Monday, June 27, 2005

Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste

As I am basically a lazy person, I cribbed the questions from the Secret Pals gift exchange as a way of introduction:

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 don’t feel that I am a yarn snob. But then again I’m not fond of synthetics, even though I use them a lot because they’re cheap. I prefer natural fibers; wool in specific.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

No I don’t. But I want to learn to crochet so that I can do some of those fancy edges I see in
Knitting on the Edge.

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

Hay fever. Smoke and strong perfumes also tend to give me a headache. 4. How long have you been knitting? Forever and a day. I learn when I was about 11. But I only recently returned to it about 2 years ago.

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

Amazon wishlist
here.

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

I prefer unscented personal hygiene products. On the few occasions I wear cologne it will be either Bay Rum or 4711.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Not really. A bit of ice cream or cheesecake will keep me going for a couple months. The one thing I can’t keep in the house are Gummy Bears

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

The only other needlecraft I’ve done is some cross-stitching. I do draw (badly) a bit and make soap.

9. What kind of music do you like?

My musical taste is rather eclectic. On my Ipod I have rock (faves: Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa), Jazz (Big Band, Ragtime), Blues, Celtic Jig and Reels, Electronica, Anime soundtracks, and Jpop.

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 dark blues, greens, and purples. Pastels don’t do it for me.

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

At present I live alone with two cats Tux and Dante.

12. What are your life dreams?

Total world domination.

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

Wool and wool blends. I really like Noro Kureyon for its color combinations and for it’s rough texture. I like Aruacania Natural Wool for its subtle varigation.

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

Harsh synthetics, chenille, frou-frou eyelash type yarns.

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

Currently, I’m interested in knitting my first sweater.

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

I like to knit scarves and hats as you can create something distinctive and useful relatively quickly .

17. What are you knitting right now?

A lot of different things. I always have a prayer shawl on the needles. I have two hats on the needles (1 spiral eyelet hat and 1 hat with cat ears. I’m swatching for my sweater at this time.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

Meh.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Depends. If I’m doing a scarf, I’ll do that on straight needles. Shawls and sweaters I prefer to work on circular needles.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Metal, I prefer the near frictionless way yarn glides over them. Plastic puts up too much resistance. I haven’t tried wooden or bamboo needles, though I’d like to try.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Yes and no, I only recently started to knit socks.

22. How did you learn to knit?

I was taught by an aunt who was taking care of me while my mom was recuperating from surgery.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

A chenille scarf that should have been finished 6 months ago. It just needs fringe. I hate fringing.

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

I’m a cat person. I have two of the nasty beasts at this time.

As to animated characters, I like scantly clad catgirls… Uh… What I mean to say is I like Anime. My favorites are Kiki’s Delivery Service, Wings of Honneamise, Neon Genesis Evangion, Visions of Escaflowne, Read or Die, and Hellsing.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas, It’s all about the swag!

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Books, Anime DVDs, T-shirts.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

The only subscription I have is
Cast On.

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

The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee.