So, this Secret Pal thing is starting up again, and I’ve signed right up. I’ve never participated in it before, but I’ve watched with envy as people received their packages in previous swaps, so I figured I’d better jump on the wagon instead of being left behind yet again. Anyway, they’re going to match us with our partners pretty soon, and I guess we’re supposed to fill out this little questionnaire to help our secret pal get us better stuff. Here we go…
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love wool best, but I’ve never met an animal fiber yet that I didn’t like. My absolute favorite yarn ever is called Pomfret, by Brunswick. They stopped making it twenty-some years ago, but it can still be found on e-bay, at thrift shops, and in stashes. It amazes me how much seems to find its way into my yarn closet. I don’t like petroleum-based fibers, unless it is a bit of nylon built into sock yarn to make it last. I don’t like things that are excessively bumpy or fluffy or flashy, if that makes any sense.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I keep my double-points and circulars in a 3″ three-ring binder filled with pencil pouches labelled with the respective sizes. The needles are all in their original packaging inside the pouches. I suppose I’m a little bit anal-retentive about keeping these organized, but I just loathe digging around looking for the right needle when I want it. I don’t use single-point needles for the most part, but somehow I’ve ended up with a bit of a collection of the things. They sit in a Ball jar way up on top of a book case, sort of for decoration. I also have a small pouch in which I keep my odds and ends, the stuff that travels along in the knitting bag. A friend of mine makes them out of recycled kimono fabric.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting since the fall of 2000, so I guess six years. A very nice lady, who I now consider a good friend, but whom at the time I knew only through another friend, sat me down with a group of women in her living room one evening and taught us how to cast on, knit and purl. I had no idea at the time what a great knitter Jean is, but I was incredibly grateful that someone was finally teaching me a skill I had wanted all my life. After that night, I practiced on my own and picked up lots by collecting books and picking the brains of every knitter I meet. I would say my skill level is advanced.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, I have an Amazon wish list. Just enter Shelly Kang. It’s not all that great because whenever I think of something I want, I forget it by the time I get to the computer and remember that there was something I wanted to add. Some day, maybe my husband will buy me that Knitting Technology book for a holiday. It looks really cool.
5. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I generally avoid scented products. My father was super-sensitive to perfumes and hated them so much, I wasn’t even allowed to bring fashion magazines into the house because of the smelly advertisements. I guess because I wasn’t exposed to them much growing up, scents generally irritate me after not very long, too.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love sweets. I love chocolate most of all. I’m trying to stay away from it because I think maybe it irritates Sophie through my breast milk when I eat it, plus I’m sort of trying to lose the pregancy weight still. Even so, a tiny bit of something high quality would be irresistable.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I don’t spin. Spinning looks incredibly appealing to me, but I have too much knitting to do as it is. I figure I’ll try spinning when I run out of overflowing knitting projects. I do a little bit of scrapbooking when nobody is looking, but I try to keep that really simple and am neither up on nor interested in the latest trends. I’ve dabbled in lots of other media here and there, but never with the passion I have for knitting. I’m always looking for little kits or activities to do with Julie, as well.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I think maybe I am an old fogey when it comes to music. Or boring at the very least. To be honest, I just don’t get that in to music. Joe is incredibly into music, and I sponge off him when I want something. I’ll drop a few names, but they’re all over the map. Old REM, Bob Marley, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkle, Cat Stevens, The Beastie Boys, Al Green, Bjork…I like generally happy music, easily accessible stuff, I’m afraid. Most of the time these days I’m listening to kid’s music, but I try to compromise by finding stuff that I can stand like Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman’s Not for Kids Only, or No! by They Might be Giants. Of course, we end up listening to a lot of Raffi and Sesame Street as well. To be honest, I’d rather be listening to a book on tape. Yes, I can do CDs and MP3s.
9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I think I look best in pinks and some shades of green. And blue goes with everything. I look horrible in yellow and black.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m a wife and mom to two girls, just three and almost 8 months. Julie is in size 5T clothes, Sophie is in 12 months clothes. We have two cats, Daisy and Harry.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, maybe. My winter coat is navy green.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I do a little bit of everything, always have a pair or three of socks on the needles, and I do a lot of things for my girls. Coming up in the lineup are a lace shawl and a Bohus sweater for myself one of these days.
13. What are you knitting right now?
A pair of Jaywalker socks, another pair of cotton blend socks from the toe up, a bavarian twist sweater for Julie, and a very large blankie on very small needles.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I use circular and double-points. Addi Turbos are the perfect circulars, and Pony Pearls the perfect double-points.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes and yes.
17. How old is your oldest UFO?
There’s a sweater in there that I started a couple of years ago and set aside out of frustration. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and may go back to it. It would be beautiful when it’s finished. I tend to be pretty honest with myself and if I’m not going to finish it, out it goes.
18. What is your favorite holiday?
I like Christmas quite a bit, even though I’m not a christian.
19. Is there anything that you collect?
Knitting paraphrenalia..books, needles, magazines, yarn… I have quite a few bags of various shapes and sizes too, and I have to restrain myself when it comes to baskets.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
What a difficult question! I have so many things, it is hard for me to come up with something more, especially since I spend so much of my energy keeping myself from wanting it all. I’m sort of enchanted by some of the KidSilk Haze shawls that I’ve seen in the blogosphere, and I do tend to linger over the lace books at Schoolhouse Press. I subscribe to Interweave, Vogue and Knitters, and get Cast On with my TKGA membership too.
21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
There aren’t many I can think of that I haven’t tried already. I love trying new ways of doing things, though, and it makes me really happy to learn arcane techniques that most people don’t know about. I haven’t tried some of those cool twisty cast-ons and edgings from eastern european traditions, like what Nancy Bush decribes. Must do that one day.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Oh, yes. Socks socks socks. Always with the socks. I wear size 11 women’s shoes – 9″ around the widest part of my foot, 10″ tippy toe to back of heel. I like the cuffs on my socks to equal the length of the foot, which is a little longer than most people make ‘em.
23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
January 25.
Gosh Darn it, I had more plans for this post, but Sophies awake. Good Night!
Shelly, my Jackson was born on your birthday this year. Neat!
Catherine
Which Secret Pal community have you joined – I see them mentioned around the blogs and like you, think it’d be fun to join one (both for the suprise of the package arriving in the mail and the fun of picking out stuff for someone else)would you mind sharing the info?
Back when I was a baby, I would get a rash when my mom ate chocolate too. (These days I get a bit of a rash if I eat too much… so I eat it until the rash gets annoying, then I cut back.
)
Shelly, I enjoyed learning more about you. FYI, I’m not big into scents either–most colognes and perfumes give me a headache. If you ever want to try something truely wonderful however, check out Philosphy’s PURE GRACE. Everyone goes on and on about their Amazing Grace, but PURE GRACE is the one for us scent-free girls. No one ever asks me what I’m wearing, they just say, “Wow, you smell wonderful!” To quote their site, “pure grace is the clean smell of soap and water, the memory of fresh air woven into a set of crisp, white cotton sheets, a cold deep breath on a snowy winter night, the best summer morning you have ever know, the one white t-shirt the feels better than all the rest…” And it’s true. Anyway, didn’t want to go on and on but just wanted to share. I know how excited I was when I found a product line that I loved that didn’t make me sneeze or feel sick.