SPLJ3 Questionnaire

[omly]

better late than never *blush*

Your knitting/crocheting habits & desires
1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both?
I knit and am just learning to crochet.

2. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting for just under 2 years now. I taught myself from knittinghelp.com and Stitch 'N Bitch. I am probably an intermediate knitter. I have done most basic techniques, but I am still refining my techiniques.

3. What are your favorite yarns or fibers to knit with? What yarns/fibers do you avoid, dislike or hate? Are you allergic to any fibers?
No allergies here (well my partner is allergic to cats...) I like wool, but honestly I am not even an hater of any fiber type in general. Even acrylic, which gets a bad rap has some good yarn types out there.

4. What do you use to store your needles/hooks? How about your other tools, like stitch holders and point protectors? Where do you store your yarn?
I have a case for my double points and straights, but my circulars live in a flower pot on my desk. I keep saying I am going to sew them a case like the one in Stitch 'N Bitch, but I have not gotten around to it even after almost a year now.

5. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Do you have a needle preference—bamboo, aluminum, plastic, etc.? Any needles you’d like to try?
I like circulars even for flat knitting, specifically metal. I knit really tight especially when stressed, which in grad school is often.

6. Do you own a ball winder and/or swift? Would you prefer to receive center-pull balls of yarn, if the person that has you owns a winder/swift and is so inclined?
Yes I own both and they may my life a happy, happy place. Center-pull balls are not necessary.

7. Are you a sock knitter? Do you want to learn?
Yes, but I haven't done nearly enough yet. I am still trying out new combos of cuffs, toes and heels.

8. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
In the fall I make tons of hats for Xmas gifts, but my favorite project are socks for bus knitting.

9. What are you knitting right now? Any current obsessions like socks, lace, felting, etc.?
I am currently knitting Rogue (sweater) actively. I have Icarus on the back burners waiting for me to have more time for it though. My current obsession in probably socks.

10. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? What have you always wanted to try knitting/crocheting?
I am very curious about all I am hearing about Elizabeth Zimmerman. Also I am always on the look out for good one skein patterns, as I am trying to destash my lonesome skeins right now.

11. How old is your oldest UFO (UnFinished Object)?
I am usually pretty good about finishing things. One execption is a pair of intarsia "poi gloves" which only need a million ends woven in.

12. Do you have any knitting magazine subscriptions? Any that you love or buy regularly?
I have a subscription to Interweave Knits (which I love!). I have found that Vogue Knitting has been good recently too, but I am still buying it on a magazine by magazine basis.

13. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Absolutely :)

14. Would you like to receive hand knitted socks? If so, what are your foot measurements? (Don’t give just your shoe size—measure around the ball of your foot and also the length from heel to toe.) Of course, giving this information is no guarantee that you will actually receive knitted socks. It’s just in case. 
Having knit a couple pairs I know how much care goes into them. They would be well loved, but not something I am looking for specifically. (Length = 9", Circ = 7.5")


Non-knitting stuff
1. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Include a link.

2. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) Any you can’t stand?
mint (particularly wintergreen), lemon, lemon verbana, vanilla, chocolate

3. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy or snacks? Anything you would hate to get?
A little bit. I am a big fan of reese's peanut butter cups and wintergreen mints.

4. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (in case your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like a variety. Favorite genres include accappella, happy hardcore, and vocal trance. Good female vocals can win me over to pretty much any type of music though.

5. What is your favorite holiday?
summer solstice

6. Do you have a favorite animated character, animal, etc.?
I really like cats, but due to allergies in the house can't have one. I also really like the characters from Spirited Away.

7. Are you into any fandoms? (Harry Potter, Buffy, etc.)
not really, but I am active with a con called Arisia

8. How do you decorate your room/house? Is there anything that you collect?
I am really attracted to Japenese and minimalist rooms. Despite that I do collect dragon and mermaid/nayad items.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Is there a specific color family/palette that you enjoy knitting with or wearing?
I love blues and greens. I wear a lot of charcoal/black and burgundy/reds. And I am not afraid to knit dark colored yarn ;)

10. Would you like and use icons, layouts, banners or wallpapers? Anything specific?
icons definitely!


Other information about you
1. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? Dye yarn? Are you looking to try any of these, and which ones?
I spin (wheel), dye, cross stitch, draw, and do watercolor painting. I don't really scrapbook, but I am looking into trying it.

2. What is your family/living situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my daugher (age 7), life partner, and our African Fat-tailed Gecko named Cupric.

3. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens/gloves, slippers or ponchos?
Living in New England, all of these can be useful. Slippers I would use somewhat less though.

4. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
6/22

5. Anything else you’d like to add?
Nope, I'm good :)

Comments

[omly.livejournal.com]

cross stitch - I enjoy this hobby, but find that it doesn't travel well for me. I find I need down time to do it, and I don't have a ton of that. When I took the commuter rail for an hour each way I did some though. On the bus I would be too afraid of losing needles, thread or getting the fabric/thread incredibly dirty. Plus in counted cross stitch you run a much higher risk of miscounting and having to risk sipping out sections due to a bumpy bus ride. If you were to be doing it like in a hotel room it would be fine. Investment costs for start up are moderate/low, but most "beginner" projects don't appeal to me. Also though I enjoy the result, I think it has little practical use compared to many of my other hobbies. You could do this without any lessons. It is pretty self explanatory, and most patterns come with a quick "how to" for stitching.

embroidery - You don't ask about this one specifically, but as it is similar in many ways to cross stitch I will talk about it. Unlike in cross stitch where you make little "x"s, in embroidery you fill in areas with thread. This means that this isn't the same danger of "miscounting", just of filling in the wrong area. Start up costs are the same, and again there is some question of what you do with your finished items.

crochet - This is much faster than knitting, but requires more raw materials to make something of a comparable size. A lot of people find their mind is more suited to one or the other, though of course some people do both. There are a number of good books out there to learn from and/or you can take classes. An intro class need not take more than an hour or 2 just to get you started. Crochet hooks are stupid cheap though, so your costs (and space required for project in process) are mostly just yarn. This is a very portable hobby. I see almost as many crocheters on my commute as knitters. If you were to wear items that you make, commercially made items tend to be more like knitted items since that is how they are produced (though with machine knitting not usually hand knitting). Crochet is used more in commercially made products as trim or for lacy area, since most crocheting produces a "holey"er fabric than knitting necessarily has.

"conventional sewing" - I know few people who hand sew for more than very small projects/parts of projects. It is just super time intensive once your projects are to any scale. On the plus side it has a lower start up cost than buying a sewing machine. Especially for a beginner the results may not be sturdy enough to toss in a washing machine. Technically this could be a portable hobby, but like I said I don't know anyone who does a ton of it.

machine sewing - I don't do a ton of it, but I know people who do. (mrpet for example has his own part time sewing business and collects antique sewing machines in addition to being a kick-ass engineer.) I might suggest taking a class in this if you are interested though, since you are learning both the skill of working with the machine and sewing at the same time. A little help from a teacher will go a long way. This is exponentially faster than hand-sewing, and even for a beginner results in a sturdy finished project that can usually be tossed in a washing machine. The results usually look fairly professional. Obviously this is not a portable hobby though. You could bring it with you to work in a hotel room, but it is going to add a lot of weight to your baggage.