SP6 Yadda Yadda Yadda
Hey, I'm recycling my SP Yadda Yadda from last time, so now it's Yadda Yadda Yadda.
My Secret Pal didn't wait though--she just sent me a wonderful handmade nightlight. It's adorable, filled with potpourri, handpainted, with a hand-crocheted covering. Henry was with me when I opened it, and he was totally thrilled with it. It was particularly great, because we recently got a nightlight that we put closer to Eleanor's bed than to his, and well, this has evened the score. Thank you Secret Pal! From me and from the H-Man.
Anyhoo, even though you've already sent me a gorgeous gift, I'll put up my questionnaire, because, you know, that's what they tell us to do. :) But thanks.
Oh, and if you're anyone else but my Secret Pal, um, sorry, never mind. Have a nice weekend!
Hi Secret Pal! Here ya go, sorry for the wait...
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’m not a super-snob but I do definitely prefer natural fibers. I look at the quality of the yarn (fiber content, consistency of spinning, hand, etc.) and not the brand label. I use wool-ease for baby garments, but that’s about it for big box store yarn, though my mind remains open.
2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I am pretty into spinning these days. I do know how to crochet but I rarely do it and I feel like I’ve mostly forgotten how. I actually bought the new IK Crochet magazine and there are a bunch of things I want to make. It's just..I have, um, a few things to finish. You know. :)
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Not a big fan of smoke, but other than that no allergies.
4. How long have you been knitting?
I taught myself to knit out of a book as a teen, so it has been *gasp* 20 years now.
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/3L941EHO6SASO
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like a lot of scents. I have an affinity for jasmine and cinnamon, but I also like lavender, rose, and vanilla among others.
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
In a word, yes. I consider chocolate a vegetable and do my best to get my RDA.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I used to enjoy cooking and reading until I became a complete fiber junkie.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have a life partner and three-year-old twins, and a dog and a cat.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Oh goodness. I think I will be happy if I can look back on my life and say that I focused on what matters. I want to be comfortable, but I don’t want to work so hard to get financial comforts that I don’t have time to experience my life and my family. I’m searching for balance and some days I get closer than others.
Right now I'm really trying to figure that out. Short-term I'd like the total amount of stress and work in our family to decrease, but I'm not exactly sure how we'll do that. We'll get there, and it's good that we have options. I'm also hoping to do more with the fibery side of my life sometime relatively soon. We shall see.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
My default yarn is brown sheep worsted. That’s sort of the bread and butter. My favorite would have to be handspun. I love koigu and other really nicely handpainted yarns. I am also kind of in to silk/wool combos these days. I have a love/hate relationship with Noro. I am often unimpresed with the quality of the yarn, but the colors...oh the colors!
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Not a big fan of acrylic. I do use mohair at times, but not a lot. Blends are fine, but I like a soft hand for most fibers. I'm also a bit conflicted about cotton. I do use it, but infrequently.
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I’m sort of following the shawl craze these days and trying to learn all about lace. I also feel some cable addiction coming on.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I usually have a few sweaters on the needles at any given time, but I think I’d knit anything but a poncho or a shrug.
Lately it has been all lace all the time. And a few socks. I'm finishing up a few shawls now and am looking forward to a couple of sweaters in my future.
17. What are you knitting right now?
Well, a million things, but active are (how pathetic that I only crossed one thing off this list from June--though I did finish three things since then, it's just that I started two of them since then. Sigh):
- A handspun icelandic shawl (Hyrna Hergorbar)
- A FBS in fleece artist lady godiva
- A fair isle cardigan for my master knitter class
- broadripple socks in fixation
- A second Klaralund that will probably be a cardi
I'm also adding a couple more pairs of socks, a Kepler that I'm spinning the yarn for and I have a lace scarf that I'm not permitting myself to start until the shawls are done. Oh yeah, and the thrummed mittens (currently sitting in second mitten syndrome limbo).
18. What do you think about ponchos?
Not so much. You know, whatever floats your boat, but not for me. See 16.
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
It all depends on the project. I don’t think there’s any kind of needle I’d *never* use.
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Yes. ;)
21. Are you a sock knitter?
Yup. Not passionate about it or anything—I tend to like to show off my knitting and I must confess that socks are a little too under the radar for me sometimes, but that doesn’t stop me from carrying a sock around in my bag with me at all times—they’re wonderfully portable and easy to do while waiting in line, at a movie, etc.
22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself out of a book as a teenager. It was something I just felt drawn to.
23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Oh lordy loo, I take the fifth on this one. I think we’re going into double-digit years on that. In fact I’m sure of it. Sigh.
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I’m going to have to go with sheep. What can I say?
25. What is your favorite holiday?
Probably thanksgiving or halloween.
26. Is there anything that you collect?
You already know the answer to this one, right? Yarn. And fleece. And knitting books. And, unfortunately, UFOs. Right now I'm actually kind of collecting back issues of Spin Off magazine. I mostly need early 90s and back.
27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Spin Off and Wild Fibers.
28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I kind of want the Latvian Mittens book. I'm also kind of devouring books on natural dyeing, though I haven't actually *tried* it yet. Books on spinning and antique spinning wheels are also kind of interesting to me. I still want everything in the schoolhouse press catalogue. Oh, particularly The Opinionated Knitter.
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 like a lot of colors. I rarely pick orange out as a color to knit with, though I do have a multicolored red/orange/yellow sweater that I love. I go in stints with colors—right now it’s all about green though I seem to be moving toward reds and pinks. This winter it was blue/purple/teal all the time.
Added in September: I'm also kind of grooving on fall colors now, though really I like all colors.
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have now determined that it can. I am trying to figure the whole mp3 thing and it's kind of making my head hurt, but I do like music.
I like folk-rock-singer/songwriter type stuff. I’m pretty out of the loop with new music these days, but I like Dar Williams, Joni Mitchell, Barenaked Ladies, Counting Crows, Norah Jones.
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