10 knitterly things about me

ok, i guess the point of this meme is to tell you 10 knitterly things you don't know about me. i have seen this several places, but i think the last one was at fillyjonk's. holler in the comments if you know more than 2 of these.

1. While i have achieved S.A.B.L.E., a very large portion of it is ACK. not even redheart. some of this yarn is so old it's got fibers that don't exist any more, like orlon. I am known as a charity knitter, so when people have yarn they want to get rid of, they give it to me.

2. I tend to collect yarn. Doesn't matter what kind. I used to live in a town with a thrift store that would barter on their yarn prices, and bag up small balls for anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar for about 2 or 3 ounces of yarn, in mixed colors. I have TONS of those.

3. The last thing i knit for myself and FINISHED (i've started all kinds of things, it's the finishing that's a bitch) was a poncho from the knit it magazine of 2005 (thanks for having that on your blog natalie , i would have never remembered the name of the magazine, let alone when it came out, lol). i used lion brand thick & quick, in the red/black colorway. i wore it for the weekend we were in oregon, then frogged it cuz i didn't like it.

4. I prefer metal needles. while i own plastic & wood needles (do bamboo needles fall under the wood category?), i really like metal best. i'm a fast knitter, and plastic and wood hang up too much for me. except socks. i think i do own some metal sock needles (i think they're in the basement in a sock that i had attempted with some blue baby yarn i'd gotten in a grab bag), i seem to like the bamboo ones. plastic? meh. i haven't tried the Denise's, (stop shouting, ok!), so i can't pass judgement on those, but the ones i have are circulars, and inflexible at best. blech.

5. I prefer straight needles. I do use circs for large pieces, but there's something so primal about using straights, and i'm fastest with them. and that extends to dpn's as well. i've tried magic loop, and frankly, it s ucked. i also tried socks on 2 circs, and i didn't care for that either. if i ever try toe up socks again, it will be on dpn's.

6. Very few knitting patterns intimidate me. Example: see this shawl? scroll down a bit, i get wordy, lol. this is the flowerbasket shawl from IK. don't ask me when, i can't recall, lol. ok, ok, lemme look it up, lol. poo, no luck. i think it's the spring 2004 issue, but don't quote me(Edit: Thanks to Clara over at KR, i found out it was in the fall 2004 issue. it's also availabe at fiber trends. now back to the story, lol) . i had a tough time with it, because i kept getting off on the count in the first chart, and frogged it numerous times. thank goodness tara's silk noil takes a beating. and since i just found out it's machine washable, i'll have to let my SIL know, lol. However, once i got it, i whizzed along famously. AFTER i finished it, i found out that for a first REAL lace project, it was a humdinger. hmmmm. no fear. it's just yarn, ya know?

7. I don't mind ACK. it's lovely for charitable knitting. i knit for the yahoo group All Crafters For Charity, also known as AC4C, and we do many baby hospitals. ACK works great for babies, and is cheap. and many hospitals/neonatal wards ask for acrylic specifically, so the wee ones don't develop allergies to wool/alpaca/etc.

8. I love, love, love knitting with my handspun. however, i tend to give it away, lol. i never seem to have enough to do one project. however, with stephanie's blog step in, (laurie) and her pieces about piece-knitting and incorporating it into sweaters, i might just have to investigate further.

9. I knit while i'm in front of the computer. While reading blogs. And listening to book tapes. I'm a major multitasker. Especially with Clapotis, and the teddy bear for AC4C i'm doing right now.

10. Wow, i'm having a tough time coming up with one more. Ummmm. ok, let's try this. If any of you can come up with something that most of y'all don't know about me, i'll give a prize. don't ask me what. maybe some of my handspun?

and just in case you were curious:

What I'm Reading
The Simarillion by JRR Tolkien
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, Pearl, & Sir Orfeo (a translation) by JRR Tolkien
1984 by George Orwell (i'm on a classic kick lately)(book tape at mark's)
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (book tape at my house)
All Things Wise & Wonderful by James Herriot (book tape in the car)
Shadow Dawn by George Lucas

and yes, i can keep them all straight