my pal is a secret

how exciting, i got my spiii match today! someone out there is wondering how to please me the same way i am wondering how to please..... wouldn't you like to know?, who happens to live on the other side of the continent from me! that's my hint.
as for how to please me, hope this helps:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
i feel i would, in fact, qualify as a yarn snob. i look for natural fibers to knit with. i like to scope out deals on elann and ebay and visit the shops' discount bins because of my limited budget. i splurge on very nice yarns for smaller projects.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
i learned crochet, hand sewing and embroidery from my mother as a little girl. i still have the backpack and blanket i crocheted for my dolls. my mother tried to teach me to knit around the same time period but i just couldn't get it from her. i don't spin or dye and have no intention of learning but do enjoy seeing what others are accomplishing in those areas.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
no allergies but will go to great lengths to avoid having smoke around me.

4. How long have you been knitting?
i've been knitting since winter of 2004.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
link to amazon in my sidebar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
though i enjoy them from time to time, i don't buy those types of things often enough to have a particular favorite.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
yarn snob, yep; chocolate snob, you betcha!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
before i had kids i scrapbooked. now i just collect their photos and save them for some time in the future when i can do it again without my supplies being flung around, dripped on or pirated.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD)
i don't even know about the mp3 thing, i assume we have that capability. music i like... all kinds of stuff really... chris isaak, outcast, pixies, mavericks, peter murphy, i don't really follow music anymore so don't have anything new and fresh that i'm all jazzed about at the moment. i set the spouses 400 disc cd player on 'shuffle all discs' and just listen to what happens.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
any and all colors as long as they are in deep, rich tones. no pastels or neons.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
married with two small boys and a baby daughter. have a cat. my family lives on the west coast, my husbands family is scattered up and down the east coast.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
raise my kids to be happy and generous people, go back to teaching when they are old enough. travel some more.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
i haven't been knitting long enough to have a real favorite, i simply haven't tried enough. i enjoyed the mercerized cotton i used on my son's sweater. i am absolutely dying to try koigu.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
i'm not attracted by acrylic or novelty eyelash type of yarns.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
i wouldn't call them obsessions. currently i am trying to get some hats done for my nieces in a cozy debbie bliss merino. another niece would like some mittens that i would like to make for her in cashmerino. i would like to felt a tea cozy for my sister in law. and also knit slippers for my own kids and some baby ugg booties for the wee-est one. a lot of small projects to give me a break from the sweaters i knit for my kids before i get back on the sweater wagon again.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
i love to see my own kids wearing anything i knit for them.

17. What are you knitting right now?
lil' devil and kittyville hats for the relations.

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)
i think it's fun to see all the variations out there in patterns and on people. i don't see myself getting a lot of use out of one but i am intrigued by the pattern in weekend knitting and another one in knitter's stash.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
my denise interchangeables are the best knitting purchase i have made so far. though for the small projects i go straight to the bamboo dpns but would like to try bryspuns.

20. How did you learn to knit?
i learned from a susan bates pamphlet picked for me by my lys salesperson. the internet videos sometimes serve to get me out of a spot. i rely heavily on my finishing techniques book too.

21. How old is your oldest UFO?
i still need to sew up the pieces of my son's debbie bliss simple guernsey style sweater that i started in april or so.

22. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
i like insects, ladybugs, cicadas especially.

23. What is your favorite holiday?
i dig halloween.

24. Is there anything that you collect?
nope, i do what i can to avoid clutter. i like beautiful things but they have to be functional for me to keep them around.