sheep in the city

SP7 Q&A

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
•I think that for the most part I love working with nice natural fibers, but Red Heart and Lion Brand have their place in my stash. (read afghans and baby stuff?! Gotta love that you can throw that acrylic stuff in the washing machine!!)

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
•No...not yet. I'm resisting the whole spinning thing because I just don't have the time. I'm thinking that I'll take a crochet class soon though so that I can do some decorative edges on my finished knitted items.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
•I have lots and lots and lots of needles. I store my circulars in a little wooden divided box (hard to picture, but it works), I store my straights in various pottery jars, my grandmas old tin water jug, and other various tins. I have a couple different travel fabric needle rolls which I love...I'm still waiting to find the perfect pink one.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
•I have been knitting for 4 years in March. I hate to call myself advanced...that just seems weird, but I have done alot of different techniques like fair isle, intarsia, lace, and cabling. So...I guess advanced?!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
•most definitely...and it can be found here!

Click on the word more to read the rest...this was such a wordy post, I didn't want to bore everyone!!

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
•I am pretty picky about smelly stuff. I only like citrus smells...especially grapefruit, anything else just gives me a headache.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
•I have what you call sweet teeth! Ha! I love anything that is chocolate and peanut butter. I love, love, love Haribo gummy bears and Haribo gummy grapefruit slices.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
•I paint when I have the time...and sadly this has been less and less this year. I am learning to sew, my grandma just gave me her old sewing machine. That has been really fun! I'm also learning to quilt and just bought the first supplies to make my first lap quilt using Kaffe Fasset fabric, I'm super excited about it!

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
•I have pretty eclectic taste. I like pretty much anything except for rap and really twangy country music. My current favorites are Frank Sinatra, U2, Foo Fighters, Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and the Killers.

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 bright colors...but I'm a pink girl for sure. I love pink and brown, or pink and orange, or pink and green. The only colors that I really dislike are taupe or tan. Yuck.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
•I am single with no children. I do have an adorable niece, Alice, that is featured on my blog on a regular basis (since she and her parents live down the street from me!!). I have a ginormous cat named Jesse that I love to pieces. He's not fat though...he's just big boned!!

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
•I wear all of the above...but I've recently come to the decision that Poncho's ar not my friend. I have a couple that I just think make me look extra wide and that's not a good thing.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
•I have to say I love working with Koigu and Lorna's Laces the best. As far as what I've used for the most knitting projects...I'd have to go with Brown Sheep. I haven't used Blue Sky Alpaca for anything yet...but it's on my list of yarn to purchase after my 3 month drought is up. Have you felt that stuff? It's amazing!!!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
•I'm not a huge fan of a ton of "furry" yarns. I think that novelty yarn has its place, but I'd rather see it as an accent rather than the focal point!

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
•I am really getting into working on my Charlotte's Web (my first lace project) and it has me thinking about other lace projects that I can do. I want to start getting some of the designs that are in my head out and onto paper and actually knitting them! That's a big goal for me this year.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
•I love making scarves because I love wearing scarves. I love shawls, lacy or plain. I have knit 14 pairs of felted clogs, so I feel like I could knit those in my sleep! I want to knit more garments in the coming year. I also love making bags!

17. What are you knitting right now?
•Charlotte's Web out of Koigu, scarf for the ISE (see my sidebar), twisted rib glovelets, Fair Isle Jazz out of Cascade 220, Kate from the latest Knitty out of Brown Sheep leftovers, and that's all I'll mention for now:) There are more, but these are the active ones!

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
•Absolutely! I love anything that someone else created by hand. I truly appreciate the time and effort that went into it.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
•I use circualrs more than straights, but both have their place and uses for different projects.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
•My first choice is always metal, preferably Addi's. Then I'd have to go with bamboo and in a pinch plastic. I'm not a huge fan of plastic needles at all. (only as a decoration!)

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
•Yes, they are the best knitting investment I've made, and I think that every knitter needs both in their house. It's soooo convenient! I have a wooden swift...and I've recently thought about buying the metal one too...because I'm psycho and I like to have different versions of the same thing. Does that make sense?

22. How did you learn to knit?
•I learned to knit almost 4 years ago at a local shop called A Knitted Peace. I took a class with my mom, sister, brother, and my friend Genia. I've been hooked ever since!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
•Around three years old. If it doesn't get worked on soon...it's getting ripped!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
•I love cartoons. I love all the retro stuff that is back in circulation from when I was a kid. As far as characters go, I like Smurfs, Fraggle Rock, Muppets, classic disney movies (anything before pocahontas), Finding Nemo, Strawberry Shortcake (the original, not the updated version?!). I'm sure I could go on, but I won't!

25. What is your favorite holiday?
•Christmas for sure. But if I had to choose a second, it would be Haloween or Valentine's Day because they are candy holidays!!

26. Is there anything that you collect?
•Anything with the Eiffel Tower one it. I have an obsession with Paris and someday I'll actually make it over there! I also vintage postcards, fabric, and sewing notions. I'm kind of a pack rat...but in a good way. I love little bits of absurdity that other people might get rid of, but it's a treasure to me...and I'll use it in my art or as a decoration in my house.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
•None currently. I let my Rowan subscription lapse and I just haven't had a chance to order Interweave. That's probably my favorite one.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
•Books: Anything off of my Amazon list. There is a book called Sensational Knitted Socks
by Charlene Schurch and I love the way it's laid out. They have directions written out for using 2 circulars, dpn's, and one other method that I can't remember right now. I just remember thinking it was very cool! I would love to get the first and fourth "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns" by Barbara G. Walker. (these are on the list as well) I have the 2nd and 3rd already. Honestly, I'm a total book person...I have hundreds of books at my house. I dream of one day owning a house that would have a library room in it with one of those ladders like you see in old movies. That would be so great...I can totally picture it in my head.
•Yarn: I hope to order some Socks that Rock yarn after my 3 month imposed yarn diet is over. I am loving all the Jaywalker socks that have been knit out of it! They have 2 particular colors that I am ga-ga over, Hard Rock and Rock Star. They are just so beautifully pink! I'd also like to find some of the Lorna's Laces shepherd sock yarn in the pink and brown colorway. My friend Cathi bought some last year and I loved it. I'm happy with any yarn though...I just looooove yarn.
•Needles: I do collect vintage needles of all varieties. They can be metal, plastic, bakelite, wooden, straight, circular, you name and I have some in a jar somewhere. These can be used to knit with and to decorate with!! :)

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
•I am taking a toe-up magic loop sock class in April that I'm very excited about. Right now I'm working on my Fair Isle technique. I am knitting a scarf...and then I'm going to restart my Poetry in Stitches sweater. I've thought about taking a crochet class at some point too.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
•I am a sock knitter...I haven't become totally proficient at it, but I'm on my way. I'll have to get back to you on the foot measurements.

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
•My birthday is June 14...that's Flag Day for all you American folks.

Posted by Stacey at January 10, 2006 08:00 AM