1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Hmmm... I dunno... there are so many out there that I've not had a shot at yet. I love Colinette Point 5 and I also love very fine yarns and I loved knitting with Lana Grosso sock yarn, I think because it was good quality wool, oh and the Regia I knitted with not long ago (the Kaffe Fassett one) was lovely to knit with. So I don't really have a favourite...
What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Acrylic! I'm not averse to manmade fibres but I do prefer natural, especially wool.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My old metal needles are in my mum's original storage place - her old girdle tube!! My new bamboos (bought very cheaply on eBay) are in a Pringles tube (the next best thing to the girdle one!), my bamboo circulars are simply in a bag. I also have a set of single pointed bamboo needles in a needle whatsit - folding fabric thingy!
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I don't remember when I started knitting. I know we did it at primary school so possibly age 7? I'm 52 now so that's a good 45 years. I don't remember if I learned at school or if my mum taught me. I know she was there to pick up the stitches(!) anyway and was lots of help as I learned and progressed. I remember knitting my first cardi (long line!) when I was about 11 or 12 (I still have the pattern).
Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Advanced.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Er, yes, but wouldn't you need to have my password to view it?
5. What's your favorite scent?
At the moment I love rose oil and wear the Body Shop's one every day.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Oh gosh, yes, wish I didn't! I like Turkish Delight, good chocolate, chocolate with nuts and/or raisins and/or toffee... and I like fudge.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Funny you should ask that! I spun my first ball of yarn last week (see below!) and would love to get into spinning more. It's my new ambition to own my own flock of sheep so I can spin and knit their wool!
Other crafts - felting, sewing, beading, almost any needlecraft. I want to teach myself to crochet and have gathered all the bits but not made a start yet. I also want to do freeform crochet and knitting asap! I like calligraphy, drawing and painting, paper engineering (pop-ups!), cake decorating (modelling), almost anything arty.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Gosh, that's a thought! My laptop can play mp3s but not my stereo.
I really do like all kinds of music (except heavy metal and middle of the road), but especially soul. I'd love to hear more Christian soul (good stuff like Mary Mary!). I love some classical and opera too. I love Duffy at the moment and Amy Winehouse (soul again, you see?). I like good country and western (am a big fan of Hank Wangford!), Elvis Costello and Arabic pop!
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love colours. Full stop. I drool over Pantone charts! Purple is my favourite, closely followed by lime green - a nice fresh lime green (Crocs lime green is disappointingly not fresh, for example, nor what I would call lime!). I like lime green and turquoise together - happy colours. I don't think I hate any colour, though I maybe wouldn't wear orange!
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm divorced and my daughter and young grandson live nearby. I had 4 cats for the best part of 16 years until a few months ago but there are - phew! - no pets now. Well, for just now! I'm seriously seriously contemplating rescuing / adopting a couple of dogs soon... I LOVE dogs, much more than cats, believe it or not, but I have a very painful foot and a slipped disc so am not very physically fit at the moment...
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Me no like mittens or ponchos, not on me anyway. I love hats and I love scarves.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Oh! What a question! I like knitting socks cos I love knitting on dpns. I really liked doing some fingerless gloves last winter (and should be getting on to doing some more for RTT). Anything really complicated - the more complicated the better. I get bored to tears doing lengths of stocking stitch! I love colour work too, like fairisle and intarsia. But I have to admit that, as I get older (or perhaps it's the effect of ME on my concentration) I like to knit smaller items as they're finished quicker!
13. What are you knitting right now?
Hmmm! I'm trying to get finished my Orkney Pi KAL which I've turned into a cardigan.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Oh yes!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Hmmm... straight bamboos at the moment. While I like the continuity of knitting with circulars I find it really aggravating that I have to constantly move the knitting round! Silly, I know...
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Oh... about 3 1/2 years... the Aran cardi I designed for myself when I first moved to the chillier-than-Edinburgh Highlands. The fit wasn't quite right - I actually made it a bit too big! - and I lost heart. I intend to turn it into a jacket so really must finish it some time. Oh but it's in acrylic! That was another thing that's discouraged me - I knitted a mini Aran with the same design for my grandson and it has not washed well... It's not like I didn't know acrylic stretches... but it was a bargain at the time and it is a lovely colour - speckled deep blue.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
Oh gosh, I don't have one. I live in a most beautiful part of the world and near the sea, and this would be my perfect holiday destination! Also I've not had regular holidays as an adult.
I guess a favourite holiday would be to be pampered or be catered for in a hotel or nice guesthouse.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really, though I absolutely love and am fascinated by floating pens and have a very small collection of those.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Anything unusual that's not easily available in the UK. I'm dying to try the Cirkeltroje (that's what inspired me to change my Orkney Pi into a cardi), but will do the Hemlock Ring when I get the chance and adapt it for a cardi. I've had the yarn lined up for that for months!
I don't have a LYS so all my shopping is done online. I haven't tried many of the really good quality yarns that are around, other than Colinette and Tofutsies and sari silk (yum!!). I'd like to have a go at some of ColourMart's yarns!
At the moment I want almost any of Nikki Epstein's books on borders and finishes. There aren't enough hours in the day for what I want to do!
What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Simply Knitting, mainly to keep up to date with what's available in the UK and also for the knitters at RTT. I would subscribe to Vogue Knitting if my local newsagent could get it for me!
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Crochet; entrelac (I have a pattern that's about 25 years old and I still haven't tried it!); very complicated lace; magic loop; natural dyeing; Koolade (Koolaid?) dyeing; painting yarn. Er... I'm sure there's more but I can't think...
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, though I've not done many (I never seem to have enough time...). My foot is 24 cm long, roughly a UK size 6. I have very wide feet with very high insteps (shoes are always difficult!).
23. When is your birthday?
25 March.
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
knittinggran
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