Friday, May 12, 2006

Secret Pal Exchange

WOOT! I got my first email from my One Skein pal. I also sent a secret email to someone as well! I am so very excited!

So, I have to answer a bunch of questions. They are the same ones that I asked of my "yarn-to" pal. Funny, though... my "yarn-to" pal had different questions. Hmmmm...

I thought that I would post them here, since my secret pal has seen my blog. Here they are:



1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)?

Egads! What a question! I have an eclectic personality, bordering on multiple personality disorder. I would like to say all-natural, and/or recycled yarns, since I have the whole hippy-Pagan thing going. But I also can relate to fun and funky novelty yarns (although they are a pain-in-the-ass to work with (also, kinda like me, at times!)

2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with?

I have to pick ONE?? I like blues and greens. Lots of jewel tones.

3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns?

I have used some variegated yarns. I really want to try and make something with magic stripe yarn. I have an idea for a handbag (a pattern I'm coming up with myself!!!)

4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns?

I like yarn that is soft or textured. I'm a very tactile person, and I love to touch things.

5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn?

Center pull. Or else the ball rolls around and my cats start to chase it. And we really don't want cats chasing yarn. They sometimes eat it and cost their meowmie lots and lots of money.

6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them?

No, but of course I would. Refer to the answer to question one and my hippy-Pagan-ness

7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year?

Oooh... tough one. I made a few lap blankets, although not as many as planned. I made a really pretty layette set for a couple from church. I have recently completed two ponchos. A couple of cotton grocery bags. A few head scarves. A fluffy mohair shawl. A pair of slippers. I think that's it.

8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year?

Nope... because I can't knit. I will probably be crocheting a few gifts.

9. What is your favorite one skein project?

So far, the only things I have completed with a single skein are a pair of slippers and a really cool scarf that looks like a pink boa. I would go for the scarf as my favorite.

10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it?

I have lots and lots of yarn. But, not all of it is mine. My hubby knits (occasionally) and some of it is stuff he bought. Right now, most of it is in various boxes in stored in our unfinished meditation room. Someday, we might finish our house and maybe organize our stash.

11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it?

Nope. I do have stuff that I can't figure out what to make with it though. I have a bunch of pretty blue alpaca that I thought my hubby would use to make a baby blanket for his youngest nephew. His nephew is now almost a year old, and none of the yarn has been used.

12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer?

I crochet about the same. Most of my work is done at work. But I also drag my stuff along to campouts and such. I tend to work more on stuff that will clean easily when I'm crocheting outdoors.

13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)?

No.. because I still do not knit. I also do not belong to any formal crocheting groups, although a bunch of us at church bring our projects on Sunday or to other meetings to keep our hands busy.

14. Pal, please confirm for me your mailing address (some East Coast zip codes may have lost the beginning Zero value and appear as four digits, and some pals were in the process of moving when they registered).

I'll email this one.


Additional Questions from my Secret Pal:

What color are your cats?

I tend to stick to monchrome colors for kitties.. :-). The oldest of my furdren is blue-grey with a touch of white on her chest. Next in line is my cow-kitty Zorro, who is white with black spots (and a black "hood", hence the name). Finally, my youngest and most annoying kitty is dark grey with white socks, chest, and chin.
What size shoe do you wear?

What is your favorite children's book? (On a side note to that one, I think other than # 3 I could claim the same on all 6 of the "weird things about yourself" you have posted on yer blog...weird, huh? Not only can I name all 50 states in alphabetical order in under 1 minute, I can sing them :D )

I can sing them, too!!! My favorite children's book, as well as all-around favorite book, is Where the Wild Things Are. I own two copies of it (one hardcover and one paperback) and I have gifted it to all children I know born since 1995. I almost know it by heart.

What is the skirt like that you're making from the Happy Hooker book?

It's a simple skirt with a drawstring waist, worked in rounds of double crochet with multi-colored scallops starting about 2/3 of the way down. It looks fairly easy, which is why I am trying it.

OK... that's all for now. I need to start thinking about cooking something for dinner. And I think I'm going to spend the evening watching TV and crocheting. TTFN!

Thursday, May 11, 2006

New yarn! Yippee!!

What a very happy birthday to me! I was heading out the door, on my way to my massage, when I saw the mailman had come. And he brought me this:




This is 10 skeins of silk yarn handspun from remnants of saris in Nepal. I bought them on Ebay for under $30, after you add in shipping and handling. Go me!

This picture sucks terribly. The stuff is absolutely beautiful, each made up from a gazillion colors. I can't wait to make something from it. I'm thinking maybe a sash or a shawl. I have to finish the skirt first, though.

OK... I'm off to bed. G'nite!

news and such

OK, I finished a poncho for me! Yay! And here it is:



The color looks like crap, but it's black with red/hot pink fun fur trim. It's the same pattern I used for a friend's daughter, just a bit more embellished.

In other news, I found a LYS. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to shop at those kinds of places. The yarn really isn't expensive for the yarn they sell. I just can never afford to buy that kind of yarn. I wanted to get some cotton yarn for a skirt I like from my Happy Hooker's book, but it was $5.75/skein, and I need about 17.

So, I ended up substituting Lion Brand's Microspun. It's the same weight, so it should work. This is what I have accomplished so far:






LOL, I know... it's not much.

And finally... I got the name of my secret pal for the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange!! Yippee!! I can't wait to start finding yarns and getting yarns. WOOT!

OK, I have to skedaddle. I have a massage appointment to get to. It's my birthday, and I am going all out. But, I'll post all that to my other blog!

Friday, May 05, 2006

Now for something completely different

OK... so the diet blog wasn't working out. I have too many other things in my life to worry about. So I revamped the whole set up and created my own crochet blog to compete with all those knitting blogs out there. Take that, Molly and Scattered Gemini! So, other than jealousy, what prompted me to start this? Well, for one, I joined the One Skein Secret Pal yarn exchange. Next, I bought these:











So I now have enough crochet projects to keep me busy into the next decade. I also have to crochet some lap blankets, which a group of mine distributes to nursing home residents in the winter. I think I will be staying busy. I'll try to post some more and get some buttons on here as soon as I can!