Dear Secret Pal,

Hiya! Welcome to my blog! I hope you'll find my little corner of the world at least remotely interesting, and I hope we can share opinions and tips on all things yarny.

Feel free to peruse my questionnaire:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Guilty - I'm in love with "designer" yarn, but I avidly look for sales or only purchase a small amount... long sleeved cashmere sweater coats only exist in my dreams!
2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin, but I do crochet on occasion (I'm not that skilled, but I did manage to complete a fabulous flower-motif bag from Rebecca 24
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Yes - smoke, cats, and pinenuts (probably won't be a concern here, unless somehow they've figured out how to make yarn out of pinenuts... you never know - they did it out of soy!)
4. How long have you been knitting?
Just over two years
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Sure do! Just search my full name over at Amazon, and I think I'm the only one that will come up
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
It's a toss up between jasmine and herby smells like rosemary, mint, or lavender
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
I think I may have a sweet mouth! My absolute favorite thing is cake, particularly from a fine French bakery, but I also have a thing for Donnelly chocolates (support the local guys!)
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I homeroast coffee (mostly Indonesian), and I recently got a sewing machine for Christmas but I haven't learned how to use it yet!
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
My favs are Cake, Beck, Moby, and Weezer, but I also like a lot of 80s stuff
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
I love red, grey, blue-grey, and "autumn" color combinations
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married three years (almost), no kids (don't plan on it), one brown dog named Gibson
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Wow, umm... I think they are fairly simple - I would like to own a small business (a yarn store would be ideal), I'd like to have a house on a bit of land so that we could raise some animals, and I want to visit a good portion of the world
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love anything soft, wool and/or alpaca, and anything worsted or chunkier
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not particularly fond of eyelash/furry yarns, or anything thinner than worsted (I need fast gratification)
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I'm not really fixated on any one thing because I'm trying to gain experience with all different yarns, stitch patterns, etc., so I have several projects going at a time
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like knitting bags because they almost always turn out and they're useful, but I also like knitting tank tops or vests because I don't have the patience for sleeves
17. What are you knitting right now?
A cabled tank top in GGH Goa (see earlier post for pics), an argyle vest in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed (almost done, picking up around second armhole), two fluffy scarves for my sister, and numerous abandoned projects waiting to be finished
18. What do you think about ponchos?
I actually really love them (I have a few myself), but I'm trying to focus more on "timeless" items these days
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circs all the way!!
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I love Clover bamboos in particular, but it really depends on the fiber because sometimes bamboo creates too much drag - in which case, aluminum is a better option
21. Are you a sock knitter?
Unfortunately, no - I would love to have a pair of handknit socks (my feet are small, so a snug fit is pretty hard to come by), but I don't enjoy working with thinner yarns and I'm not terribly fond of working with double pointed needles
22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself by looking at books and online resources, and still do!
23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Woah, had to look up "UFO"... that one's new to me... umm, I can't think of any project that would be considered a UFO because I tend to either finish what I'm working on, or abandon them completely
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Fav animated character is Hello Kitty, fav animals are dogs, chickens, and donkeys (don't ask)
25. What is your favorite holiday?
I gotta go with Christmas - I love exchanging gifts (hey, kinda like SP!), and you can justify indulging in some guilty pleasures
26. Is there anything that you collect?
We have a growing collection of chickens, mostly handcrafted, funky chicken figurines by artists from all over the world