SP-11 Questionnaire

I haven't gotten my SP-11 assignment yet but see that some participants have; my upstream pall being one of them according to a message left on yesterday's blog. I'll go ahead and post my questionnaire although I think that most of the questions have already been answered on my blog recently. Hope everything you need is here, if not I'll try to provide it later.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I enjoy knitting with 'good quality' but not necessarily 'pricey' yarns. Elann.com carries a good selection of yarns at reasonable prices, especially if you catch their Tuesday specials. I do not care for novelty yarns except occasionally as an accent on a few items.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Most anything. Actually, I have three artist brush kits for straight needles and I use a 3 inch, 3 ring, binder for my circulars. I take zipper-lock bags, punch a couple of holes in them, label the outside with needles size, length, and manufacturer, then place the needles in the zip- lock. I also use a big pitcher to hold the larger size needles and some of the extras that I don't use often.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I've been knitting off and on for about forty years but steadily for about five years. My sister taught me the knit and purl stitch and for many years anything else was self-taught. When I picked my knitting up this last time I decided it was time to take some classes and learn something besides knit and purl. I consider myself an advanced intermediate knitter.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No but I'm going to start one on Amazon today, I think it would be helpful.
5. What's your favorite scent? I'm not a fan of most perfumed fragrances. I like clean and not heavy smells. I do enjoy good soap and rose or lavender body products like body wash and shampoos.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I do enjoy sweets, but I'm not a big chocolate fan although I love chocolate with nuts and coconut in it. I generally prefer salty and cheesy treats over sweets.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I love knitting most,but I also crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, sew, and do a bit of crewel. I love the look of appliqué and have been thinking to make a few things with appliqués on them. I do not spin.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD). I'm not very technical but I don't believe we have MP3 in our home or car, just regular CD's. I like Easy music, Blues & Jazz, and Classical.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I like chocolate, greens, aqua's, purples, blues, pinks, and ' I do like puce' (also know as magenta and/or burgundy.) I like vivid, jewel tones but also love grays, whites, blacks and reds used together.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a husband and a four legged baby (dogie) that live with me. I have an adult son and daughter and one granddaughter.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I have worn them all sometimes, but not any of them often. I have a poncho that I knitted a few years back from a Collinette Kit and enjoy wearing it because of all the gorgeous yarns that were in the kit. I have worn hats a lot in the last year because chemo-therapy claimed my hair for several months. If I wear hats, I like them to have a brim. Since I'm retired I don't wear scarves any more and I prefer gloves over mittens.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Gosh, it depends. I enjoy knitting cardigans but they take so long that I put them off and end up taking forever to finish one. I love felted hats and bags and I enjoy knitting shawls out of nice fibers for gifts. I have never knitted socks or gloves but probably will someday just so I can say I have. I've done a bit of lace but no longer have the concentration for following a complex pattern.
13. What are you knitting right now? OTN's – Entralac shawl using Nora's Silk Garden wool. Chris Bylsma's Crayon Box Jacket using mostly wools in lots of textures and color blends. Lilly Chin's Central Park Jacket from her label yarn, and a queen-sized bed cover for my son out of various textures and colors.
4. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Love them.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? It depends on what I'm knitting and what type yarn I'm knitting with. I am not a big of fan of aluminum needles but do love Skacel's metal needles and want a set of Knit Pick's Options. I especially like the one pair of Susanne's circular ebony needles that I have my 'el cheapo' Boye's Baleen II straight needles, haven't tried them in a circular.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, both; couldn't do without them.
17. How old is your oldest UFO? Around a year I think.
18. What is your favorite holiday? July 4th – Because that is the day our adopted granddaughter came to us. National Holidays would be first Thanksgiving, then Christmas. Our family celebrate both these holidays with lots of love and thankfulness.
19. Is there anything that you collect? Yes and no. I use to collect Byer's Choice Carolers but ran out of space and I use to buy a cookbook from every country or state that we visited. It was a remembrance that could be used and enjoyed over and over again and I still love reading cookbooks. When we downsized two years ago I tried to get rid of lots of 'things'.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have a subscription to: ' Interweave Knits' and one to 'Creative Knitting' and buy and enjoy other knitting magazines, especially the ones from Great Britain. Books on want list are: 'Bag Styles', (Interweave) when it comes out in November, and 'The Best of Interweave Knits'. Needles I'd like to add to my supply: Susanne's ebony needles (I have one pair size 10.5 circular and love them), some 7" single point knitting needles in any sizes between 3 -9, Knit Picks new Options set. Yarns: Cornucopia, want to make a shawl I think, hand painted worsted weight wools, self-striping worsted weight wool. Patterns: 'Ruched Bag', 'Bucket Bag', and 'Lucy Bag" by Two Old bags.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Well I have to do a pair of socks someday, and I have to do cables and Fair Isle someday. I guess the reason I haven't done them so far is they aren't my favorite look. But, I'm always interested in learning new techniques even if it is just for the learning process. I'd also like to do some free-form and magic ball knitting; they're interesting I think.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? No, I don't knit socks but would like to have a hand knitted pair if they were not to short on my feet; I wear a size 9 shoe.
23. When is your birthday? June, when else? The day is the 7th.
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? I'm signed up but they haven't gotten to my name yet. Hope it won't be much longer.