Kiss My Knits!

Sorry, secret pal, that this was so late in coming! For those not in the knitting know, Secret Pal 5 has a questionnaire up so that

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 say it, but I am a yarn snob! I do avoid Lion Brand, and I’m heading up to my kid’s former preschool on Monday to see if they have any use for the Red Heart that a kind, well-meaning soul got for me last year. Great for kids’ craft projects, but the colors were burning my retinas! I do like some of the Crystal Palace novelty stuff, though. Fizz and Squiggle are particular faves.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

The only crochet I can do is a single chain, although I’d like to learn more. I spin a little, but I’m not that good. I go through spates of wanting to spin and then doing it too much and getting bored by it, then really wanting to do it again. Right now, I’d like to do it again, but I concerned that I’m doing it badly and wasting roving! At this point, I was going to post a pic of the spinning that I’ve done, pitifully small amount that it is. However, I can’t find the stupid plug adapter for my digital camera’s battery pack. I think it’s buried in the crap on my desk.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Nope!

4. How long have you been knitting?

On and off since ’86. It was mostly “off” until about ’95, when I picked it up again.

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

I do! And I had avoided posting it here because I am very protective of my real name. 99.999 percent of Dragonrealms players have good judgement, but I am still paranoid about having my real name out there, because some folks do know what city I live in. But… here goes! Link to my Amazon wish list.

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Mmm. I like clean scents, like vanilla, citrus, sea-ish scents, basically things that aren’t overpoweringly floral or musky. I’m not a big patchouli person.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Oh good Lord yes. Chocolate is my kryptonite. I’d eat it 24/7 if I could get away with it.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I dye. I needle-felt. I also tend to dabble in other stuff, like light sewing (though that’s more for utilitarian purposes). I get the feeling here that I’m forgetting something, but I guess it’ll come to me later.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I can play MP3s. I’m on a Mac, baby! I like folk music, classical, soul, bebop and older jazz, and 50’s rock, although I also go in for some offbeat harder stuff, like Ike Reilly. I’m currently on a kick for Louis Prima and also I play “Jump Jive and Wail” way too loudly and too often.
The “A and B” artists from my iTunes, alphabetically, to give you an idea: Alison Krauss, Andres Segovia, Ani DiFranco (I don’t have as much by her as I’d like) Aretha Franklin, Arlo Guthrie, Art Tatum, the B-52’s, the Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beck, Derek Bell, Bessie Smith, Beth Orton, Beth Waters, and Betty Johnson. Basically, steer clear of the Poison and everything should be fine.

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’m a blue person. I tend to go for blues and greens and the cooler colors. Orange is not my friend.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I’m married with one child, a six year old daughter. We have two cats. One is old, thin, nearly toothless, and diabetic. One is young, morbidly obese, and stupid. Yeah, they’re special, members of the family, yadda yadda, but I’m still a dog person. They’re sweet animals and I will gladly give them the best care possible, but I’d rather spend the time, energy, and money I expend on them on other things.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

This changes so much with each stage of my life that I honestly couldn’t say. And at the moment my dream is “the dream deferred” while I take care of my mildly autistic child, so I’d really rather not talk about it too much, as a close comparison of the life I have and the life I dreamed about tends to be demoralizing.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Lamb’s Pride, Lopi, Blue Sky Alpaca… I’m an animal fiber aficionado.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I’m really not big on acrylics, though I’ve done my share of novelty scarves and probably will again. I’ve knitted with Mosaic FX and other railroad ribbon yarns before, and the slow pace required purt near kilt me.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Well, aside from the 20 Jayne hats I’m doing, I’m enjoying felting. I tend to go for smaller projects rather than the humongous stockinette sweaters or other lengthy knits. However, in total opposition to what I just said, I’ve always wanted to do a big elaborate shawl. One day, one day.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Hats. They’re quick knits, and you can customize them any number of ways on the fly. They’re practical, but can still be very silly.

17. What are you knitting right now?

Felted flowers for my kid’s teachers, another Jayne hat, and a lacy scarf for Tyrathia.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

When the poncho craze is over, I will personally drive the bulldozer that covers the last of them in the landfill.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circs. They fit in my purse easier.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I like ’em all.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

I’d like to be! I want to clear the decks so I can make myself some!

22. How did you learn to knit?

When I was in high school in the mid-80’s, I was in a play, and my character had to knit onstage. So, I had to learn to knit. I knit the same damn garter stitch scarf every day, frogging it after every rehearsal so I could knit it again. My mom taught me the basic stitch, but it had been a while for her, so I had to go to the library and get a book too. The director of the play would get distracted by watching to see how far I was going to get on the scarf that day!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

I might still have that scarf tucked away somewhere… but aside from that, I have a baby blanket done in a basketweave pattern that I started in the mid 90’s which is still only halfway done. I pulled it out last month to finally finish it up, and realized that I had TWISTED EVERY PURL STITCH. So now I have a ten-year-old half-finished baby blanket where half of the stitches are twisted. I should rip it out, as I don’t want to switch to the correct method in the middle, and I think doing it backwards now would just freak me out.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

“I think an INteresting monster should have an INteresting hairdo.” I like the old Warner Brothers characters from the 40’s and 50’s. And of course, like every person of my age, I misspent my youth watching the Bugs Bunny Road Runner show on Saturday mornings. Although there’s some really good modern stuff, too. I’m a big fan of Space Ghost, Futurama, the Tick, Soup2Nuts productions such as Home Movies and Monie’s Place (Saddle Rash! You must all see Saddle Rash!). I never got into anime, ’cause I’m sorry, but it all looks like Speed Racer to me.

Favorite animal? I miss my Bernese Mountain dog terribly. I’m not sure I’d get another one with the climate here as warm as it is. I’m also partial to dragonflies.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

I can’t collect much, because my kid tends to stake a claim to my stuff. I enjoy Japanese art, such as the works of Hokusai. Obviously that’s way too expensive to collect, but I do like it. I enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, but don’t have anything associated with them. I tend not to buy that sort of thing for myself, because while I do want it, it just seems so impractical. And yet, I’m perfectly willing to spend extra bucks on Secret Pal. If it’s for someone else, that brings me vastly more enjoyment. 🙂

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None. Sniffle.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Nope! Ya got my wishlist, that’s pretty complete!

I’m open to more questions, if you’ve got them. Holler if you need anything. I’m very excited to be part of this!