SP5 questionnaire

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 do prefer natural fibers, and I'm not a big into eyelash yarns, but really interesting ones are cool. I can't stand the feel of cheap acrylic, but acrylic wool blends like Encore are pretty cool.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Nope. I can do a bit of crochet, but really just enough to decorate the edges of knitting.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I don't like artificial scents/perfumes.

4. How long have you been knitting?
About 4 years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yep. Here it is.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love herbal scents like lavendar, bergamot, peppermint, sandalwood, etc.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yep. And it loves dark dark chocolate.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I do some beading, and also some sewing, though not near as much as knitting.

9. 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'm obsessed with my iPod. I used to have a radio show called The ChickRock Hours, and my taste still runs to that gamut--Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Ani Difranco, Jonatha Brooke, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, etc. I also like a lot of alt-rock bands like Interpol, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Air, Coldplay, etc.

And I *love* weird cover songs.

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 just about anything. I am currently obsessed with chocolate brown combined with pastels.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am delightfully single. I don't have any pets, because I'm just not good with animals.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
To be able to buy a house soon, and to start a knitwear design and teaching business.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love anything with silk in it and also covet anything by Rowan. I would love to try Koigu, but haven't yet.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not huge on 100% cotton, though I like it when appropriate. Laceweight yarns also give me a lot of trouble, but I'm getting better. I do not like 100% synthetics, unless I've got a real good idea for what to do with them.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I've been doing tons of cables lately, which is funny because I used to hate the look of them. I'm also on a quest to find the perfect tank top and bolero/shrug patterns to make myself a warm weather twinset. I'm also trying to build up a good pallette of colors in worsted and sport/fingering yarns so that I can start working on intricate colorwork a la Kaffe Fassett and Karen Allen.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like to have a variety of things on needles at once, for quick gratification knitting (hats, socks, bags) and for bigger stretches (sweaters, complex designs).

17. What are you knitting right now?
An Aran sampler afghan as a gift and the short sleeve twist front top from the Spring VK. I'm starting the heirloom bag from Rowan 37 and the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts soon.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
They have their place. I'm actually quite fond of the shorter capelet varieties.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I like short straights and circs for bigger pieces. That way things are portable, and my needles don't hit the arms of my favorite knitting chair.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo. Or Birch. Or Inox.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
I've done a couple of pairs. I like doing them, but I need to graduate to something other than just a straightforward cuff down style.

22. How did you learn to knit?
Taught myself using Knitting for Dummies.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
About 2 years ago I started Zeeby's bag from SNB and it's about 40% done. I can't seem to bring myself to finish it because it's just straight stockinette. I work on it when I go to the movies, but not much else. Last time, I took it to a triple feature, and forgot the second needle, so I couldn't work on it. It may be cursed.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I like Hello Kitty, and I love her obscure friend Chococat. I also like origami cranes--I'm planning a tattoo of some at some point.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween. I love to dress up.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really--I do have a very small collection of old etiquette books--they are a riot!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Scarf Style and Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop. Also the newer Kaffe Fassett design book. And Knitting on the Edge.