SP5
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: John Fogerty "Centerfield"
Topic: Secret Pal 5
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 prefer natural fibers, but like the fake fur yarns too. I do avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand, but mostly because I spin the majority of my own yarn.


2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I do spin. I'm crochet impaired. ;-)


3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Not fond of cigarette smoke, but no allergies that I know of.


4. How long have you been knitting?

I learned how to knit as a small child, but never really got it right. I took lessons at Webs in 1997 and I've been knitting since.


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

Yes, but I'll have to update it.


6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Light florals or beachy scents.


7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Oh yes! I love chocolate!


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

My husband and I do woodworking, making Bobbin Trees and Bobbin Logs. And I raise German Angoras. :)


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

I like all kinds, but am really partial to 80's and 90's music. But I also listen to Big Bands music, Philadelphia sounds of the 70's, Nat King Cole, and some classics like Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven. No MP3, but CD's are good.


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 blues, pinks, yellows. I'm not fond of olive or mustard tones or muddy colors.


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

I have two small sons, and a husband, We have three cats; Smitty and Smoosh who are sisters and almost 9 years old, and Trina, who is 2 years old (she is really my oldest son's cat).


12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

I'd love to own a house by the ocean. I have a dream of having a house at the Cape Cod National Seashore, which overlooks the ocean and has a nice studio at one end. Or I'd also take a house on Nantucket or the south Jersey shore.

Other than that, my dreams are rather simple; happiness for my children, myself, husband and family.


13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Noro, Brown Sheep Lambs Pride, and Prism yarns.


14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

With the exception of Red Heart, not much.


15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Shawls of my own design.


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

Shawls! I'm also partial to sweaters, when I can complete them.


17. What are you knitting right now?

I'm slowly working on a shawl of my own design made from 85% angora, 15% merino yarn from the yarn co-op I participated in with IAGARB. I've been so busy since April that I haven't had much time to knit. Every weekend has been full of things to do, either shows or other commitments, and after July 4th, I'll have the weekends to myself again until September. Can you tell I'm really looking forward to July 5th?


18. What do you think about ponchos?

For some people, they look great. But I'm not sure they would look good on me.


19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circulars, definitely!


20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Wood, aluminum.


21. Are you a sock knitter?

I have knit socks, but not in a long time. I like to knit socks using yarn that allows me to use a #5 12" circular needle. I wish I could get my hands on some Lorna's Laces yarn, but no store around here carries it.


22. How did you learn to knit?

An elderly cousin of mine learned of my desire to knit, and she showed me how. But because I was a lefty knitter, she had a hard time showing me because I did everything backwards.


23. How old is your oldest UFO?

A top I started in knitting class at Webs in 1997. It will never be finished as it was a simple vest pattern taken off of the internet and I realized it wasn't much of a pattern, so I switched to something else.


24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

A rabbit of course!


25. What is your favorite holiday?

Ooooh, that is a hard one. I love July 4th, celebrating our country's independence (I'm a colonial history buff), but I also like Thanksgiving and having my family around, and Christmas because I love watching my kids and family open up their presents.


26. Is there anything that you collect?

Besides spinning wheels? (grin) I collect coffee mugs from different places that have lighthouses on them. I also collect cookbooks that specialize in regional cooking (New England or Mid Atlantic/Penn Dutch).


27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

No knitting magazine subscriptions. I only subscribe to Wild Fibers and Spin-Off.


28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

"A Good Yarn" by Debbie Macomber, "Dance with Me" by Luanne Rice, "The Summer I Dared" by Barbara Delinsky, and "Nantucket: The Quiet Season" by Nathaniel Philbrick.