Okay, I am participating in a Secret Pal exchange on Knitty, and someone recommended writing up one hundred items about yourself to help your partner in choosing gifts for you... so here we go:
100. I'm Canadian
99. ... married to an American
98. ... and living in the US.
97. The US is the third country I have lived in.
96. I lived in Japan for three years.
95. I would love to go back to Japan but dread the flight.
94. I wish I had been interested in knitting while in Japan.
93. I am the oldest of three girls.
92. All three of us knit and/or crochet.
91. So does nearly all the other women in my family.
90. Despite #91, it was not any woman in my family who taught me to knit.
89. I learned at a class at Michael's just before I found out I was pregnant with Willow.
88. I would love to have another child.
87. I have 5 different baby things I need to make this year for friends.
86. I have only started one item.
85. I wish I could knit at work.
84. It's not completely silly idea - I have some downtime.
83. I love browsing online yarn shops.
82. I have them on 'My Favorites' at home and at work.
81. My current favourite knitting blog is "Knit and Tonic."
80. I think my knitting blog desperately needs work compared to some others I have seen.
79. I need to learn some HTML.
78. I think I have given myself carpal tunnel from knitting too much.
77. I have a walk-in closet full of yarn.
76. I'm not kidding. Do you think that stops me from buying more?
75. Uh... No.
74. I hide yarn purchases from my husband.
73. I'm getting better - instead of buying yarn randomly I try to buy for projects in mind.
72. I probably have about 10 projects on tap.
71. I just finished a Manos de Uruguay hat and
loved the wool.
70. I would knit with it more, but am afraid that DH (who does most of the laundry) would felt whatever I knit.
69. I wish I knew how to design knitwear.
68. I mean, I have ideas, but I don't know the math needed to construct a garment.
67. I have never knit a single item as written in a pattern - it always has some kind of variation on my part.
66. Usually it is cropping the sweater and making the bust fuller to accomodate my figure.
65. I want to knit myself a vest.
64. A tunic-like one with side vents, V-neck, and maybe cables.
63. I couldn't believe how easy cables were once I figured them out!
62. I taught myself with a Barbara Walker knitting pattern treasury from the library.
61. My local library system has an amazing knitting book selection.
60. My favourite knitting library book so far has been the Green Mountain Spinnery book.
59. My friend Asami has been on the receiving end of the greatest number of my creations.
58. Asami's Mom, Keiko knitted me a vest when I lived in Japan.
57. Knitting in children's books and cartoons annoys me to no end because it is rarely drawn right.
56. In one episode of 'Little Bill', Alice the Great (the grandmother) pulled her knitting needles out of her project when she had to get up to go into another room.
55. Pulling the needles out of one of my projects would cause me to have a heart attack.
54. Willow pulled the needles out of a scarf I was knitting once - I started hyperventilating and DH whisked her away into another room.
53. Willow doesn't touch my knitting anymore, even though it sits in a basket on the sofa.
52. She thinks everything I knit is for her.
51. She's not far off.
50. I want to knit her a top-down raglan sweater before November.
49. Yes - I already have purchased the yarn.
48. 'Sitcom Chic' was the first sweater I tried knitting for myself.
47. It now belongs to my sister, Teri.
46. I am now knitting Knitty's 'Sweetness' pattern for myself.
45. Out of yarn I originally intended for a baby blanket.
44. I don't care for bamboo needles - they break too easily.
43. I have a Needlemaster set and I don't care for them too much, either.
42. They are sort of my knitting equivalent to a utility player in baseball.
41. My favourite needles are my Aero circulars - but I can only buy those in Canada.
40. The next time I come up I am bringing a list of the circs I already have so I can buy the ones I don't have.
39. I do have some straights, but I find them awkward because my forearms are so short.
38. Did I fail to mention I am short? I like to tell people I am 5 feet tall on a good day with thick socks.
37. This means I always have to shorten sleeves as well... hence the reason why I want to knit a vest.
36. I prefer variagation over uniform colour.
35. I would like to learn know to do the magic loop.
34. I wish I found sock knitting more appealing - because I love sock yarn.
33. I knit my dad a pair of red socks a few years ago and was so proud of myself.
32. I don't care for knitting with cotton.
31. I have a very tight tension and cotton makes my hands ache after a short while.
30. My favourite 'utility yarn' is Plymouth Encore.
29. The most I have ever spent on one project is about $45 USD on a scarf made out of Plymouth's Sinsation yarn... so slinky and well-named!
28. I now know you can buy it much cheaper online - especially if you buy a bag of 10 skeins.
27. I've never bought yarn from Ebay, but it looks intriguing.
26. I loved dyeing wool with Koolaid and I can't wait to try it again.
25. I need to find something to make with the yarn I already dyed - I'm getting tired of knitting hats.
24. I have never knit anything for my husband.
23. He has asked me to and I have tried, but nothing has worked out.
22. My brother-in-law Stewart knows how to knit!
21. He's a Montessori teacher and he taught his class to knit.
20. Willow likes to pretend she is knitting. I crochet a small square and let her destroy it at will.
19. I wonder how long I have to wait before teaching her in earnest?
18. Fair Isle and intarsia scare me - I don't like changing colours midstream at the best of times.
17. I've tried to get two different SnBs started and neither has been a roaring success - I'm still trying, though.
16. I get a little jealous when I see online pics of other people's successful SnBs.
15. I saw online they are now making yarn from banana skins - I'd like to try and knit with that.
14. I'm amazed at the diversity in the online knitting community.
13. I'd love to go on a roadtrip vacation visiting different alpaca farms and knitting stores. But DH would have to drive so I can knit in the car.
12. I always have a 'car project' (aka monotonous knitting) for when I have to wait.
11. I find knitting lowers my blood pressure
10. ... so I do it in the dr's office before my appointments.
9. Why did I always believe wool was itchy and yucky? I love wool!
8. I'm an Autumn.
7. I'm not entirely sure what my real hair colour is - somewhere between chocolate brown and dark auburn. Currently it is dark chocolate coloured.
6. Ironically - I really don't like eating dark chocolate.
5. I like to watch (listen to) documentaries while I knit.
4. I use the long tail cast on and am eerily accurate with guessing how much tail I need.
3. I like to use crochet hooks to cast off my edges.
2. I find that the TV show 'Knitty Gritty' grates on my nerves.
1. I love Knitty and want to make 75% of the stuff in their archives!
Whew!
