secret pal!

before i up and post anything else...i give you my secret pal 9 questionnaire! the pc with my photo album has been acting up (still) and has made my blogging life a bit of hell. keep checking! i promise you won't be disappointed!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? my most favorite yarn is blue sky alpaca!!! fibers i absolutely don't like? hm. haven't met one yet i haven't liked...well. except novelty yarn. don't get me wrong...it has its place...but i prefer the feel of natural fibers...alpaca, wool, cotton, linen (a fiber i have yet to try!!!)

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? i don't have a needle/hook case per se. but i keep eyeing these beauties...maybe one day!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? i have been knitting for a year and a half. i was taught by sandy, the owner of knitorious. my sister and i took an intro to knitting class in may of '05. i've been hooked since! i consider myself to be intermediate. i'm not as savvy as some of my other knittas but i've moved past the scarf stage! :)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no. although...i have considered it. hm. maybe i'll do that now. keep you posted!

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) burning at home right now is yankee candles sage & cinnamon. i like tropical fruit scents, white zinfandel by colonial candles and any baked good scent...baked apple pie, buttercream, cinnamon, etc, etc.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? DO I HAVE A SWEET TOOTH??? are you kidding me??? i have a mouthful of sweet teeth!!! i absolutely heart chocolate. good chocolate...when i go to the tivoli, my favorite concession purchase is lindt chocolate and a hot cup of kaldi's coffee! i love whatchamacallits, rolos, peanut or pb m&ms. i love gum...spearmint extra or cinnamint eclipse. i crave on serious occasion red vines or sour patch kids. a candy i can't get my hands on because it's a german candy is sauer pomme frittes. (sour french fries...a lemon gummy candy in the "shape" of french fries rolled in sour sugar...YUMMY!)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? i dabble in many crafts. nothing has caught on as an obsession as knitting. i don't spin. BUT...my dearest friend autumn is planning on teaching me!!! she has made spindles and our knitting group is supposed to plan a trip to an alpaca ranch...so roving??? fresh off the animal!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) first and foremost (blog name being a HUGE clue) i am a toriphile. i lovelovelove tori amos!!! i have developed a weird obsession with my chemical romance! they come out with their new cd at the end of october!!! i really can't categorize my music interests...so here are a few other fave artists...john legend, 30 seconds to mars, the killers, coheed&cambria, the mars volta, fiona apple, coldplay, damien rice, bjork, garbage...see??? how could you possibly categorize my music interests?!? i could go on...but i'll stop at a dozen. i have mp3 capability on my lappy, my car and my stereo. so fire away!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? i love greys, blacks, browns, blues. i really don't care for pastels...but there are exceptions! in all honesty though...i love almost all colors. i'm not picky!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? married. no kids. (more money to spend on yarn! woohoo!) i have two babies...a 9 year old (as of today!) german pointer...stella. and a 10 year old greyhound...rescued racer...izzy. i've had stella from 2 mos old. we adopted izzy this past march.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? yes. yes. yes. and yes. although, i haven't owned a poncho in years!!! my yiayia (grandma in greek) knit me a brown and lime green poncho back in the day...i wonder where that thing ever disappeared to???

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? i love socks. although i'm only working on my second pair. my first pair was two socks on two circs. the project i have OTN now is 5 dpn...initially, i hated myself for starting them that way (i wanted to do it that way for the experience...) but now...i love 5 dpn socks! less ladder to worry about!

13. What are you knitting right now? welt fantastic chevron striped socks...from sensational knitted socks...with sunshine yarns in grapevine...a variegation of purples and greens.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? hm. torn between two lovers...seriously. i love bamboo straights. single or dpn. but there's something ridiculously amazing about addi turbos.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? yes. and yes. and i love them with all my heart!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? oh gosh. i am embarrassed to admit it...but 10 months! i started a shawl new year's eve and although i'm finished knitting it...i still need to embellish it with the seed beads i purchased for that purpose. so, i consider it a UFO. i refuse to wear it until it's DONE.

18. What is your favorite holiday? i lovelovelove thanksgiving.

19. Is there anything that you collect? i am a tea drinker...i have a small collection of asian tea mugs (the kind without the handle) and a few asian tea sets. let's just say teavana has made off with a considerable amount of my paycheck each month!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? there's always more out there that i'm dying to get my hands on...one thing i've been wanting is one of those dpn tubes...you know...the thing that protects your dpns while you have a project on them??? i read about it in a past issue of one of the knittings mags. which, by the way, i currently subscribe to none of them! i would love to break down and subscribe to interweave. argh.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? fair isle. lace.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? fo'sheezy! ready??? i have some big ol' feet!!! size 12!!! the breakdown follows...foot circumference: 10 3/4", total foot length: 11", heel to toe length: 9", toe length: 2", heel flap length: 3".

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 02/23