Secret Pal 8 questionnaire
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I've liked nearly every yarn I've tried. My knitting has been limited to fairly inexpensive yarns so far (e.g., Lamb's Pride worsted and bulky, Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks, various wool yarns that I've found at A.C. Moore), though I did buy the Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel that the Anouk pattern called for--and I really enjoyed working with it.
The only yarns I've really disliked working with were the cheap-o acrylic ones I bought at A.C. Moore to make dog blankets with. Itchy! Uninspiring! But apparently just right for a dog.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Straight needles are in one cloth roll-up case with ribbon ties (a gift from a good friend who's a fellow knitter). Circular needles are shoved in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.
3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I started knitting in February 2004. I think I'm somewhere around beginner-intermediate. Definitely nowhere near advanced!
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an Amazon wish list under my name.
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love nature and woodsy scents like sage and cedar.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
A sweet tooth? I have a whole set of sweet teeth! Chocolate is always a hit with me.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I've never tried my hand at spinning (though it does look like fun!). I have some books on soapmaking and am hoping to give that a try this summer, but for now my craftiness is mostly limited to knitting and photography.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
MP3s are no problem for me. I like lots of different kinds of music, including folk, "world," classical, Argentine tango, and swing and big band--though these days (see my answer to #10) I often find myself listening to kid-friendly fare like the Putamayo series, Pete Seeger's recordings for children, and (I never thought I'd say this) Raffi. I draw the line at big purple dinosaurs, though.
9. 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 the earth tone family: browns, greens, some of the medium-dark blues. Autumn reds and russets are nice, too. Neon and bright pastels are to me the visual equivalent of fingernails being dragged along a chalkboard. Ewwww!
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married (to someone who's recently taken up crocheting--so now we both work with yarn while watching DVDs from Netflix), and our daughter just celebrated her first birthday three days ago. We have two cats who are, according to our vet, senior citizens (they even get a discount on their checkups!). They alternate between being sweet cuddle-monsters and crabby old ladies.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes, and no-but-that's-just-because-I-haven't-gotten-around-
to-making-one-for-myself-not-because-I-have-anything-against-them.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Baby hats and baby sweaters are high on my list--partly because I like making stuff for my daughter to wear, partly because they knit up quickly and give me that wonderful sense of project-completion-satisfaction!
13. What are you knitting right now?
My current project is a Medusa hat for my daughter. After that, I'm going to make a cardigan to go with her Anouk pinafore, using leftover yarn from that project (I ordered way too much, just to be sure!).
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Definitely bamboo, and only a slight preference for circular. When I first started knitting, I bought only straight needles, but now I usually buy only circulars because they are so versatile (and needles aren't cheap!).
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope and nope.
17. How did you learn to knit?
One of my coworkers at my last job taught me. She got me started with my first project: a simple garter-stitch scarf in Lamb's Pride Bulky yarn. Since then, I've learned other techniques from books (especially Sally Melville's series) and gotten pointers from knitting friends, including members of my local knitting group.
18. How old is your oldest UFO?
A little over two years old. But I'm nearly finished with it--just need to weave in the ends and tidy it up!
19. What is your favorite holiday?
This is a tough one, because I both like and dislike most holidays. I'd put Christmas at the top of my list--not for religious or Santa-related reasons, but because I like the coziness of contrasting warmth/light with snow/cold/dark and because it's fun to give people presents. And I love the baked goodies that abound during this season.
20. Is there anything that you collect?
Refrigerator magnets! They are small (very portable!), ubiquitous (found nearly anywhere!), and inexpensive. I prefer the tourist-y magnets--the tackier, the better. I always get magnets as souvenirs when I travel, and my close friends and family usually try to pick some up for me when they travel, too. Right now I have well over a hundred magnets, and I actually do put them on my refrigerator. (They aren't all on display at the moment, though, because the bottom half of the fridge is within the reach of the baby-who-still-likes-to-shove-everything-in-her-mouth. So the magnets that usually reside there are temporarily in storage.)
21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What
knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Since examining a set of Denise interchangeable needles at the kntting group meeting recently, I've been hankering to get a set for myself. I'm also eager to try working with some really decadent yarn--but only if I know exactly what project it's for. I have no magazine subscriptions and only a few books (all three of Sally Meville's Knitting Experience books, the first two Yarn Girls books, the first Stitch-n-Bitch, Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners, Knitting without Tears, Knit Hats, The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, Felted Knits, Cotton Knits for All Seasons). I'm hoping to add Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers and some of the Minnowknits books to my library soon.
22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Right now, I can confidently knit, purl, cable cast on, long-tail cast on, regular bind off, three-needle bind off, yarn over (but only if I look up the instructions each time), increase, and decrease. Pretty much anything else is a new technique I'd like to learn! I recently got my first taste of color knitting with the Anouk pinafore, and I'm looking forward to trying more of it.
23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
To date I have knit one and a half socks. That unfinished sock keeps giving me dirty looks whenever I come across it, so I am ignoring it as payback. Take that, you silly sock.
I have no idea what my foot measurements are (and if I go look for a tape measure right now, I will surely get sidetracked and never finish this questionnaire), but I usually wear size 7.5 shoes.
24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
May 8
I've liked nearly every yarn I've tried. My knitting has been limited to fairly inexpensive yarns so far (e.g., Lamb's Pride worsted and bulky, Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks, various wool yarns that I've found at A.C. Moore), though I did buy the Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel that the Anouk pattern called for--and I really enjoyed working with it.
The only yarns I've really disliked working with were the cheap-o acrylic ones I bought at A.C. Moore to make dog blankets with. Itchy! Uninspiring! But apparently just right for a dog.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Straight needles are in one cloth roll-up case with ribbon ties (a gift from a good friend who's a fellow knitter). Circular needles are shoved in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.
3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I started knitting in February 2004. I think I'm somewhere around beginner-intermediate. Definitely nowhere near advanced!
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an Amazon wish list under my name.
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love nature and woodsy scents like sage and cedar.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
A sweet tooth? I have a whole set of sweet teeth! Chocolate is always a hit with me.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I've never tried my hand at spinning (though it does look like fun!). I have some books on soapmaking and am hoping to give that a try this summer, but for now my craftiness is mostly limited to knitting and photography.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
MP3s are no problem for me. I like lots of different kinds of music, including folk, "world," classical, Argentine tango, and swing and big band--though these days (see my answer to #10) I often find myself listening to kid-friendly fare like the Putamayo series, Pete Seeger's recordings for children, and (I never thought I'd say this) Raffi. I draw the line at big purple dinosaurs, though.
9. 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 the earth tone family: browns, greens, some of the medium-dark blues. Autumn reds and russets are nice, too. Neon and bright pastels are to me the visual equivalent of fingernails being dragged along a chalkboard. Ewwww!
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married (to someone who's recently taken up crocheting--so now we both work with yarn while watching DVDs from Netflix), and our daughter just celebrated her first birthday three days ago. We have two cats who are, according to our vet, senior citizens (they even get a discount on their checkups!). They alternate between being sweet cuddle-monsters and crabby old ladies.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes, and no-but-that's-just-because-I-haven't-gotten-around-
to-making-one-for-myself-not-because-I-have-anything-against-them.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Baby hats and baby sweaters are high on my list--partly because I like making stuff for my daughter to wear, partly because they knit up quickly and give me that wonderful sense of project-completion-satisfaction!
13. What are you knitting right now?
My current project is a Medusa hat for my daughter. After that, I'm going to make a cardigan to go with her Anouk pinafore, using leftover yarn from that project (I ordered way too much, just to be sure!).
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Definitely bamboo, and only a slight preference for circular. When I first started knitting, I bought only straight needles, but now I usually buy only circulars because they are so versatile (and needles aren't cheap!).
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope and nope.
17. How did you learn to knit?
One of my coworkers at my last job taught me. She got me started with my first project: a simple garter-stitch scarf in Lamb's Pride Bulky yarn. Since then, I've learned other techniques from books (especially Sally Melville's series) and gotten pointers from knitting friends, including members of my local knitting group.
18. How old is your oldest UFO?
A little over two years old. But I'm nearly finished with it--just need to weave in the ends and tidy it up!
19. What is your favorite holiday?
This is a tough one, because I both like and dislike most holidays. I'd put Christmas at the top of my list--not for religious or Santa-related reasons, but because I like the coziness of contrasting warmth/light with snow/cold/dark and because it's fun to give people presents. And I love the baked goodies that abound during this season.
20. Is there anything that you collect?
Refrigerator magnets! They are small (very portable!), ubiquitous (found nearly anywhere!), and inexpensive. I prefer the tourist-y magnets--the tackier, the better. I always get magnets as souvenirs when I travel, and my close friends and family usually try to pick some up for me when they travel, too. Right now I have well over a hundred magnets, and I actually do put them on my refrigerator. (They aren't all on display at the moment, though, because the bottom half of the fridge is within the reach of the baby-who-still-likes-to-shove-everything-in-her-mouth. So the magnets that usually reside there are temporarily in storage.)
21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What
knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Since examining a set of Denise interchangeable needles at the kntting group meeting recently, I've been hankering to get a set for myself. I'm also eager to try working with some really decadent yarn--but only if I know exactly what project it's for. I have no magazine subscriptions and only a few books (all three of Sally Meville's Knitting Experience books, the first two Yarn Girls books, the first Stitch-n-Bitch, Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners, Knitting without Tears, Knit Hats, The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, Felted Knits, Cotton Knits for All Seasons). I'm hoping to add Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers and some of the Minnowknits books to my library soon.
22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Right now, I can confidently knit, purl, cable cast on, long-tail cast on, regular bind off, three-needle bind off, yarn over (but only if I look up the instructions each time), increase, and decrease. Pretty much anything else is a new technique I'd like to learn! I recently got my first taste of color knitting with the Anouk pinafore, and I'm looking forward to trying more of it.
23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
To date I have knit one and a half socks. That unfinished sock keeps giving me dirty looks whenever I come across it, so I am ignoring it as payback. Take that, you silly sock.
I have no idea what my foot measurements are (and if I go look for a tape measure right now, I will surely get sidetracked and never finish this questionnaire), but I usually wear size 7.5 shoes.
24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
May 8
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