ol' dyke - Hi! Nice to met you!), so he's at my house half of each week. I have a partner of 1 1/2 years that I do not live with (yet) but spend an awful lot of time with, so we might as well live together :D

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

Noooo ponchos. A poncho on a 5' 11" 230 lb woman who is heavily endowed in the chest area is just such a bad idea, it should be outlawed :) I have very broad shoulders, as well...so...no. Just say no. LOL. Scarves are nice, as are fingerless mittens or gloves. I am a computer geek, so I need my fingers to type all day. I like hats a lot, but I'm a bit picky about them.... I have curly fluffy red hair, so when I wear a hat, it squishes it all down and then I look silly. Therefore, the hat has to have some poof to it somehow...a brim, something to compensate for the bulk around my head that goes missing under the hat. Yes, I know I'm weird :P

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

I like to knit just about anything :) Dishcloths are easy and fun, good for trying out a new stitch. I like making purses/bags. Fingerless gloves are good. Made a few lace scarfs that were a joy. I just did my first pair of booties the other day and oh gosh, they're so fun and easy to make!

13. What are you knitting right now?

Right now, I'm making a dishcloth for a swap, a large brown blanket, some ruffled wrist warmers and I'm TRYING to make my first pair of socks, but they could possibly fit an elephant...I think I increased a bit too much, LOL.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Of course, who doesn't?!

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

I knit only on circular needles. Bamboo is my needle of choice, but I also really like the new Knit Picks Options needles. I have size 4 and 5 in them thus far, as well as some size 2 Knit Picks classic circulars that I'm using for the great sock knitting experiment. I'm working on getting more Crystal Palace bamboo circulars...I just love the needles...and the cable join pivots, so the cables will always lay where I want them to go! I only have size 8 right now in a few different cable lengths....they're just so spendy! But they are my favorites... *drool*

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

I have a spiffy ball winder, but no swift. Just haven't needed one yet. My hands or a back of a chair seem to work just fine :) I usually prefer to make something that will work, rather than spend a lot on something already made...

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Well, I have a purse on a loom that was supposed to be for my sister's wedding gift last April : Guess I better get on that and finish it up, LOL....

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Probably Halloween. I don't usually dress up, but it is in my favorite time of the year, so it wins by default :)

19. Is there anything that you collect?

I collect yarn :D Oh, besides that...well, I have several hundred books...mostly Sci Fi, children's books and cookbooks...my kitchen is decorate in pears. I used to collect Wizard of Oz stuff, but not so much anymore, although I have a Oz tattoo on my right thigh...I think I have it all, lol. I collect lizard, frog and turtle stuff...I have a lizard tattoo on my right ankle and several lizard knicknacks around my house.

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

I want some more Patons Rumor yarn something fierce! The green stuff, I think it's called Fern Heather....besides that, I am always in love with alpaca yarn :) I want some cotonade yarn in colors Spruce, Lipstick, Nutmeg, moss, chocolate or plum. I would LOVE to try some sea silk in color Forest or Mineral. I have been drooling over Inca Cotton in color Oz for quite some time and I need another skein to make a top I want... I've also been on a search for some Joseph Galler peruvian tweed alpaca in color 111, 106 or 107 since my LYS went out of business right before I went in to finally buy the skein I pet every week! I also adore Colinette Tao 100% silk in shade Madras 153, Colinette Jitterbug 100% merino in shade Sahara 135, Prism Lotus (wool, bamboo, silk blend) in color Highlands, Muench Touch Me in any earthy color, Malabrigo and Manos de Uruguay in anything earthy and Trendsetter Blossom # 106.

Can you tell I have a thing for yarn?!

I would like some Crystal Palace circular bamboo needles in any size other than 8 (5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10 1/2) and I'm always in the market for some more Knit Picks needle tips in sizes other than 4 or 5, as well as more cables (I'd like a 40").

I don't have any knitting magazine subscriptions, but I would certainly like to get Interweave Knits one of these days. Until I do, I just read them at the library and copy any patterns I want at work on the copy machine :)

Are there any techniques you'd like to learn?

Well, I guess I want to learn different/better ways to do short rows and explore those possibilities some more. Then, I want to start learning about double knitting and colorwork. Oh, and there are those damn socks I can't seem to figure out very well!

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

Well, does casting on about 8 times, knitting a few rounds then ripping it out in increasing frustration...make me a sock knitter? I thought not. I'm trying! Really, I am! I am now up to my instep, but the toe is so large, I could fit both my feet in it, lol.

My foot measurements are: 10 1/2 inches long, 9 3/4 inches around at ball of foot. I wear a size 10 wide or 11 regular shoe, depending on the manufacturer.

I also have a very big head, lol... 23 1/2 inches or 60 cm around. What can I say, I'm of swedish decent and I'm just all around big :D

23. When is your birthday?

My birthday is February 16, so I will have just turned 34 when this swap starts.