Friday Fun

Chelle tagged us all with a list of knitting-related questions!

Do you knit using the English or Continental Method? English. I've tried to re-teach myself Continental but I am actually slower at it, and I'm not willing to practice it long enough to build up speed.

Loose, normal or tight knitter? Normal. I have never NOT hit ball-band gauge on a swatch. As a result, I am very lazy about knitting test swatches, but it always fits anyway.

How long ago did you learn to knit? Thirty-six years ago.

Who taught you how? My grandmother. She had a really funny throwing style. I got home from the visit to Grandma's and realized I had already forgotten how to knit a week later, so I went to our trusty family copy of the World Book encyclopedia & cobbled together a functioning knit & purl stitch between week-old memories and inch-high illustrations. The rest is history, as they say. (Hey, there was no www.KnittingHelp.com back in the seventies.)

What was your first FO? Besides the obligatory garter-stitch swatches? A yellow tank top in a cotton boucle, in high school. My mom wouldn't let me wear it because she thought it was too low-cut.

Favorite yarn? Worsted wool, hands down. So versatile!

Any yarn you don't like? Hemp. I just finished a hemp shopping bag project & boy, is that stuff hard on the hands. I loved the end product, though, enough that I might do another one after I take a little break.

Projects tend to be what color(s) if knitting for yourself? Greens, blues, browns.

If you knit socks, what is your preferred method (i.e. toe up/cuff down, double pointed needles, 2 circs, Magic Loop etc.) Two circs, cuff down.

Favorite pattern you've knit so far? Has to be Ragna.

Favorite pattern source? Ravelry.com. I love the pattern browser.

Favorite needles? Addi Turbos for wool, Brittanys for slippery stuff.

Favorite type of knitting? I am a nut for cables!

Are you on Ravelry? If so, favorite thing about it? Ravelry Screen Name: trivimp (what else?) I think I already said I love the pattern browser -- also I love stalking a project & seeing it done in different colors, sizes, etc. It's a big decision-making help!

Nicest thing you've ever knit: Again, Ragna.

Project you get the most compliments on: Ragna, not surprisingly, and Einstein.

Most hated project and why: Soleil and Cold-Weather Corset. I made both of them far too large and they just looked sloppy. I frogged them both.

Special Bonus Question:
If you could take only TWO books to a desert island with you 1) a technical reference; and 2) a book of patterns – which two would you bring? The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar. With the aid of these two books, I can pass as a designer when I wish. Shh, don't tell.