Falling for Ewe Autumn Yarn Swap

I've signed up for a new swap. To prove my enthusiasm, I am posting this information right away, even though I do not have confirmation that I signed up in time. (The swap is limited to 50 participants, and it looked like it was heading towards the high 40s when I joined.)

So anyway, in hopes that I made it through*, here is my questionnaire:

* YAY! I'M IN!

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been at your craft?

I knit. I've been at it less than a year, though my one year anniversary will occur during the swap.


2. Do you spin? What type of spinning do you do?

Alas, I do not spin.


3. Are there any other crafts that you participate in?

Nothing worth mentioning. I'm so new to knitting that I still have a lot to learn.


4. What are your favorite yarns/fibers?

Trying to define my taste in yarn is a challenge. I don't think of myself as a yarn snob, but acrylic that mimics wool seems to have no point to me. I’d rather use real wool, or maybe a blend (less than 50% acrylic).

I have nothing against interesting or obscure novelty yarns when they are used in a way that creates a nice fabric or embellishment. Yes, sometimes they are hard to work with, but if the result is worth it, that’s okay. (I confess to loving solid fun fur, and to spending a ridiculous amount of money on two balls of Pandora Shadow.)

I am also discovering non-wool natural fibres: chunky alpaca, fuzzy bamboo, cushy cotton, the drape of a silk blend – all nice stuff. I usually prefer thicker yarns to thin ones, but that is changing too. In short, my taste is evolving as I find new projects to expand my knitting horizons.


5. What are your LEAST favorite yarns/fibers?

I'm not a sock or a lace knitter, so currently have little use for thin fibers like lace weight or sock yarn (though I'm open to learning about other projects that can be knit with sock yarn).

Being a new knitter, I have gone a little overboard on the $1 balls of commercial novelty yarns. (You know, the stuff you don't put in your Ravelry stash because it's too embarrassing.) It's like carnival food – fun every once in a while, but when you've had enough, you don't want to see it again for a long time.





6. Are there any types/brands of yarn that you are dying to work with but haven’t gotten a chance?

Big on my wish list right now are Kauni and Noro Kureyon. I would also love to work with unique handspun or artisan yarns. I love bright colours!

NOTE: Since writing this I've bought some Noro Kureyon, but the yarn stores I've found it in don't seem to have any of the colours I would love (#95, #102, #154, #180, #182, #209, #220, #226, #229, and #240).


7. What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet?

Well, I'm trying to expand my repertoire right now beyond hats, scarves, and felted bags. Baby knits seem to be the most successful direction I am moving in. (I tried a lace pattern with the Stolen Moments wrap, and started a sock, but both of those are currently languishing in the UFO pile. I do intend to finish the wrap, though.) I haven't really expanded into large projects like sweaters or afghans.


8. What are you currently working on? Anything you plan to start this autumn?

I am debating starting to knit an Anouk as my next project. I also need to finish the Stolen Moments wrap.

This autumn I will definitely knit another Ribs and Ruffles scarf with my purple Misti Alpaca Handpaint Chunky yarn.



UPDATE: The Karen group is doing a hat challenge for September, so I cast on the Better Bucket by Amy Swenson. I also have my eye on the Odessa, so I can try knitting with beads. Then there's always the Amanda hat that's been in my queue for ages. With that one in mind I just got some malabrigo...


9. What is your favorite FO?

Well, see, the thing is, I'm such a new knitter that my favourite project is usually the one I have just finished. In this case I will say it's the baby booties that I recently finished, but it's more that I like this photo than the actual project.




10. What is your oldest UFO?

That would probably be the sock.


11. Are there any knitting/crochet techniques that you would like to learn?

Two new techniques I have yet to try are cables and colour work (intarsia, fair isle).


12. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Alas, I'm not a sock knitter (see question 10) but my foot circumference is 9.5 inches. According to Ann Budd's book Getting Started Knitting Socks (which I used for starting to knit my one and only feeble and unfinished attempt at a sock) that makes me an adult small.


13. Do you have a yarn winder and/or a swift?

I have neither of these things, unless you count my 12-year-old son, who sometimes likes to wind yarn into balls for me.




14. Where/how do you keep your needles/hooks?

I have a motley series of zippered cases that I keep things in: a 10-slot zippered case for my straight needles that is already full to overflowing; another (short, fat) zippered case for my circular needles; and a third (short, thin) zippered case for my thrift store DPNs, which are held together in sets of four by elastic bands. It's not pretty, but most of the time I can find things when I need them.


15. Do you collect anything?

Yes. In my garden I collect different varieties of daylilies. My gardening blog displays this particular obsession of mine.

Oh, and I sort of collect Disney pins, but I only really think of it when I'm on vacation at Disney World. My favourite Disney character is Tinkerbell.


16. What is your favorite type of music? Are you MP3 ready?

I like Retro Eighties (Alternative and Dance), and I also like Electronica and Trance. I have iTunes and an iPod.


17. Do you like sweets? What are your favorites?

Oh yes, I like sweets. Milk chocolate, caramel, nuts, toffee, peanut butter. Also Jelly Belly jelly beans are my absolute favourites (though I don't like licorice or lemon flavours).


18. What is your living situation like? Any pets? Children?

I live in a typical suburban home in a mid-size city in Southern Ontario, Canada with my husband, 12-year-old son, and cat.


19. Are you allergic to anything?

Thankfully, I have no allergies to worry about, although I have a non-smoker's aversion to cigarette smoke.


20. Do you have an online wish list (Amazon, Etsy, Loopy Ewe, etc.)?

No, my only wishlist is in my head, and it constantly changes.


21. Are you having a birthday during this swap?

No, no birthday during the swap, but on November 3 I will officially have been knitting for one whole year. That's worth celebrating, isn't it?


22. What is your Ravelry ID?

On Ravelry you can find me as bridgeknit