Needlephile

First of all, thanks to everyone who commented on my scarf! secondly, thanks to my Secret Pal! Her name is Jeanne, and she's at Life in Cleveland. I got my last package in the mail yesterday, which was full of all kinds of good stuff. Most importantly, there were 5 balls of Patons Brilliant in black to make Diamonique!! I am so excited to get working on it today at our monthly Stitch n Bitch. Also in the package was a Sudoku book (how did you know??), some cats toys (which they were tearing around the house with last night), and some purple beads, which I could make some really cool stitch markers out of. She sent me all kinds of cool stuff!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
I've been trying to send my poor Secret Pal, Stacey a gift certificate to amazon.com, but its not being sent for some stupid reason. Frustrating.
I am finally done with school this semester!! Now I have three weeks of nothing to do but knit, read and be lazy! I will be knitting Diamonique, and reading "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb. I will be working a little bit, too... at fellow knitter Louella's (no blog) acupuncture clinic a few days a week. That should keep me out of trouble. I also hope to go on a camping trip at some point, and hopefully catch a Padres game or two. It's pretty cool, cuz there are a bunch of old Red Sox players on the Padres now.
Well, have a good weekend everyone!

Wow... its almost time for another round of Secret Pals! So here is my SP7 Questionnaire. You can read my old ones from SP6 and SP5, also. But this one looks like it has quite a few new questions!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
Nope, not a yarn snob at all, although I prefer natural fibers and blends as opposed to acrylics. I actually use quite a lot of Lion Brand.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
no, and no

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
well, I have a couple neat little fabric cases, one of which was made by my SP 5 pal!

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?I have been knitting about a year and a half... I think I am an intermediate level.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
sure do! Just put my name or email in the amazon wishlist page, and you've found it!

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love lavender, vanilla, lilac, orange

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I do have a sweet tooth, but since I am trying to lose some weight, please don't send any sugar!!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
hmm... I like to do lots of little crafty stuff... I like to make my own cards sometimes, or make beaded things

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)I like so many different kinds of music (except country), so I'm open to lots of new things! I prefer a CD to MP3's, tho.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
In case you can't tell from the color of my blog, I love purple, and any shades of purple, and blue. However, i am NOT a pink person. I really like jewel tones and muted tones.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?I have a live-in BF and two kitties

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?yes, yes, yes and yes

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?gift yarns!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?anything itchy or scratchy... not a fan of anything eyelash or super fuzzy... I like cotton and wool blends

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?just knitting in general

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?anything for myself!
17. What are you knitting right now?The Picovoli t-shirt for the Sexy Knitters Club KAL

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? yes! Who doesn't??

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? circulars, for sure

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?bamboo!

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? sadly, no :(

22. How did you learn to knit?My girlfriend Lisa taught me the basics and got me rolling... the rest is self-taught

23. How old is your oldest UFO?over a year... this cable-strap bag that I may never finish

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I have a thing for butterflies, actually... not sure why

25. What is your favorite holiday?4th of July... its summertime and there are no gifts involved!

26. Is there anything that you collect?besides yarn and knitting magazines? No

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?Just Vogue Knitting for now

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Oh, so many books I would like... the Loop-d-Loop book, the Vogue Stitchionary...see my Amazon wishlist for more I would like

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?Um... the Magic Loop, sock knitting

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?I have yet to knit a pair of socks... i will someday, though. I am a size 9
31. When is your birthday? September 19th, I 'm a Virgo!

I came home from doing some Christmas shopping today, and I found a cute little package on my doorstep:
This is for the Ornamental gift exchange, and Kristin was my pal. It is a beautiful handknit sweater, and lots of little chocolates! (I am so going on a cleansing diet after the holidays.) It is really nice to have handmade ornaments on your tree!
I am almost done with all of my holiday knitting. Only one gift remains!! I will be sooo excited to get it done. I can't wait to show you pictures!

I finally know who my wonderful Secret Pal is... Melissa of Neoknits! I've visited her blog a few times before, but now it will be on my everyday blog reading list. Thanks, Melissa!

Yesterday, a lovely package from my Secret Pal arrived!My BF thinks its a little strange to participate in an online gift exchange, but what the hell does he know?? I got a few very cool gifts in the mail! Some candy, the Knitter's Handbook, a copy of the Charlotte's Web Shawl pattern, and most importantly, a big fat gift certificate to Patternworks! I think I must have spent at least an hour and a half thinking about what I wanted to order from them. My first inclination was to get some Koigu for the Charlottes Web, but i think I might get some dye-your-own yarn from Knitpicks for that instead. I've always wanted to try dying my own yarn, and this gives me a good excuse. So, I decided on 4 skeins of Chenille yarn that I will use for Glampyre's City Shawl pattern. A very basic pattern, but its perfect for wearing anywhere, and I could probably knit it in a couple days, which is always nice. The books she sent is great, too. I've already had to refer to it while knitting the secret project I'm working on now. Yarn-overs inbetween purl and knit stitches seem to trip me up. So, THANKS SECRET PAL!!!

I'm a little worried. I have only gotten one comment from you on my blog. Maybe you are really busy... which is cool, I understand. Just let me know you're still out there and haven't forgotten about me. Thanks, Melissa

So, I have finally recieved my last SP5 package, from my not-so-Secret Pal, Joi of Naked Monkey Knits. She sent me a "calm" cd, with the likes of Portishead, Massive Attack and Air... I haven't listened to it yet, but I can tell its gonna kick ass!! I also got two little things of handmade lip goo, a pair of wooden knitting needles, and a beautifully embroidered cloth! so, I love my secret pal, and I am anxiously awaiting the news of my new pal from SP6! I understand the matches go out tomorrow, so here's the questionnaire again! If you want to see the questionnaire for SP5, its here.
1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? Um, yah, i am a bit of a snob when it comes to yarn. I do use acrylics, most often for baby stuff, but I really love a lot of wools and cotton blends
2. Do you spin? Crochet? No, no.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) nope
4. How long have you been knitting? it has been one year this August! I am progressing pretty quickly in my skills, I think. I've been trying intarsia and lace patterns lately.
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?yes, at Amazon
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)I love Vanilla, and for the fall, I love cinnamon, pumpkin, apple stuff like that... and I love candles!
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?of course! If you absolutely mustsend sweets, make it dark chocolate
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I like a lot of crafty-type things, like beadwork and stuff... nothing specific, though
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?I would prefer CD over MP3, but I do like all kinds of music... I love rock, jazz, chillout and lots of other stuff, too
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I Love purples and blues... I am not a big fan of pink
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have two cats and a live-in boyfriend
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)To become an acupuncturist for the Boston Red Sox
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?I really loved Rowan Calmer when I used that, and I guess anything that isn't too splitty or scratchy
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?anything too splitty or scratchy or stiff... I don't mind acrylic if is is soft
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?right now I seem to have a thing for knitting lace... shawls and scarfs
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? baby hats... they are small and quick!
17. What are you knitting right now? a lace shrug for myself, a cardigan for myself, and an intarsia pillow for my brother
18. What do you think about ponchos?I really like some of them
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?lately, I have just been using circulars
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?bamboo, for sure
21. Are you a sock knitter? not really... I don't want to spend all that time on something people won't even see! I will try some someday, though
22. How did you learn to knit? my girlfriend Lisa got me started and brought me to our LYS to buy some needles and yarn and SNB. She taught me how to cast on and do a knit stitch... I learned the rest from SNB and online
23. How old is your oldest UFO? about a year... its a bag from Knitty... I may never finish it... who knows
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Does South Park count? I kinda have a thing for butterflies, too, for no particular reason.
25. What is your favorite holiday?4th of July and Thanksgiving
26. Is there anything that you collect? why, yarn and knitting needles, of course!
27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? just Vogue Knitting
28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? yes, anything knitting related other than SNB, I saw one called "Loop-d-Loop" or something like that which I really liked, too.
29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? Orangina comes to mind, and the Charlotte's Web shawl

YAY!!!!!!!!!! I finally got something from MS Secret Pal, whom I know affectionatley only as "Dropsy." So my package arrived today as I was slaving away on my paper for Oriental Medicine IV... it TOTALLY made my day!! So here's the postmark... which at first I thought was Milwaukee, as in Wisconsin... but NO... its Milwaukie, Oregon! Interesting.... and so i open it up, and find newspaper. And not just any newspaper, but newspaper all in chinese, from the Portland Chinese Times. So, either my SP reads Chinese newspapers, or is trying to throw me off. HMMMMM... So, that brings us to what was inside the newspaper... which is two skeins and one ball of beautiful yarns! One skein of Manos Cotton Stria in grape, one skein of Classic Elite's Galaxy in Moonlight, and one ball of IDon'tknowwhat, because there is no label, but its reallly pretty bluish/lavender color, and fuzzy. . There was also a set of beaded stitchmarkers, a bar of (at least i hope it is) soap that smells like oatmeal cookies, and a handmade card. Now, all of this was nestled in a plastic bowl, and when I took everything out to take a picture, I realized its an old LP! Of Fiddler on the Roof of all things! So friggen cool, i can hardly believe it!
THANK YOU DROPSY!!!! YOU ARE SOOO COOL!!! I love this Secret Pal thing!
Now what do i make with these yarns??