yay! it’s almost that time again!

full questionnaire after the jump…

  1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
    this is such a hard question. how can i pick favorite yarns?! i might as well just list all of ’em! um, let’s see. i like rowan kid classic, and i’m doing a scarf in blue sky alpacas brushed suri which is really lovely stuff. but i’m not really picky. i like wool, wool-like natural fibers, and blends thereof. i don’t really like red heart super saver but it does make decent cat toys. 8) i don’t really do a lot of novelty yarns, though. i just don’t think fun fur looks very nice. some of the more understated things are neat to look at but i have trouble picturing what useful things i could make out of them (and i’m all about the useful things, which is a pretty funny statement if only you could see my house!).
  2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
    um. *blush* spaghetti sauce jars? and then i stick the circs through the metal of the shelves? *blush*
  3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
    i started knitting a little over a year ago. i guess i’m, um, advanced beginner. i’ve only made one sweater, and it really wasn’t all that hard, so i’d feel cheesy claiming more credit than that. i’m learning socks. failing a lot so far, actually, but i’m determined to win out. actually i’d already have won if only i knew anyone with a mutant size 20 or something foot. dang.
  4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
    i do! amazon, wists.
  5. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
    mm, vanilla, i guess. i kinda like the scent of dryer sheets but they tend not to sell you hand lotion that smells like downy, for some reason.
  6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
    i like chocolate. i don’t tend to eat a lot of candy though. although now that i think of it, i like english toffee. probably because it’s like 90% butter. mmmm!
  7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
    oh, let’s see. i make soap, occasionally rubber stamp things, paint a little. well, knit, obviously. i’m working with my dad to restore his 1973 Mach 1 Mustang. have never figured out how to crochet. and am starting out spinning on a drop spindle — currently, i’m trying to figure out how i can weasel the money for a babe wheel into the budget. i adore fountain pens. i am, in fact, really kinda heartbroken because i lost one of my favorite pens — a little clear green school pen that i got for probably like £3 in brighton, england, the last time i was in the uk. (where, it must be noted appreciatively, fountain pens are still so common you can buy a huge bag of euro cartridges for like 50p! i bought three and then worried that customs was going to bust me for illegal ink importation.) i also love me a good $6 parker vector. but at the moment i’m using a waterman that ran me something like £80. still, i miss my little green school pen.
  8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
    yep, i can play mp3s… and i do!
  9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
    i like blue and red a lot. darker purples and greens. dark tan and browns. i like variegated yarns. i have a disproportionate amount of orange in my stash thanks to making several jayne hats. but i like orange, so that’s okay. i guess i can’t really think of a color i dislike. puce maybe, because it has a strange name!
  10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
    single, two cats. yay for cats!
  11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
    yes, yes, yes, no. :-) it’s way too windy here for ponchos. i don’t need icy wind blowing up my arms… i don’t get why people wear them!
  12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
    hmm. i don’t know that i’ve made enough of one sort of item to call it a favorite. i mean, i’ve made several scarves, but that was, you know, practicality. i am determined to finish a pair of socks, and another cardigan sweater. the cardigan’s going to take a while: i cannot decide on the yarn to use!
  13. What are you knitting right now?
    a mutant sock (which is about to get ripped back due to its mutantness, wah!), a brushed suri openwork scarf, and a shawl that’s really kinda boring to work on so i kinda, um, buried it in the bottom of the knitting basket…
  14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
    heh. ask the soapmaker, knitter, bad painter, and rubberstamper if she likes handmade things. um. …yes!
  15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
    i categorically state that i don’t really care for long, solid, heavy steel straights. beyond that… actually, i guess i don’t really care for plastic straights, i prefer aluminum. i haven’t tried wood or bamboo needles enough to know whether or not i like them. — and, i usually knit on straights, but i’ve taken up socks on circs. though i must say my friend Kim is doing socks on these neat little bamboo dpns that are, like, only 4 or 5 inches long, which seemed like a tempting length to try wrestling with.
  16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
    both! hooray for swifts!
  17. How old is your oldest UFO?
    oh, gosh. probably four months? that boring shawl i mentioned above. it’s really easy, and so fast to knit, but…boooring. still, i ought to finish it up.
  18. What is your favorite holiday?
    i guess i don’t know that i have a favorite holiday, per se. i like autumn. and spring…
  19. Is there anything that you collect?
    cat fur, mostly in the corners. — not really. i try not to gather up useless things around the house. except, you know, the yarn stash totally does not count! someday it’ll get used!
  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 would really love some ideas on what to make out of recycled sari silk yarn. i had been dying to try it for ages and ages, and i finally caved and bought two skeins at the LYS a couple of months ago, only now i cannot figure out what patterns are good enough for them. because, oh boy am i indecision girl. — i don’t have any knitting magazine subscriptions. i was never any good at reading magazines on time. so usually i just browse through the racks at the LYS and pick one up if it has things in it that look interesting.
  21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
    i’d really like to learn english knitting, just so i could see which way i like better. i’d like to learn lace, but everything seems so big and intimidating (or like something i’d never wear, like knitty’s “branching out” pattern). i don’t want to make a ginormous shawl! scary! i just want to make something wee that i won’t cry when i mess it up.
  22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
    i like socks. i’m a sock knitting attempter. so far i’ve attempted about four socks. one of them is even more or less a complete sock if you don’t count the fact that it doesn’t fit ANYONE because it’s so big. some day, some day i’ll finish a sock. then maybe i’ll even make a second. — i wear a ladies’ size 10 shoe. i just ordered some new inox needles from schoolhouse press so maybe i can sock it up on those…
  23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
    very prestigious indeed: shared with both elvis presley and david bowie!