As though the pressure of impending holiday knitting + Socktoberfest weren't enough to deal with, I'm jumping back on the Secret Pal bandwagon! I had such a great experience last year, when Kat spoiled me like crazy (I still get a kick out of my wacky Japanese swift!) that I couldn't resist the call of Secret Pal 9. Answers to the SP Questionnaire below!
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I covered this in my recent post about 10 Knitting Things You May Or May Not Have Known About Me, but here are some particular favorites and why they rank so well:
-Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride is soft, versatile, fun to felt, easy to knit, and comes in a million colors and three weights. To be honest, I love Brown Sheep products in general--their handpaints, sock yarns, and Cotton Fleece have all been fun to work with.
-Manos Handpainted Yarn is, hands-down, my favorite variegated yarn. It's soft and lofty, and 2 skeins are all you need to make a hat-and-scarf set that looks fantastic.
-Cascade 220--another workhorse wool that comes in a million colors. After seeing the cardigan that Steph is knitting for her honey, I'd love to try the superwash as well.
-Luxury yarns--who doesn't love 100% silk? I particularly love the new Debbie Bliss Pure Silk but the almost-fingering weight and yardage leave much to be desired. Worsted silk would be heaven, and I love wool-silk blends like Elsbeth Lavold's Silky Wool (it's so sproingy!) and Reynolds Rapture (best aran-weight blend EVER). I've recently knit a swatch with Plymouth Royal Bamboo and just loved it--the yarn looked to be a sport- or dk-weight but knit up to 4.5spi on US8s. Weird, but wonderful.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Why, a case from The Organized Knitter, of course! Actually, I keep them in THREE cases, because a) I can't resist Megan's perfect stitching and terrific fabric options; and b) I have a lot of needles. There are still a few that don't fit in the cases so I keep those in a big pink tin that held cookies from Japan.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I taught myself to knit in October 2004, using Debbie Stoller's Stitch'n'Bitch. I had tried learning a few months earlier using some pamphlet I picked up at Michael's, but I was missing a crucial instruction: when you've knit all the way to the end of the row, turn your work around. That had me baffled for ages. I would consider myself to be an intermediate knitter--comfortable with basic stitches, garment shaping and lace patterns, but not yet familiar with colorwork or cables.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do, and it can be found here.
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Ehh, I'm not so much on the scented stuff--too much of it smells like Fake Crap From Grandma's Kitchen. I do love White Tea essential oil from the Body Shop (for residential scenting) and citrus/cool scents for candles. I used to be a big fan of sugary/vanilla-y scents for lotions, but not so much since I stopped dancing at Rick's. HAH.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Um. Yes. Nothing sour, no PayDay bars--everything else is fair game. To be honest, my secret obsession right now is dry-roasted pistachios. Jeff bought a bag when we were in Spain and they were the most perfectly crunchy, savory pistachios I've ever had. I can't stop thinking about them.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
No spinning, but I have dabbled in needle-felting (so loud and crunchy!) and embroidering flour sack dishtowels with the help of Sublime Stitching--Jenny Hart's designs are AWESOME. I sold my sewing machine to Steph, as I couldn't sew a straight line even with the help of those magnetic guide things, and to be honest...I don't have much time in my life for things other than knitting.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I'm a big fan of anything that I can sing along with. I'm currently obsessed with Jenny Lewis and have always loved Aimee Mann, Neko Case and Ludacris.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I've always been a red-pink-black kind of girl, but I'm going through a Blue Period right now--lots of dark teal and dusky turquoise, edging towards purple. Heathered oranges and sage green (any autumnal colors, really) do the trick--the only stickler is Yellow. No Yellow Of Any Sort.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Can you believe I haven't knit a single thing for Jeff? I have three yarn choices for an as-yet-undecided-sweater-pattern for him, but I'll admit to being a little spooked by the Sweater Curse. I did recently finish an adorable raglan sweater for Scooter, our dachshund. He mostly likes it but occasionally wriggles out of it if he's in a hurry. Such are the hazards of having short legs!
I don't knit for The Bad Cat. He HATES wearing clothing, much to my chagrin.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, Yes, Yes and HELL NO.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like anything that involves buying new yarn or starting a new project. For instant gratification, I like a simple rolled-brim hat knit from worsted weight yarn on size 8 16" circulars--easy, mindless and fast!
13. What are you knitting right now?
Um...everything. I'll post photos soon.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Only nihilists don't like handmade gifts!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Brittany and Lantern Moon straights are delightful, and Addi Turbos or the new Bryspun circs are my favorite. Addis are so delightfully slippery, but the Bryspun points are unbeatable and the plastic is much easier on my hands and wrists. I would love to get a pair of extra-short DPNs--the Inox Greys or maybe some Pony Pearls? for sock knitting.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes and Yes!
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Easily the Red Sweater of Doom--started in December 2004, it still lingers in a giant Rubbermaid container. I used a bottoms-up raglan formula from Ann Budd's Handy Sweater Pattern book (or whatever it's called) and didn't realize until I was 75% finished with it that the sweater would soon weigh 9 pounds. And it was knit with 6+ inches of ease. YIKES. I will rip it soon and start the IK Siena cardigan.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
Anything that involves having the day (or a few days) off from work.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
The souls of my enemies.
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'm curious about Knitscene, and would love to have my VK subscription renewed. I already get IK and love it. Not a big fan of Knit1 (their sizing ranges are AWFUL) but I buy a copy once in a while to see if anything has improved.
As for yarns...anything bamboo or soy! Books--check out the wishlist. Patterns--anything by Wendy Bernard or Stef Japel!
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
See below--cables are next on the list.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Sort of? I guess. I wear a womens' size 8-9 and have kind-of-fat ankles, squared-off toes and high arches. I hate hate hate feet.
23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
Feb 21--pls mark on your calendars!
Recent Comments