What are your favorite colors?

Blues, greens, and purples. But I’m learning to love magenta, and orange, and red. Still not wild about yellow. Mind you, this is all subjective, ‘cos I’m colorblind (excuse me “Red Green Color Deficient”), so I’m probably totally talkin’ out my ass here.

Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks?

My very first-ever knitting project was the Mamluke socks from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, and that was… dunno. A few years ago now. I’ve been knitting socks regularly for about two years now. Always have at least one pair in my bag.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?

I have this silly fascination with self-striping yarns, and I do love a good multicolored yarn. My gut reaction to that question is ’solid!’, and yet, I think every, single skein of sock yarn I have except for two is multi colored. Silly me. Obviously I don’t know myself at all.

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn?

Superwash wool, preferably merino. Maybe with a little bit of nylon thrown in for stability. Or not, really. A teensy bit of mohair can be ok too. But then again, anything superwash and soft. I claim to be picky, but as long as it’s soft, I’m really not.

Where do you usually knit socks?

In the car on the ferry, at the computer, while watching dvd’s, in the kitchen waiting for stuff to cook, wandering through the house, on my afternoon walks along the river at work. A better question would probably be where *don’t* I usually knit socks…

How do you usually carry/store small projects?

I put point protectors on the needles and throw them in my knitting bag along with the other two pairs of socks and generally one sweater. When I’m feeling really ambitious I’ll bust out with the zip loc bag to stuff them into, but generally they’re roaming loose, freely mingling with other yarns, and probably getting jiggy with my ipod.

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns?

Anything by Nancy Bush. The Sockbug patterns that I’ve tried so far have been great, Lucy Neatby’s techniques rock, and the Charlene Schurch book is a great resource too. I often make it up as I go along, if I’m doing something fairly simple pattern-wise, otherwise, I’ll pull something from one of the books or patterns and alter it to suit my mood.

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques?

Toe up, toe down, either way. I am not a big fan of the short row, and I can’t stand that zig-zag bind off on top of the toe technique - I’m all about the flat no-seam action. The new toe-up technique with heel flap and no stitches to pick up? HEAVEN. Absolute heaven.

What new techniques would you like to try?

Um… Er… Dunno. Ooh! Ooh! I know! Diamond knit socks!

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting?

I swing both ways on that one, although I tend to prefer dpn’s. And always in sets of 5, not 4. Triangles freak me out…

What are some of your favorite yarns?

Socks That Rock, Lisa Souza merino Sock!, Trekking XXL, Opal, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, Bearfoot, etc.

What yarn do you totally covet?

I absolutely can’t resist Socks That Rock, and I’m really curious about the new sock yarns with aloe in them and the aromatherapy ones that smell like lavender.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?

The only one I can think of is the Heartland Knits Diamond Patch Socks.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?

2mm - 2.5mm, 15-17cm metal dpns. I’d love to lay hands on some more of the 15cm Regia sock needles, but haven’t had any luck in finding them.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?

Um…. me? personally? I’d probably be one of those random skeins in the ‘missing labels’ bin - unknown fiber blend, indeterminate color, but softish, and surprisingly nice to work with and long wearing.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?

Mmm, chocolate. Lindor truffle balls, ’snob chocolate’ (Cocoa West, Teuscher, Neuhaus, etc), interesting tea, dried fruit (no mango!), etc.

What’s your favorite animal?

Cats. The bigger the better.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?

Three cats {Hugo (Bengal, 10ish), Darwin (pixie-bob, 10ish), and Brutus (no-neck thug w/orange stripes, 12ish)}, a guinea pig (Trogdorge!, 8monthsish), two turtles (sliders of some variety), and 6 chickens {Sunshine (auracana/polish mix), Nugget (MilleFleur bantam/polish mix), Lizzie (Silver Lace Wyandotte?), and the as-yet-unnamed three little ones (two wyandottes and one Buff Brahma)}

If you were a color what color would you be?

Murky, complex, swampy green

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s)..

Big, soft, grey hoodie with Totoro eyes and mouth on it. It’s brand new, so it hasn’t broken in yet, and still looks just like this.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?

Oy. These questions are killers. The huge old trees in the pacific nw rainforests all dripping with moss. Especially the ones that are growing out of old, knocked down bigger trees. Pretty amazing stuff that.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.

I totally can’t pull that kind of stuff out of my brain on command. Sorry.

Do you have a wishlist?

Just the one on Amazon.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?

Not that I can think of at this point.

In: General | | #