PRGE Questionaire

1. How long have you been knitting/crocheting/spinning?
I have been knitting for about 18 years on and off. I don't crochet unless I have to - and I don't spin.

2. Do you consider yourself a beginner, novice or experienced yarn artist?
I consider myself an experienced yarn artist - at the risk of sounding cocky....

3. What fibers (materials) have you knit/crochet with?
I'll try anything once - wire, cashmere, possum, bamboo, merino, tencil, silk, cotton, acrylic, fuzzy, thread (nightmare), alpaca, camel, t-shirts, tulle - anything that I think will work, which sometimes does and sometimes doesn't.....

4. What are your favorite yarns?
Right now, I am really into natural fiber, organic yarns are nice - but definately natural fibers

5. What fibers are you dying to try?
I hear that Southwest Trading Company is coming out with an organic cotton/bamboo yarn, and I use alpaca alot - anything alpaca is a favorite (especially naturally colored alpaca; brown, black, greys)

6. Do you prefer solid, self striping, or handpainted yarns?
I like all the possible colorways - solid, self striping and handpainted they just have different applications


7. What fibers do you dislike?
Anything that is not real - acrylic, fuzzy, man-made stuff - I admit that I like good yarn - I am willing to have less to have good stuff. Also itchy natural fibers; angora, mohair and the like.

8. What are your favorite colors?
Natural colors - tans, browns, greys, muted greens, dark reds, cremes or really dark purples

9. What are your least favorite colors?
Anything bright, yellow, orange, pink

10. How did you learn to knit/crochet/spin?
My grandmother taught me when I was little. I begged and begged till I think that she finally showed me to get me to quit nagging. I love it, but I only knew how to make dish cloths for about the first 6 or 7 years - so there are a lot of my dish towels, wash cloths somewhere...

11. What projects are you currently working on?
The second attempt at my Hush, Hush dress, an aran shawl, and knucks with two lace shawls lurking in the wings....

12. How old is your oldest UFO? What is it? Will it ever be finished?
My oldest project is a scarf that will get finished by April 15th - the end of the UFO/Stashbustalong that I signed up for in January! And then it will be donated to charity because, I don't want to see it any more....

13. What is the most heartbreaking project that you ever frogged?
I haven't done it yet, but it will be my first attempt at the Hush, Hush dress, where the yarn came in different colors for the same lot.... Just haven't had the heart yet, maybe when the new one is finished!

14. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I prefer straight, but find for the projects that I do, I knit on circs much more often....

15. Do you own a swift and/or a winder?
Yeap, best knitting investments I have ever made!

16. Where do you keep your needles?
I have two stainless steel pails from the hardware store, one holds circs orgainzed in ziplock bags by size, one holds straights and I have a long fabric organizer for my dpn

17. Do you enjoy helpful hints about your knitting or does it just piss you off?
Helpful hints are always great, there are so many ways to knit (39 ways to make a knit stitch all of which look identical) sometimes a different perspective makes it easier!!

18. What techniques are you still a virgin in (lace, cables, ect.) and are you interested in trying them?
I have never steeked a sweater, yet - so that is right up there. It is not on the immediate horizon, but soon I will make one of the sweaters from Poetry of Stitches.

19. What knitting magazines do you subscribe to?
Interweave Knits

20. Are there any books, needles, yarn, patterns that you are dying to get your hands on?
I am dying to get Romantic Style - the projects in there are so pretty! I think that's it.....

21. Do you enjoy knitting socks? How big are your feet?
Since I have knit one pair, yes, they were enjoyable. I haven't felt like swatching lately, so I haven't started the next pair.....maybe when some of the big projects are done and I need instant gratification. My feet are a womens 8 1/2 or a 39.

22. Do you have a wish list?
Yes, there is a link on my blog, there is also a wishlist on Amazon.com

23. What are your non-knitting, crochet, spinning hobbies?
I love to garden, cook, cruise around on my pink bike, read and work. Anything outdoors is an added bonus, like camping - but I work too much to generally.

24. How do you feel about sports?
I enjoy sports in moderation - mr.sunneshine loves football, so I watch some (read as - knit through it), I enjoy going to baseball games and an occasional hockey game - but not on tv. The only sports I enjoy doing are jogging, cycling - not team sports.

25. What is your favorite season? Least favorite season? Why?
I love the fall - the weather is crisp, I can wear lots of layers, clothing is more fun, great veggies to cook with and all the beautiful colors. I am not as much of a spring person, it seems like the season that I am always waiting to have end - its not quite summer, you don't want to wear winter clothes anymore but it is not nice enough to wear the summer stuff, and for some reason, it always feels cold in the shade - the garden is not pretty, the food is not as interesting.....blah, blah, blah....

26. What is your favorite holiday?
My favorite holiday is Christmas - I love giving gifts, its always hectic with the store, people that I haven't seen for a while re-appear, there is lots of good food, and fun things to cook with that only show up that time of the year!

27. Do you like handmade gifts?
Yes, I like making them, giving them and receiving them.

28. Do you wear jewelry that isn't real?
It is most of what I wear!

29. What are your favorite foods? Scents that you love?
I love chocolate!! Mostly milk or white chocolate, but really probably anything decadent that way. Pectin jelly beans are the other sweet that make me melt, they are only available around easter, so we are coming up on my pure sugar time of year. And I love good food; french, asian, american, whatever..... I like natural scents but nothing too sweet. Jasmine, pine, lavender, lemon, ect.

30. What is your family situation? Do you live alone?
I live with my husband, a long way from both of our families.

31. Do you have any pets?
No pets yet, but I really want a chocolate lab.....

32. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3's?
I like almost anything - no rap, no hip-hop - but I can go classical, folk, pop, new wave, jazz, blues, bluegrass, old country, punk, 3 chord boy bands (thanks O'Kitten for that designation) - it just depends on the day. On my current playlist right now - Blink 182, George Jones, Ryan Adams (Love is Hell, vol. 1), Kathleen Edwards, Regina Spektor, Silver Pickups, Lily Allen, Sum 41 and Neil Young. My computer doesn't download mp3's but will play them if they are on a cd - probably my ineptness more then the computers, or maybe I just need a program update or something.....

33. What are your favorite movies? TV shows? Actors?
I am not a big movie person, I am lucky to see three or four a year and usually they are little indie movies, because it is easier for my husband to drag me two blocks to the theather near our house. TV shows - I love Monk, My Name Is Earl, Boston Legal, and CSI Las Vegas. That said, with the exception of Boston Legal (apparently nothing fun happens in my life on Tuesdays), I am lucky to get to see one of those shows a week.

34. What do you collect?
Everything.... umm, maybe it just feels like that ..... vintage knitting needles and patterns; especially from the 20's and 30's, salt and pepper shakers, original art, red wine from Washington State, yarn (ok, that one is kind of a given), religious kitch, and plant pots that are in the shape of animals and figures from the 40's and 50's.

35. What do you do in real life -- besides knit and blog?
I own a clothing store, where I work way too much, but still feel constantly behind - hang out with my husband - spend too much time in the kitchen trying gourmet receipes - ride my cruiser bike - and be thankful that I no longer have to do the laundry.

36. When is your birthday? Is it a national holiday or just another day?
My birthday is July 31st - and it is in the official middle of Sunne Meyer days, almost a national holiday, and currently a week long celebration...

37. Do you have any allergies, medical conditions or disorders that your pal should be aware of (ie. diabetes, food/pet allergies, ect.)?
I am allergic to wheat.

38. Are there any scents, phobias, or sensory thing (ie, the way certain objects feel) that your pal should be aware of?
Ummm, I hate suede, I can't touch it and some wool yarn makes me itch....

39. What is the most difficult thing that you have ever knit/crochet?
This is a hard one - the most challenging thing I have ever knit is usually my last big project - in this case the Pi R Square shawl and it wasn't even the shawl, it was the lace border. I am not sure that i would consider it difficult since I learned a lot and didn't end up frogging the whole thing.....may have to edit this one......

40. What is your personal style? Is there a time period/fashion movement that you take your cues from?
I tend to be a very eclectic deconstructionist. I like vintage 20's, 30's and 40's, with a little midieval influence and some strong victorian strains mixed in.

41. Anything else that you would like to say?
I think I have said enough....