Yarny Questionnaire for secretpal_lj2
1. Do you prefer natural fibers for yarn (wool, alpaca, cotton, silk, etc.)? Do you avoid cheaper brands and/or acrylics?
Not particularly. I like wool and wool blends, and they seem somewhat more pleasant to knit with than 100% acrylics, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly biased. Well, okay, for "warm hat" I'm biased in favor of alpaca, because, alpaca! I've never tried knitting with silk, and actually only cast on my first cotton thing last night. Also I've never tried soy or other alternative fibers. So, I suppose the answer to this question ranges from "Not really" to "I don't know." :-)
2. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? Do you spin?
I don't crochet -- I haven't figured out yet how you go from making a chain of loops to having actual things, though my mother seems to manage it. I have spun, on a friend's wheel (I don't have my own) and on a drop-spindle (which I ended up giving away to a friend), and I liked it, but I don't know where I'd put the fibre in my house if I really took up spinning. I may pick up another drop spindle and a small bag of fibre at some point, but I can't see getting way into it. So yeah, mostly I just engage in knitting and envy at other people's industriousness.
3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? How about your other tools, like stitch holders and point protectors? Where do you store your yarn?
Right now all of my needles are in a super-advanced eco-friendly injection molded transparent silicon storage system -- aka, spaghetti sauce jars sitting on the shelf in my office. See!
The yarn stash is currently in baskets (for things I'm actively working on, or actively thinking about working on), or stuffed in a box and living out on the back porch. Though I'm thinking about changing that to putting the yarns in those giant Ziploc bags and hanging them up, so I can actually see the yarns (and keep moths out more efficiently).
4. How long have you been knitting/crocheting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I once knitted when I was about 7 or 8, then gave it up for 20 years. I took it up again last summer. I'd say, really, I'm more of an advanced beginner... I know several cast-ons and am not afraid of cables or increases/decreases, but DPNs still give me the heebie-jeebies. (My sock has a rudimentary heel flap, now. Perhaps I will finish it in only five years instead of ten.)
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Include a link.
Yep and yep.
6. What's your favorite scent? (For candles, bath products etc.) Are there any scents you can't stand?
I particularly dislike Patchouli and CK One (bad college dorm roommate experience -- I'm scarred for life!). Most other things are fair game, though I'm not a huge fruit scent person (though I do like things like citrus basil). Oddly, one of my favorite scents is dryer sheets, so if only I liked doing laundry, the laundromat would be my favorite place in the history of ever.
7. What are your favorite candies and snacks? Anything you would really hate to get?
I never really did get into the gummi bears thing. Dunno why. I guess -- despite liking dark chocolate -- I'm not really much of a candy person in general, really, though you wouldn't know it from looking at me.
8. What other crafts or DIY things do you like to do? Any you don't like? Any you'd like to try?
I make soap. I paint (mostly acrylics, some watercolor) and rubber-stamp on occasion. I used to do glass mosaicing, but gave it up because I moved into a much smaller apartment and needed to clear the space. Oh, and I'm working with my dad on restoring his 1973 Mach 1 Mustang (351 Windsor -- vroom! Well, it'd vroom if it ran. Which it doesn't. Yet!). Oh, and I have a thing for fountain pens. What I lack in yarn fibre snobbery I more than make up for in pen snobbery.
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 like lots of sorts of music. Probably a good place to get an idea is my last.fm user page but that doesn't reflect everything I listen to in the car or my records, it only shows you the MP3s I listen to. So if you seasoned the last.fm page with some extra classic rock and a little more 90s alternative, that'd probably be a better reflection. I don't generally like new country, and I dislike acid and smooth jazz, though I enjoy other sorts of jazz.
10. What's your favorite color? Or do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? (This goes for wearing and for knitting/crocheting with.)
I generally wear more saturated colors, vs. pastels, though I will wear pink on occasion. I have a lot of medium to dark blue, which could be argued as a reason to stick to or avoid more blue (though generally I would weigh in on the side of "yay, blue"). My house is a good reflection of my opinion on colors -- every room is a different one. And I have the PINKEST BATHROOM EVAH, mostly because it amuses me to say that. -- Insofar as yarn goes, I like variegated yarns, hand-dyed yarns, and tweedy/heathery yarns, though honestly most of my stash is solid colors. I do have some beautiful Noro I'm debating what the perfect use will be for, though. The LYS had a demo felted bag for it and it was beautiful, so I might end up doing something like that with it.
11. What are your family and living situations? Do you have any pets?
I live alone in a 1-1/2 bedroom apartment with two cats, one 16-year old longhaired tabby and one very skittish 4 year old former stray shorthair. Both cats get along, which is miraculous.
12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens/gloves, slippers or ponchos?
Not so much in June! :-) I wear scarves, hats, and gloves in the winter. (My winter coats are bright red and pea green.) I don't really do ponchos, and I always forget that I actually own slippers.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Hm. I like Lamb's Pride, which is good because I've got a whole cardigan knit out of it. I also just finished up a hat in Cascade 220, which was nice to work with. I guess my favorite, though, was Rowan Kid Classic. That was a really nice yarn.
14. What fibers and/or yarns do you absolutely not like?
Honestly, about the only thing I definitively disliked working with was some very coarse wool I got off of eBay. I had to struggle through completing the several projects I did with it because it was itchy. It was fun to kool-aid dye, though.
15. What is/are your current knitting/crocheting obsession/s?
I really, really, really, really, really want to figure out how the heck to hold these stupid DPNs so I'm not constantly dropping stitches, getting poked, or just knitting at the speed of molasses. Seriously, it's bugging me. I might take a sock class or something just so I can get the instructor to tell me what I'm doing wrong with the stupid needles. I've worked with DPNs before on hats and things, but the sock DPNs are just bugging me.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit/crochet?
I appear to like making bags of various sorts, based on the number of them I've done!
17. What are you knitting/crocheting right now?
The Sock of Never-Ending Doom, a washcloth (trying out cotton -- a friend of mine hates cotton yarn, so I wanted to see if it was actually that bad), a pocket for my cardigan, and I have an unfinished scarf around here somewhere too.
18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Oh yeah!
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Straights. I have very bad wrists, and if the plastic cable fights back (which most of mine do) it really bothers them. Even after the boiling water trick, the cables are just hard to deal with.
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic, glass or wood?
Have never tried glass or wood! Plastic is not my favorite, because of its flexibility. I like aluminum fine, but then that's almost all that I have. Bamboo seems nice.
21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yep to both.
22. Are there any new knitting/crocheting techniques you'd like to try?
Yes, the technique of "not sucking." :-) Just kidding. I don't think I'm actually that bad, just slow.
23. How old is your oldest UFO (UnFinished Object)?
Mmm... early December? I started on a scarf for my dad. Then there was a whole soul-searching thing about whether or not he'd actually wear it, and then I needed the needles for something else, so it's stuffed into the bottom of the knitting basket relegated to stitch-holders. I should probably finish it. Hmm, I wonder what size needles I was working it on?
24. What is your favorite animated character? Favorite animal?
SpongeBob SquarePants! And, I like cats.
25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, I guess.
26. How do you decorate your house/room? Is there anything that you collect?
I painted all my walls in different colors based around the lines of the Chicago Transit Authority's Rapid Transit (the el). I have a lot of framed prints of various things; a vintage Starsky & Hutch poster (that's not for hipster irony, either; I actually like Starsky & Hutch), framed postcards and pictures of friends, etc. I don't really collect anything other than craft supplies, anymore! But I am a big train nerd. I'm interested in passenger rail (e.g. Amtrak) and public transit systems. Oh, I guess I collect DVDs and CDs, though I don't think of that as a hobby so much as just something I do. I do collect LP records, both new and used (and I'm particularly wanting to get a copy of The Who's Quadrophenia).
27. What knitting/crocheting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None! Isn't that sad? I stopped subscribing to things after I realized I wasn't able to keep up with them all. If I subscribed to any, I supposed I'd probably have VK. Mostly I just pick them up when I'm in shops and see something that catches my eye, now.
28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I am in search of the perfect felted backpack. It's my mission. I've gone through my magazines and searched the web for free patterns or patterns for sale, and I'm not having much luck. I'll probably end up coming up with something on my own, though my last attempt at that ended up with a bag bigger than I wanted. Still, I shall not stop searching for the perfect bag!
Also, I want to get patterns of White Sox logos -- I'm a big White Sox fan (despite the way that they are letting me down -- honestly, that series in Cleveland was just embarassing!) and I'd love to have a bag knit with pinstripes and a logo that I could take to games. Because nothing accessorizes your beer and jersey and shouting at the players like KNITTING. (We had a Stitch 'n Pitch knitting day at the ballpark last year, which was awesome. I hope they do it again this year. Knitting in the bleachers was fun!)
29. What have you always wanted to try knitting/crocheting?
Is it cliched to say I'd like to try a clapotis? Actually the only thing that's holding me back on that is that I'm not convinced I'd wear it if I made one. Knitty sells it really convincingly, but I'm not sure it's me and I'm a big "if I make it I'm going to wear it" person. I'd like to make a sweater at some point, one that isn't made out of bulky yarn.
30. Are you a sock knitter? What is your shoe size?
I'm, uh, a wannabe sock knitter. I really like the idea of a tiny portable project I can take with me to the grocery store and stuff like that. But as it is, I'm too embarassed to fumble with my sock in public. Maybe if I gave up on DPNs and tried the two circs method I'd be more socktacular.
31. Do you have any fandoms? (Harry Potter, BtVS, etc.) Who are your favorite characters?
Oh, I have many fandoms, though I wouldn't say I'm particularly rabid about any. I like lots of shows -- not so many that are actually on the air (hooray for DVDs!), though I will admit to having CSI Miami recently lure me in, which means I'm no longer the last person left in America not watching a CSI show. Actually, I gave up cable a few years ago because I was irritated at how much it costs, but fortunately, Chicago has a ton of broadcast stations and I get great reception. Really all I miss from cable are Comedy Central (The Daily Show!), Sci-Fi, and BBC America. I really would like to see some of the new shows BBCA are running... but not so much that I'm willing to pay $70/month for the basic digital package, plus rentals, plus taxes, et cetera. That's yarn money!
I do like Harry Potter, and would like to knit myself a Griffindor scarf at some point; I really liked the Prisoner of Azkaban trapped bars pattern. I am a huge Stephen King fan and last summer I actually drove to New Hampshire for a "Dark Tower" fan con. I was crushed when the one yarn store I passed on the country highway in Vermont was closed when I drove back past it on the way back home. :P
32. Would you like and use icons, layouts, banners or wallpapers? Anything specific?
I like icons -- I could use a yarny one for when I post to comms! I don't use fancy layouts or anything though (obviously :-).
33. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
Elvis' birthday! Also, as I recall from a high school English paper, Evel Knievel escaped from jail the day I was born. Go figure.
34. Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm pretty low-maintenance, and, since I'm mostly broke, I don't have a very large stash or pile of knitting gear. The only books I have are (the obligatory copy of) SNB, The Knitter's Bible, Hip to Knit, The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques, Basic Knitting, and At Knit's End. I'd like to figure out some way to store my DPNs other than stuffing them in the spaghetti jars so they get all jumbled with the other needles, though that's fine for now. I like felting things, for some reason. I think I'm just overly entertained by the fabric texture changing. Oooh, shiny!
Some of my previous FOs are posted here.
And speaking of which -- there's one odd bit about my LJ, which you've probably noticed by now -- I moved my actual, personal content off of LJ about two years ago, because they had made me progressively more and more cranky about their reliability issues, and then one day I had just Had Enough. Since I'm a geek girl, it wasn't a huge deal to go host my content myself, so that's what I did. I still use my niqui account to read my friends' entries and comment on them, and to participate in communities, but I don't post public content there anymore. Instead, that gets posted to my blog, which is fed to livejournal as niquiblog. So, you can read my entries either on my actual site, or via niquiblog, whichever you prefer. :)