I'm Baaaaaccccck & SP7 Questionnaire

After some airplane snafus, I'm back in the Burque. I have lots to update, lots and lots of knitting thoughts. Since I'm not so slick with my computer skills, I'm gonna make a few differnt posts. Starting with my SP7 Questionnaire! Alot of the answers will be the same as SP6, but I'm gonna do it from scratch and see if any have changed in the last few months.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Yes, I'm a snob. A big snob. Well, not so big, but I love those natural fibers, and I'm nuts for handspun right now.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? Yup, both. I am saving up for a spinning wheel, which I hope to give myself for my birthday. Love spinning. More than just about anything. I do crochet, not that often, and for no good reason. I like some of the freeform stuff that I've seen...maybe I'll give that a shot.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a cute blue and white plant holder that the straights are in, and absolute chaos for the circs and dpns. I want to make a felted needle holder like Ramona did.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I started knitting in 1997 after wanting to learn for years. Martha Stewart Living had an article about it, and I "taught" myself from that. Classes in '98 helped. I think I'm intermediate. I'm not scared to try new things, but I haven't made a lot of bigger or more complicated projects.

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

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

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I love cookies. Period. They are my friend, they are my foe. Oh, I like candied ginger a bunch, too.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I love spinning, and I'm interested in paper-related crafts; I'd like to learn bookmaking and I have fun with my "ephemeral journals". I'm not great at it, but I enjoy sketching and watercolor painting.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) My stereo right now is the cd drive on my computer and my ipod mini. I love mixed cd's. LOVE them. One of my students made me one, and he got an A+. Well, true, he earned it, but bribery never hurts. I like a lot of music, right now I'm listening to a lot of Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Bjork.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Black's my favorite color. I also like chocolate brown and pink. I like muted greens and blues, just starting to have a relationship with orange.

11. What is your family situation? Single, but I'll be moving in with my bf in May. No human children. Do you have any pets? Two dogs...well, technically one, but Neal has a dog too, and she may as well be mine. They're all (Neal and the dogs) living in CT now.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I love mittens, scarves, and hats. Don't know about ponchos.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Manos. Right now I'm nuts for Manos. But I like wool in general, cashmere is a-ok in my book, too!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Some of the fun fur things get on my nerves if they're too plastic-y feeling.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? I've just finished a grueling semester of Christmas knitting. I'm about to embark on a fun semester of sock knitting, starting with Jaywalker with my ABQ girls.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I did some mittens over break, and those were lots of fun...I like knitting stuff to felt, too.

17. What are you knitting right now? Here's the list, which will appear in a post of its own, too:
--Christmas socks for Neal and MB
--Stripes are Stars Sweater for me
--Cabled hat for Mike
--Clapotis for me

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? LOVE them best.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circulars, although straights have their uses.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes. Thanks to Noelle, I have a winder to match my swift. MWAH, N!

22. How did you learn to knit? Martha Stewart, Janet at my Peekskill, NY, LYS, and Sue, also in Peekskill. I'm learning a lot from my SnB groups, too.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? Um, about seven or eight years old.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I love the dog on Family Guy (yup, did a lot of tv watching on my break. I know what shows are on tv now!), and the "Get Fuzzy" gang always make me happy. My name means "Meadow where the beaver dwells" and despite the oft-naughty connotations, I adore, well, beavers.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas, when I get to be with my family. Easter, ditto. My birthday, ditto. So, I guess, anytime I get to be with the clan.

26. Is there anything that you collect? Yarn. Beavers.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None, although I may break down and order Interweave since I lust after every issue.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Blue Sky alpaca; cashmere to make Best Friend.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Cat Bordhi's mobeius cast on. I have the book but need to see it in person.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I'm starting to obsess about socks. I have a fantasy of wearing my own cashmere socks. My feet are cold here in NM, and I long to make them warm again. I wear a 7-7.5 shoe.

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) It's coming up, baby! February 9th! Me and Mia Farrow.