Random Me

And now - just for fun - my answers to the daily questions:

What is your favorite circular knitting method and why?
Any involving a circular needle. Honestly, any. I often have a hard time choosing favorites of anything and knitting is no exception.

What is your dream car?
OK, up until I started learning more and more and more about energy and the environment I would have said, likely without pausing for breath or thought, a 1967 Ford Mustang convertible, candy apple red. But now I would have to say... the same car, only electric, and only if I have panels powering it up!

What was your best vacation or mini-break destination ever?
Probably our first trip to Disney, when we did the legal thing (we got married) and watched the kids youthen before our eyes. It was amazing and I cherish every minute, from the endless rain to the absent film to the seagull pooping on my mother in Tomorrowland. I would not change a thing.

How many years have you been knitting?
Eleven. I started knitting in 2000 or so as a way to use up the insane amount of yarn my daughter and I were spinning. Now I don't have time to spin!

Dogs or cats? Neither? Both? Something totally unique? What is your favorite pet?
Dogs! I love my chickens, but I don't think of them as pets. Well, maybe there are a couple out there that might make me sad if something bad happened to them, but when it comes to real pets it's always a dog!

Are you craft-monogamous or do you cross-craft? Just knit? Spin? Sew? Paint? Or collect bottle caps to recycle into sweet, hip belts? Share!
HAH! Monogamy? Me? That's like commitment, right? Not really my strong suit. As I tell Mr. W., I can only be committed to one thing. I've chosen him, which means everything else is negotiable. Hobby, lifestyle, job, wardrobe, ALL subject to change! I can, have and occasionally do: sew, crochet, spin, weave, paper mache, macrame, stencil, do crazy things to walls (although not yet in this house), stitch, glue, cut, shape, form, string. You name it, I will do it. I am not nearly as avid as I once was with things beyond knitting, but it is al still in there waiting to pop out!

Do you parallel park or do you drive around the block until a pull-in space opens up?
Parallel, baby, all the way! I got nailed with "parallel park on Main Street in heavy traffic" for my driver's test, and I passed and never looked back. Nothing like a big, high-pressure WIN to boost that confidence level. My favorite thing is to parallel park the truck, bonus if there are men nearby watching and shaking their heads. ;)

What was the first knitted project you created, start to finish?
This may be ironic, but the first thing I ever created from start to finish, cast-on to bind-off, was a sweater for Megan that was knit out of her handspun which was in about 3 different gauges. I weighed all the yarn, calculated yardage, and started knitting. Bulky rib cuffs and bottom band at about 3 sts/inch, then the body at about 5 sts/inch with her most recent (she had a whole pound of Louet roving and spun it all) and then the yoke at about 4 sts/inch. It was a FANTASTIC way to learn. I did it all with a simple pattern in a spinning book we had. I've forgotten which one. But it was a design your yoked pullover thing. Never occurred to me that most people were not out there doing this with three different gauges of handspun; I just did it, no questions.

What is your best yarn memory?
Probably that Louet sweater. Watching Megan spin the yarn herself and watching her learn as she went, watching the yarn become more and more consistent and seeing her joy at her own accomplishment was wonderful.

When you feel a little splurgy or a little down, what do you treat yourself to to perk up?
CHOCOLATE! 71% or better, preferably single-origin organic. (Favorites include Theo, Kallari (the blue one), Taza, and - although it's not organic - Michel Cluizel Grand Noir 85%, in case you ever need to know!). Chocolate beats a good single malt here, but just by a hair!

Name one thing you would never, ever leave home without.
Clothing!

What was your first love?
The first thing I remember feeling love for is my father. My guess is that you get what you give. He gave it, unconditionally, so I gave it right back. (Hi Dad! You can go get a tissue. No one is looking.)

Toilet paper: scrunch or fold?
Wrap and fold neatly, often with a square count of not more than 3. My grandfather said 2, but I think that's skimping a bit.

When the civil defense siren goes off, what's the first thought that goes through your mind?
Is it test time already? Wait. It IS test time, right? I am surprised by how many of you don't ever hear a CD siren. It may be that since I am downwind of a nuke plant we get them more, but they are a part of my life since childhood!

When you clean your fingernails, do you clean from pinky to thumb, or thumb to pinky?
Thumb to pinky on the left hand, pinky to thumb on the right.