Secret Pal Six Questionnaire

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 hate to admit it but yes, I am a bit of a yarn snob. This is really just because I hate it when my knitting goes all pilly - with some non-natural fiber yarns, this happens before you even reach the seaming stage!

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin or crochet. I've tried crocheting, but no matter how many times I try, I fail miserably.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
No allergies, although I don't like wearing very strong scents.

4. How long have you been knitting?
About four years

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

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Vanilla for almost anything, lavender and lily of the valley in bath products. I also love the smell of beeswax candles.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
About six of them, actually.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I used to bead but never wore the jewelry, so now I am looking into using my collection of beads and findings to make stitch markers. I also like to paint (water soluble oils, watercolour, gouache, whatever), even though I rarely like the results.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I'm into a VERY random collection of music right now... my preferences change according to my mood and/or current activities. My “stereo” consists of a non-iPod MP3 player and my computer, so I can play any type of audio file.

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 all shades of blue, as well as light purples, greens, bright pinks, and buttery yellows. The only colour I really don't like is red, mostly because my skin is too pale to allow me to wear it. Same goes for oranges, except for the darker, rustier shades

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
As of next week I will be living alone in a University Dorm, so alas, no pets and no nearby boyfriend – he has to stay on this side of the Atlantic, at least until his business makes him rich!

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
To always be able to pursue my own interests, regardless of what job I end up doing.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I prefer natural fibers like wools and cottons (see above regarding my yarn snobbiness). I would love to try using Koigu or Noro yarns, since everyone raves about them, but I hadn’t been able to find them in Ottawa until just recently, by which time I had put all yarn buying on hold until after my move to England.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I really do not like fun furs. I can’t see the appeal of them, except if you’re making something like the Vegan Fox Stole from Knitty.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I love shrugs because of their versatility, and I also want to start knitting socks since there are so many fun patterns out there right now.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
These days I am making an effort to knit only those things that I know I will wear. I have several sweaters in my closet that I made awhile back, but refuse to wear because they didn’t turn out to my satisfaction. And now I don’t know whether to give them away, or frog them and re-use the yarn. Which I suppose is the reason that I also like to knit gifts for other people – they are more likely to use the items than I am!

17. What are you knitting right now?
I’m almost finished the Tivoli T-shirt by Grumperina (although I now think I will have to frog it and start again), and I have my eye on Blueberry from the fall Knitty. I also have a UFO afghan (see below).

18. What do you think about ponchos?
They have to be very tasteful. If done badly, they can so easily turn an otherwise normal-looking person into a very large-looking person. Not to mention the fact that they are totally impractical in any really inclement weather – they don’t go under winter and/or rain coats at all, which leaves only about 5 days in a year on which you can wear them (in my part of the world, anyway). I much prefer shrugs and cardigans.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Generally, I prefer straight, although making Tivoli has opened my eyes to the lack-of-seaming advantage that is the circular-knit sweater.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Aluminum or Bamboo. I have a bad habit of breaking plastic needles, especially thin ones.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
So far, I have only knit chunky slipper-socks, but I think its time I started making real socks.

22. How did you learn to knit?
It was a family affair – my cousin Anne taught me using my mother’s old, barely-used needles (I think she only ever finished one sweater), and some aran yarn that was leftover from a fisherman’s sweater that my great-aunt made for my father (she made the sleeves too long and had to frog and re-knit them). Anne was living with me that summer, so she was able to help me decipher my first pattern or two, and show me how to fix my mistakes as I went along.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
2 years – it’s an afghan with pseudo-Greek designs on it. I decided to make it in a moment of “I need a new project” desperation. It’s supposed to be 4 feet by 5 feet… but its made from worsted weight wool! Like I said, I was desperate for a project.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Disney’s Hercules and the Power Puff Girls are among my favorites, and I also like Hello Kitty and all of the other Sanrio figures. My favourite animal would have to be a cat.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Not since I started moving long distances every few years. I’m really trying to limit my ‘stuff’ collection, since it stresses me out to have too much stuff and not enough storage space to keep it in. But if the ‘stuff’ is useful, that’s another story!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Interweave Knits, and I’m planning on joining Debbie Bliss’ club and the Rowan club – I’m waiting until I move to England to do this, so that I don’t have to pay international club fees.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I’ve heard that the best of Rowan book is good, but I have yet to see the patterns in it. I also like Loop-de-Loop by Teva Durham, and I am on the lookout for a really good knitting reference book with explanations of colour knitting techniques, fancy stitches, and even a few of the basics which I always forget how to do.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??
ChicKnits Ribby Cardi; the One Skein Wonder from Glampyre; Red Hot and Glint from Rowan; Claude from Anna's My Fashionable Life blog;