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Thursday, September 15, 2005

Secret Pal 6 Qs 

I've never done a Secret Pal thing before, but my SP (hi mama llama!) asked if I'd answered the questions...so I have:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
I don't know that I would phrase it "snob," but I do prefer to wear self-extinguishing fibers. What can I say? I'm accident-prone.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I love spinning, love, love, love it. Probably more than I love knitting, although they're really two very different activities for two very different purposes (knitting=portable, finished garment/ spinning=not so portable but...different. Love it.) Crochet is neat, but I haven't learned anything more than sc to stabilise a hem.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Sort of allergic to cats, but not all cats, so don't worry about it. That's what modern medicine is all about. And even when I know I'm allergic to a particular cat, you'll still catch me with my nose buried in its fur for kissies (reason #34 my MIL thinks I'm not smart enough for her son). I don't like cig smoke, but BBQ smoke is yummy. Love's Baby Soft gives me horrendous flashbacks. Other than that, I'm good with smelly things.

4. How long have you been knitting?
5 years? Yeah, or thereabouts. I'm not a BIG knitter, I mean, no Stitches West Workshops or anything like that, but I've done cables, mini socks...I like to experiment, but I'm not great on the follow-through.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I didn't, but now I do. It was fun to set that up, actually.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Woodsy, or edible yummies, really. I love sandalwood, cedar, pine, pine tar, vanilla, verbena, and clove.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
You bet your sweet bippy! I love the trail mixes with pieces of chocolate or peanut butter chips mixed in with the dried fruit and nuts.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Just the spinning, knitting, and dyeing really. That takes up quite enough space and time at the moment. Maybe I'll take up stamping and beading if I locate a wormhole in the continuum.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I love random music. Indian (punjabi) music or bhangra, bluegrass (Yonder Mountain String Band), Manu Chao, Robert Earl Keen, Dar Williams, MC Solaar, Willie Nelson, some Jack Johnson...happy music, I guess. No angry STP-type tunes for me. North African pop. I did the music meme awhile back (Feb 9) and my opinions haven't changed much.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love green, blue, red & orange. Elemental colours. Not too keen on purple. Green's definitely the favourite of the moment.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Our household consists of 1 incredibly sexy, charming, and indulgent husband, 1 "special boy" who upholds the reputation of sighthounds as being, er, "dim," 1 bitchy little fat girl who is a border collie in an overweight whippet's body, and 1 pseudo-greyhound foster dog who is still getting the hang of living in a "family situation" (and doing d@mn well for a dog who spent eight years sleeping in his own filth in the tiny sideyard of a Temecula home). And my Mom's greyhound Crivens spends a fair amount of time here because she's a Princess and likes to hang out here while Mom earns her kibble and greenie money during the workday.

We also have two parakeets.

But we don't really talk about them. They're weird.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
I'd love to figure out the secret to keeping myself motivated and actually get a degree in something, anything, rather than the half-assed expensive dabbling I've done to muck up my permanent record in the past.
I would love for us to own our own home and for me to be able to pull my own weight financially in this family. Nick says he doesn't mind, but I do.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Soft and bouncy. I think I like my own best, conceited as that is. Maybe I'm inclined to slightly hairy, because while thinking about my favourite commercial yarns I like I think of Lavold's Angora, CE's Lana d'Oro, and Naturally Merino & Fur.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Stuff which will melt on me, not breathe, or spontaneously burst into flame. Or really itch.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I don't know that you could call any of my knitting an obsession. But I'm more intrigued by socks lately. And I've just dyed a half pound of superwash to spin into yarn for a sweater for one of the dogs.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Little dog sweaters are very satisfying. Hats, gloves, scarves, semi-instant gratification. I love cables and want to write my own cabled sweater pattern.

17. What are you knitting right now?
The Noro Butterfly from my own handspun. I've done two sleeves and have a couple inches of the back.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
Whatever floats your boat baby, but they don't do nuthin' fer me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circs all the way. I really, really wish my Denise Interchangeables went smaller than US5s. SO I go Addi Turbos for those sizes.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I guess I should say plastic for the sake of consistency, but I do love the feel of wooden needles. I just hate the joins and cables of the wooden ones I've used (CP).

21. Are you a sock knitter?
I've done a mini sock (hideous pink acrylic) and a big Christmas stocking for my Grandmother (the decorative details of which I still need to finish) but I have XRX's SocksĀ³ and Zilboorg's fabulous sock book. I need to get the lead out on those bad boys.

22. How did you learn to knit?
From a cheesy Susan Bates booklet. Crucial help was received from Suzanne of Knitting in La Jolla while visiting the San Diego area (we lived in Oakland at the time & I can't remember what I was confused about. I think it had to do with "pulling it through, then pulling it off"). From the internet. The woman at the Knitting Basket in Oakland who told me I was purling "wrong."

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Probably the Map of the World Afghan. I stalled out in Canada on the first panel. That Tahki Donegal Tweed just isn't the most joyful to the hands kind of yarn. Good and sticky for colourwork though, it's true.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I think I've got a little thing for dragonflies. And whippets and greyhounds of course.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Our wedding anniversary.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
No, I don't think so. Clutter?

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have any subs; I've been meaning to get a Spin-Off sub. It gives me an excuse to go into a LYS and "control myself" to only one thing.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
The Walker stitch encyclopedias, esp. the third one.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??
I have a ton of patterns in the queue. No willpower for patterns, me.

ETA: 30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
Oh, eek. I traced my foot on sheet of paper and it's HUGE. It would take way too long to knit me a pair of socks. My feet make Baby Jesus cry.

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