Sock Me, Baby!

I've joined a secret swap group and today's post is dedicated to that. Bad news for those you of who (i.e. all except the swap partner who has to read this) don't care about my favorite color or my *thing* for hot tea. Good news, I get to write on one of my favorite subjects. Lalala. Lists of things I like/want are my specialty. You should have seen my Christmas and birthday gift lists when I was young. I like to think they were small works of art.
Ahem.
Sockret Pal Swap Questionnaire.
The basics:
How long have you been knitting? Er, about five minutes? Give or take? I took a beginner's knitting class at the end of April '06 and luuuurved it. Been doing it every day, all the time, whenever possible, ever since.

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? Sad to say (I think I might be the first person on the Sockret Pal Swap to say this, which just shows I'm clearly in over my head) beginner. I'm about to finish my first nice pair of socks and I've loved doing it. But, yeah, beginner is all I can claim.

The measurements:
While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. I'm a size 7 foot and it's a pretty normal shape, not too wide or too thin.

(fiber related) Favorites:
What colors do you love? All kinds for socks. Truly. Pink, red, orange, blue, green- pastel or vibrant or earth tones, love them all. For the non-foot bits of me, I'm a bit more standard, and wear lots of khaki and striped shirts and polos and tee shirts. Its not so much I don't wear color, as I wear very basic style garments. Not a lot of wraps or fringe or sparkle or anything too dramatic.

Do you prefer solids or variegated? Variegated! For socks, for dishcloths (do thousands of these), for scarves, for hats. Also love stripes for socks and scarves, such as my Harry Potter scarf (we'll get to that a little further down).

What fibers do you most love to knit with? Alpaca thus far. Also enjoy wool and the superwash merino in which I've done my socks.

Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendors? Cherry Tree Hill, Brown Sheep, and Noro, particularly their wool/silk blend (not actually knit with this one, but I have dreamed of it).

What projects (other than socks, of course*S*) do you most enjoy knitting? Hats, and headgear in general (did the kerchief thing from the Sticth n' Bitch book- simple, but used alpaca- Love It.) and am expecting socks to shoot up the list.

(fiber related) Dislikes:
What fibers can you not stand to knit with? To wear? Don't care too much for 100% acrylic. I don't mind fifty-fifty, sixty-forty blends, but 100% is a bit much for me. Also, I'd probably never wear fun fur, or eyelash yarn or anything with sparkles. You know, the dramatic stuff.

What colors would you never wear? Hmm. Don't wear brown or taupe too often (khaki isn't really taupe is it? No, or then they'd call it taupe, I guess) and not too much gray.

The Tools:
Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood? Bamboo. I've pretty much stuck to the Clovers, nothing too exciting, and for circs I bought the Denise Interchangeable needles as a beginner. Figure, the way other knitters drool over Addi's, I'll be investing in some in the not too distant future.

Circs or Straights? Both, equally.

DPNs or Magic Loop? Have done a little Magic Loop and loved it. Taking a class on Magic Loop Socks later in October. But DPNs are fine too, and they look neat when surrounded by non-knitters.

Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like? A clicky row-counter. I have a turn row counter that I love (where you turn the number each time you finish a row- was that obvious?) that one of my favorite knitting friends gave me, but I think I'm ready for the kind where you push a button and change the number. Stitch markers are always great, and one of those tape measures in a dispenser where you push a button and it sucks the tape back up. Out of curiosity, is it very obvious I don't have a clue?

The Extras:
Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link! Er, no. Is this what all the cool knitters are doing these days? I could do one, if need be.

Do you like sweet, sour or salty? (or all of the above? *S*) AHAHAHA. (as I rub my hands together and pop my knuckles) I love sweet, chocolate is my favorite, with nuts is a huge plus and I love coconut and mint, but I don't care for fruit-flavored chocolate at all. I like fruity candy pretty well. Salty and sour are fine, but sweet is where It Is At.

Do you have any allergies your pal should know about? (Certain foods, smoke, pet hair, etc) Nope.

Favorite scents? Scents you can't stand? I love crisp smells and my current perfume is DKNY Be Delicious, with a bottle shaped like an apple. I'm not much into flowers, but I love fresh smells, like eucalyptus, linen, cotton, lavender (for sleep stuff especially) and I love mint smells, like rosemary mint or peppermint. Don't care for patchouli or mulberry at all and I'm not a fan of vanilla or anything too sugary sweet (which I realize is kind of weird after the dissertation on chocolate a few lines back).

Do you collect anything (other than yarn and knitting toys of course)? I don't mean to collect things, but I do seem to have a lot of teapots and a gajillion books and I don't plan to give either away. I also love anything by Mary Engelbreigt.

When is your birthday? (month and day is fine!) 08/24

Do you spin? Dye your own yarn? Nope, but I did assist in a yarn dying once.

Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better...
Pal, Buckle Up.
Favorite Author: Edith Wharton (have every book she's ever written I think and a few written about her), Marian Keyes, Agatha Christie, Fannie Flagg, J.K. Rowling, Jane Austen, E.M. Forrester, Sophie Kinsella
Favorite Band: Dave Matthews Band (before, now, and forever), Tori Amos, Lyle Lovett, Barenaked Ladies
Vacation Spot: Anything with sand, prefer North Carolina and South Carolina beaches within the States, outside of the States... don't really know. Big city would be Chicago- great to visit, not my favorite place to live. And The Hubba and I hope to go out of the country next year, probably Italy, as a "Five Year Anniversary/ Honeymoon We Never Had" trip.

Anything to help know me better? I'm 26, married, we have four dogs (all mixed breeds, all rescue), I write fiction privately hope to one day do it professionally, I read all the time (have just discovered audiobooks while knitting, it's like my own private version of heaven), I work part time at my LYS and lurv it, we've no children yet (see: four dogs), and we live in a regular two-story house with a huge fenced backyard (big bonus, see: four dogs). I'm from Tennessee and lived there for 24 years straight then The Hubba and I moved to the Southside of Chicago for his job and when the opportunity came up transferred to North Carolina where we plan to stay, but it's too late: I now have the reputation as Girl on the Move. Also, I love hot tea. Really love hot tea. I love hot tea in a way that were it an alcoholic beverage or something to put up my nose would get me sent straight to a six-week private clinic, popular with types like Kate Moss and Robin Williams. My current choice is Barry's Tea, which is Irish, at my grocery store, and delicious. I don't care for fruity/flavored/health teas, just the good old teeth-staining black stuff. I grew up in Vol Country, TN, and went to the University of Tennessee, so it's in my blood to love the UT Volunteers and from that I've developed a deep and passionate relationship with the Indianapolis Colts, where the greatest UT quarterback ever now plays. And I love Harry Potter. Love the books, love the films, love it all. Love it to the point of knitting the most pointless scarf ever and having real fits when said scarf becomes troublesome.

That's about it. Hope my poor pal isn't now lying on the floor, twitching and muttering, "It's too much, she's too much, too much..." In case it's not clear, I'm Really Excited about the Swap!