MY SP10 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love soft fibres, particularly if they are not solid colours, like variegated and handpaints as I love watching the colours change as I knit . I am addicted to a buttery soft Alpaca yarn at the moment. I have no use for hard scratchy fibres but don't mind a bit of acrylic or the likes in with wool fibres, I'm not a fibre snob!

I aspire to American handpaints and stuff I can't easily or reasonably get over here. I can't stand crepe yarns, it doesn't matter if it's the purest softest wool, it just reminds me of cheap acrylic school jumpers from years gone by!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Various organisers, pencil cases etc stuffed into a fabric knitting holder bag thingie (will post a pic for completeness sake)

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting on and off since the age of six, I learned the basics from my mum then mostly taught myself the rest like colour knitting and Aran knitting. I would consider myself an advanced knitter but I prefer to vary the difficulty of my projects to save frying my brain too much! I always admire complicated projects, I'm a glutton for punishment!

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

Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com just ask for details.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I have to be very careful of strongly scented candles, soaps and perfumes as they can aggravate my asthma or make me sneeze! I do like gentle scents, not too flowery, more fresh.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Sweet tooth? Do I! I like lots of chocolate but am a bit spoiled as I get a box of Chocolate Tasting Club Chocolates every month so my tastes have shifted away from really cheap chocolate. Hate marzipan and cherries or dried fruit in chocolate (or in any form!).

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

I've tried most things over the years, some have stuck, others passed by, I also enjoy Cross stitch (but get frustrated with how long it takes to finish anything), Japanese Embroidery (but haven't in a while), Bearmaking (but don't get me started on that topic), Beading, Spinning and Dyeing. Bizarrely, despite spinning for around 2 years on and off, I have only knitted one pair of socks from my spun yarn. I've quite a boxful by now!

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

I have an eclectic taste in music but have to be careful not to have too negative a tune as it can go around and around in my head and bring me down which can be frustrating. No problem playing MP3's or CD's.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I've learned to like a whole lot of colours since I've been buying bargain wools from Abakhan- sometimes because they tend to have less popular or very bright colours. Because of that, I'm not terribly keen on bright yellows and orange on their own but as you can see from my last project, I love that colourway. I would say my favourite colours are blues, greens, autumnal golds and browns, and pinky lilac and purples. Very pale and pastel colours tend to wash me out colourwise.

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

Married, no kids, 2 dogs

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I tend to use a single scarf and don't tend to accessorise, but I have just started getting into knitting Moebius scarves. I tend not to use knitted things as it can get quite nippy with the wind off the Mersey so I wear a fleecy fabric hat that the wind can't go through. I prefer gloves to Mittens as I need all my wits about me walking my naughty dogs! Ditto previous comment re: wind going straight through. I've never worn a poncho and don't aspire to one.

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

I adored knitting a lacy cardi for my mum for Christmas but bizarrely hated the lacy cardi I knitted for my MIL, the only difference was I had a chart for the first! I mostly knit sweaters and loved knitting my most recent Bolero jacket because of the colour changes, it really cheered me up!

13. What are you knitting right now?

In between struggling through a ludicrously simple Alpaca sock pattern, I'm doing quick knits to tear through the stash- there's more info on my blog.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

It's nice to recieve something you haven't had to sweat blood and tears over yourself. I'm not sure anybody's made me anything yet, how sad is that? I'm always the one knitting for others ( but also myself!)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Different needles for different projects but I steer away from metal needles as much as is possible because they cause me pain. I LOVE slippery palstic needles but the only ones I've managed to get have been second hand old ones and they'll generally break after a project or two. I like LONG straight needles (14" up) because there's more room for your stitches but I'm getting into Addi Turbos 'cos the aluminium being hollow heats up more quickly than a solid metal needle and is less cold in the first place.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes, I have a ball winder and a sort of swift but never use it ( I just do contortions when I wind skeins instead!)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Actually not that old, 3-4 years because around 5 years ago I didn't think I'd ever be able to knit again because of the daily pain I was in that no one could find a cause for. Luckily, a doctor prescribed me some anti-inflammatories a year or so later and now I have a label, Arthritis! I have good and bad days but tend to not let it stop me nowadays.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Are we talking time of year or place to go?Favourite places in this country are Whitby and Porthmadog because they hold lots of happy memories and are special places but I like lots of places and times, basically anywhere new and relatively quiet but with a few shops in easy reach for day to day things.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Yarn and books about yarn! Fleece, aargh!!! ( as I'm drowning in it). Pretty beads, crystals for healing but mostly yarn.

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 love books that are impossible to get hold of unless you've got megabucks ( i.e. Alice Starmore Stillwater, Pacific Coast Highway, In the Hebrides etc. ) but enjoyed tracing what I could from libraries across the breadth of the U.K. I also aspire to all copies of the Barbara Walker Treasuries, I have 2 ( v. expensive over here) and the E.Z's only available in the U.S. Plus I'd love a copy of Annie Modesitt's Knitting Heretic. I buy all copies of Vogue Knitting and most Sandra magazines but don't think much of the patterns in U.K publications (aside from Rowan which I can't afford).

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I've taught myself most knitting techniques but I'm always willing to learn more. I'd like to knit fair isle/intarsia more evenly but I've gathered that's more a matter of time than technique. I'd like to do more complex lace knitting.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I'm a U.K. size 5 which is a smaller ladies foot. I will get the tape mesasure to them when I get a chance... I have knitted about 6 pairs of plain socks now and as my blog will attest to, am now branching out into more patterned variations with differeing degrees of success...

23. When is your birthday?
Easy one, 5th June