Christmas Around the Word Swap Questionnaire

1. Are you religious? I have faith, I’m not sure if that’s the same thing as being religious? I don’t attend church regularly but I am confirmed in the Church of England and attend Easter and Christmas. My faith is important but I don’t feel a need to attend church to affirm that faith.
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? I learnt to knit about 30 years ago when I was around 7/8, my nan taught me and I’ve been knitting on and off ever since. I consider myself a fairly advance knitter - I can tackle most things, lace, cables etc
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting? I love to read (fantasy and detective stories are my favourites), spend time pottering in my garden, I love to play RPG computer games
4. Favorite color(s)? pink, purple, blue
5. Do you collect anything? books, anything with cats on it, shoes
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? not found any yet
7. Do you have any pets? I have a cat called Simpson, he’s a long-haired tabby. I also have three leghorn chickens - Morwenna, Demelza and Tegen.
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate? Tea or Hot Chocolate - love them both, and I love all sorts of tea particularly Rooibos, Green Tea and Camomile. Don’t drink coffee and can’t stand the smell of it.
9. Cookies or Sweets? Both please. If sweets then I like aniseed type flavours or sour sweets. Chocolate I prefer dark and cookies without nuts.
10. Do you knit socks? all the time
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits) My favourite things to knit are aran/cable patterns and lace. I like complicated things…and I love trying new things.
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do? Yes, and it has to be a real tree. Since we got married 6 years ago DH and I have bought our tree from our local garden centre the weekend before Christmas and we spend the evening together decorating it.
13. Favorite holiday treats? Stollen (marzipan cake from Germany), mince pies, mulled wine and Winter Pimms
14. Favorite holiday smells? Cinnamon and cloves … the smell of my nan’s house when she was baking Christmas cakes
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Please elaborate. Traditional - we put up the tree the last weekend before Christmas, we spend Christmas day with our family - breakfast then sit and open presents together. It has always been down to me in our family to “play Santa” and hand out the presents from under the tree. Then sherry all round whilst Christmas lunch is cooking. Huge Christmas lunch with Turkey, roast potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. Board games all afternoon/evening..
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions? My advent calendar which my mum has been buying me since I was tiny, making Christmas pudding from my Nan’s recipe (I took this over when she died), spending a Saturday evening with my hubby decorating our tree with a glass of wine and corny Christmas music playing
17. Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about….” “Family & Friends”
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….? A little wooden animal, possibly a reindeer…
19. What was your favorite gift you’ve ever received? Or given? When I was about 6 I received a doll house which my grandfather had made, it’s about 2 foot high x 2 foot wide x 1 foot deep and at that age it seemed huge. I still have it and it is one of my most treasured possessions.
20. When do you start your Christmas? I make Christmas puddings on “stir up Sunday” which is the last Sunday before Advent. I have an Advent calendar but the tree doesn’t go up till the last weekend before Christmas, presents are wrapped the following week and placed under it.
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them? I don’t send many cards as I don’t hold with sending cards to people I’m going to see in person to wish “Happy Christmas”. I have quite a few to go abroad and they are sent beginning of December, the rest go middle of December. I usually buy them from Charity catalogues but am thinking of making some this year.
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish? Christmas pudding to my nan’s recipe or mince pies
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do? pass round the mince pies and sherry and join them for a chorus of Whilst Shepherds Watched…
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning of course, after everyone’s had breakfast, the vegetables are on for lunch and everyone has a glass of sherry in hand.
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both?Since we got married we have started a tradition of having a mince-pie and sherry party for friends the last Friday before Christmas so we can celebrate with them and then Christmas Day itself is for family. We usually alternate whose family we spend it with as they live 300 miles apart so one year we spend with my parents and the next with DH’s we then spend New Year with the other set of parents.

Harry Potter Sock Kit Swap 3 (HSKS3)

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Gryffindor

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? I love Brittany Birch needles and prefer the 5″ length as they are easy to pack into a bag. I’m happy to knit socks on anything from 2mm to 4mm depending on yarn weight! Haven’t yet tried knitting on circs but wouldn’t mind giving it a go.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? As I mentioned above I am yet to try knitting socks on circulars, or knitting 2 socks at the same time on two circulars. And I’m always happy to try anything new.

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?
5. Do you have any allergies? Nope

6. If you are swapping scarves - what is your desired length for the pattern? This will help your partner find the pattern that is just right for you and buy yarn accordingly.

Sock It To Me Swap

1. What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.) - UK size 5 1/2. My foot measures 8” round the ball, 9.5” long and I like my socks either knee length (14” from ankle) or about 5.5” from my ankle
2. How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.) - I would rate myself as advanced (I can tackle most things - cables, lace, shaping etc). I’ve been knitting for about 30 years since my Gran taught me when I was a little girl
3. What is your favorite color? Your least favorite color? My favourite colour would be purple or pink. I don’t like orange or yellow much.
4. Do you have a favorite fiber? What type? Not really, I like anything soft with silk or alpaca but I love any type of yarn really.
5. Do you have any allergies to certain fibers? not that I know of.
6. Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.)- Wishlistr list is here http://www.wishlistr.com/indychick_uk
7. What techniques, if any, would you like to learn? hmmmm I would like to try the magic loop or 2 circulars for socks
8. Do you have a sweet tooth? What are your favorite snacks? absolutely, love chocolate but only very dark high cocoa content and not milk (I’m a chocolate snob)
9. What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets…etc.) I’m married and live with my lovely hubby and our gorgeous pampered cat. Soon (hopefully) to be invaded by 2 or 3 adopted children once we’ve been approved
10. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood? I knit on straights or circulars and prefer wood to metal or plastic
11. Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit? I’ve just learnt to crochet and have been trying my hand at amigurumi (crocheted Japanese dolls), I love lacey scarves and shawls and big aran sweaters.
12. Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try? I really want to try the cardigan for Arwen and now have the yarn to do it. Also really want to knit the Anna socks in Rowan 40.
13. Do you like to read? What are you reading currently? I live to read and live surrounded by books. At the moment I’m reading The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory (for book group), Priestess of the White by Naomi Novik and Digging for America by
14. Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.) Yes - my hubby has an iPod (I don’t) but I use an cd player in my car that can play MP3’s.
15. What kind of music do you listen to?I listen to a lot of UK indie music - Keane, Radiohead, Coldplay, Travis, Stone Roses etc also LOVE George Michael (saw him at Wembley, fantastic!!)
16. Is there anything you collect? you mean other than yarn? Not really.
17. What are your hobbies, aside from knitting? I love pottering in my garden, cooking, playing board games and spending time with my friends & family.
18. Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs? Just finished SP10, taking part in Mystery Stole Knitalong and an amigurumi swap on swapbot.
19. Do you have a favorite scent? I like Body Shop White Musk and Oceana. I wear CKB and I like clean, crisp scents rather than flowery ones.
20. When is your birthday? (You don’t have to add the year if you don’t want to, LOL.) 22 March 1969

Secret Pal 10

1. What is/are your favourite yarn/s to knit with? What fibres do you absolutely *not* like?
I knit with anything, if there was no yarn available I’d knit with string! Probably my favourites are soft yarns like merino or very soft cottons. I am a Rowan groupie and love all their yarns – particularly All Seasons Cotton, Calmer and Kidsilk Haze.
The only things I don’t like are “novelty” yarns – eyelash yarns are ok and I’ve used them for scarves but I really don’t like ladder yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a vintage plastic needle box which my dpn’s and cable needles live in and a wooden handled bag the rest live in all jumbled together. Both were inherited from my Grandma and one of these days I’ll get a nice case I can sort my needles in so it doesn’t take me an hour to find a pair!

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 over 30 years as I learnt when I was about 6 or 7 – can’t really remember when. I know my mum and my Nan both knitted and they probably taught me but I also remember getting books from the library to learn fancy stitches.
I guess I’m fairly advanced – I can knit cables and lace from charts or patterns and understand decreases and increases..have yet to design anything myself but really want to this year.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
My wishlist is here. There is also a link to it in the right hand column of my blog.

5. What’s your favourite scent?
I love the smell of chocolate but hate the smell of coffee. At home I burn incense and candles with spicy tones- cinnamon, jasmine, cedar wood – in the lounge. I also use aromatherapy – lavender to calm, lemongrass to clear my head. To wear and bathe I like fresh smells – ocean, moonflower, citrus.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favourite candy?
I have quite a sweet tooth but I am a chocolate snob – it has to be very dark with a high cocoa content. Love old-fashioned sweets like humbugs, aniseed twists and cough candy. I am also addicted to crisps (potato chips)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I have very recently taught myself to crochet and purchased some Kool-aid via the internet to try dyeing…hope to try that very soon. I also do needlepoint and embroidery and I love to garden. As soon as the summer comes I’m out there in my garden all the hours I can.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
My musical tastes are varied but can be summed up – good singer/songwriter rock and pop with a leaning towards folk and folk-inspired. So – Snow Patrol, Keane, Coldplay, Kate Rusby, Blur, Cast, Jack Johnson, Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics……probably easier to say what I don’t like which is country music, U2 and Dire Straits.
And yes, I can play MP3s.

9. What’s your favourite colour(s)? Any colours you just can’t stand?
My favourite colour is purple but I also love browns and oranges and greens. I hate yellow and would never wear it.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have been married to my wonderful hubby Jonathan for over 5 years and have been living with my gorgeous cat Simpson for more than 9 years. Jon and I are currently going through the process of being approved to adopt as we have spent most of the 5 years of our marriage trying to start a family (charts, calendars, IVF – you name it we’ve tried it!)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear hats all the time – woolly hats in winter, straw or cotton hats in summer. Big hats for weddings, incredibly wacky hats for walking, and big brimmed hats to keep the sun off.
I am known amongst my family and friends as a hat wearer….heaven knows how many I have…I should blog about that….
Scarves – yes I love them big chunky, snugly ones for winter; light, lacy ones for dressing up; gorgeous wraps and stoles for special occasions; cover ups for summer (I have sun-sensitive skin)
Prefer gloves to mittens but always losing them. Don’t really wear ponchos but have lots of shawls and wraps and love knitting them.

12. What is/are your favourite item/s to knit?
That’s hard, recently I’ve done lots of socks because I only learnt to do them last year and so I’ve been trying new heels, toes, stitches etc. I love a challenge and have to be stretched. Mostly I love cables and lace, anything difficult.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Check my UFO list on my blog – it’s scary!!!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I would love it…I give away most of the things I knit so very rarely have handmade things for myself so it would be nice to have someone else make me something.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminium, plastic?
I’m not really fussy, I’ll knit with anything. I prefer not plastic but apart from that as long as it’s long and pointy that’s fine

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
My amazing woodworking f-i-l just made me a swift and I can’t wait to go visit them so I can collect it. Pics here. I have put a woolwinder on my wishlist and I’m hoping someone in my family will buy it for my birthday

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Do I have to say?….I honestly don’t remember exactly how old it is but it is at least 9 years old and maybe older – I have lots of old UFO’s all listed on my blog and am challenging myself to complete them this year.

18. What is your favourite holiday?
Anywhere as long as there is good company. I love holidaying in this country (UK) and taking long walks. Equally I love travelling somewhere I can see ancient ruins and culture…Egypt was one of my favourite places to visit. One of the best holidays we had recently was to a tiny little place in the middle of nowhere in Turkey.

OK - I just realised that there is a major cultural difference in the way I answered this question as compared to how you guys in the USA have answered! It made me laugh out loud actually. I was reading some blogs of some other SP10 signees and realised that what I cal a holiday is what you would call a vacation - so when the question asked “what is your favourite holiday” to me that meant where do you like to spend your holidays (vacation)!!!! What you actually meant was which is your favourite seasonal festival ie Christmas, Easter……lol We only really celebrate Christmas in the UK, Easter; Halloween; Valentines aren’t such a big deal (well not to my family anyway) and I love Christmas!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
…you mean apart from yarn and UFOs’? lol! Do books count as collecting – neither J nor I ever throw one away…slippers? I have at least 15 pairs. Nothing that I really collect and display as a collection though.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dieing to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to Rowan magazine and recently subscribed to Interweave Knits. I have some books/yarns and needles on my wish list.

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
I want to try hand-dyeing this year and have some Kool-aid I bought. What I really want to do is to make some natural dyes from things in my garden and use them. Combining my loves of knitting and gardening….
…perhaps I should get a sheep then I could be wearing something I’d shorn, spun, dyed with my own dye and knit!!!! Have to learn lots of new techniques there!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have been knitting socks for just about a year and love it! My foot measures 8” round the ball, 9.75” long and I like my socks either knee length (14” from ankle) or about 5.5” from my ankle

23. When is your birthday?
22nd March 1969

In anticipation of hearing from my sockret pal - here are my questionnaire answers …..looking forward to the start of this swap! Wasn’t sure how much/little to write so apologies if this is information overload.

The basics:

How long have you been knitting? Since my grandma taught me when I was about 7 – so that’s about 30 years now.

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I’m a beginner at socks – three pairs completed all on dpn’s – one from an Opal sock knitting kit using the top down stocking stitch pattern that came with the self patterning wool; one toe-up plain stocking stitch using some hand-dyed wool bought on eBay and 1 pair of Jaywalkers using Opal Prisma.

The measurements:
While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. I’m a UK size 5 ½ - as I’m not sure what that is in US my foot measures 8” circumference round the ball and is about 9.75” long from heel to tip of my big toe.

(fiber related) Favorites:
What colors do you love? Mauves & purples in any shade, oranges and reds – warm shades. I’m an “autumn” person
Do you prefer solids or variegated? Don’t mind
What fibers do you most love to knit with? I love soft wools like merino and cashmere and also cottons
Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendors? Rowan & Debbie Bliss
What projects (other than socks, of course*S*) do you most enjoy knitting? Aran sweaters, lace scarves/stoles/shawls - I love complicated patterns

(fiber related) Dislikes:
What fibers can you not stand to knit with? I’ll knit with anything, if there wasn’t any knitting yarn available I’d knit with garden string!
To wear? Chenille – it sets my teeth on edge.
What colors would you never wear? Bright green (childhood trauma with a pair of bright green tights), yellow – makes me look ill.

The Tools:
Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood? Usually metal, haven’t tried bamboo but plan too, have a few wooden needles I inherited from my Grandma
Circs or Straights? Straight
DPNs or Magic Loop? DPN’s
Are there any knitting accessories you don’t have in your collection but would like? Point protectors, a new needle case (mine is falling apart), a magic machine that sews up all my finished projects…

The Extras:
Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link! amazon wishlist and Angel Yarns Wishlist
Do you like sweet, sour or salty? (or all of the above? *S*) sweet
Do you have any allergies your pal should know about? (Certain foods, smoke, pet hair, etc) I’m vegetarian but have no known allergies
Favorite scents? Scents you can’t stand? I like fresh, natural scents – nothing too heavy or sweet. Think oceans and mountain air!
Do you collect anything (other than yarn and knitting toys of course)? My other passion is cooking and I am a sucker for cookery books and kitchen gadgets. Also our house is a games console museum.
When is your birthday? (month and day is fine!) 22^nd March 1969
Do you spin? Dye your own yarn? No but I would like to try both at some point in the future.

Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better… My favourite books are The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkein. Music – mainly UK indie guitar rock bands like Keane, Coldplay, Snowpatrol. My favourite places in the world are Egypt, the English Lake District and Scotland.

When not knitting (actually sometimes whilst knitting) I’m an outdoor girl. I love my garden and love walking – long distance hill walking and power walking marathons. Basically I cannot sit and do nothing!

I’m a would be eco-warrior and am passionate about recycling and sustainable living – doing my bit by growing my own vegetables, making cider with the apples from my own tree and investigating installing solar panels at the moment.

The two biggest loves in my life are my cat and my husband (it’s up to you whether you think that’s in the right order or not)

If you want to know more about me I am on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/indychick_uk