Rhinebeck

Well I only live an hour from Rhinebeck, but I'm not going this year. I went last year, and while I had a very nice time a spent quite a lot. This is not a knitting event really. there are a lot of fleeces, and some yarn, but really I think all of the hoopla over this show is crap. I think Rhinebeck is overrated and $10 a person to get in is outrageous.

In other news, I am going to Baltimore for a couple of days to a confrence next week and I look forward to finding new yarn to play with.

Saturday night we are taking the kids to the Welsh heritage festival at Green Mountain College in Poultney, VT. We processed a bunch of thier fiber one year and we have always wanted to attend the festival. With Brenda Dayne now in Wales, I feel like a welshwoman already-

SP 9 answers

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I really enjoy wool over everything else. I dislike knitting with eyelash yarns or anything with trailing sticky things.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a roll up case for my straight needles and I’m trying out a solution for my circulars, but generally they all end up in a basket where I keep all of my tools and notions, mixed in with half used balls of yarn and other detritus of knitting.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I would call my self an advanced intermediate. I’ve tried almost everything to varying degrees of accomplishment. I am self taught from a Coats and Clark book when I was 15, and I took a class on continental knitting three years ago. So I have been knitting for 22 years, and really serious knitting for the past 4 or so.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Not yet

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I don’t like scented things, they give me a headache. If I had to choose one, cotton from Yankee Candle

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I like M&M, and can’t eat dark chocolate

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I spin, and felt. I teach fiber arts to a group of elementary kids, so I generally learn new things to teach to them like braiding or beading, but I wouldn’t have sought them out on my own.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like instrumental and soundtracks, I have an ipod and listen to audible books and podcasts when I commute.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I like greens, blues and purples to wear, but I also have a thing for reds, pinks and oranges. It depends on the day.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a husband and two boys, 7 & 9. we have two barn cats, 9 shetland sheep and some chickens

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves, hats and mittens, and shawls- not ponchos. I live in upstate NY and the weather here can get pretty chilly!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Socks at the moment, but I have been doing a sweater that I am enjoying

13. What are you knitting right now? I am working on Christmas kntting, a sweater for my mom, the last sleeve is started at last, I have a pair of socks on the needles for my MIL and a I have an afghan I have started for my oldest son. He likes cozy things.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I love handmade gifts

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I use all of the above and it depends on the project. I’ve always used Addi’s, but recently discovered the KnitPicks needles and they seem to be working out for socks. I like sharp points

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have both and love them very much

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Well I never finished the sweater I started when I was 15, but I finally threw it out. I have a sweater I started from handspun two years ago and ran into design issues. Someday I need to revisit it and finish it.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween, it was when my husband and I met

19. Is there anything that you collect? Dust and yarn

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I would like to get one of the Cat Bhordi’s books on the mobius techniques. I have subscriptions to most of the knitting magazines around.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I am taking a class on steeking in November

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am a sock knitter and I wear a size 10- no idea what the measurement is

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 09/13- just past!