SPRING FLING AND COFFEE AND YARN SWAP

Spring Fling and Coffee and Yarn Swap

The Questionnaire

Here it is! A little longer than usual, but given that there's a hand-made item requirement this time around and that it should be designed to cheer up your pal and welcome Spring, having a bit more info is helpful!!Remember, your questionnaires will need to be posted no later than March 25Th! That's the day sign ups close!

Coffee

1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground?
I have a grinder so whole bean would be great.

2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Loaded or non?
I full blend coffee and full of caffeine HMMM YUMMY!!!

3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up?
I just had some Second Cup and it was delicious so I would be getting that a #3 blend but maybe some Starbucks. Then again I also like Tim Horton's. Now if I saw a flavored one that interested me I might get that.

4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both?
BOTH

5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers?
YES YES ans YES only I don't like licorice or Irish Cream flavors. I even enjoyed the flavored Splenda I received in a swap I can't purchase here.

6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup?
A large mug for me.

7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it!
I love my coffee with sweet treats.
Lately in the morning I have a biscotti or two or three with my coffee. Oh I am so bad. BUT how I would love to be enjoying my coffee on my deck or patio in a home of my own overlooking my well tended but messy garden growing lots of flowers and veggies. Alas, I live in an apt so I have it on my couch watching TV.

8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company?
Decadently sweet and rich of course. I have to admit I do enjoy Starbucks chocolate and caramel coated pretzels.

Yarn

1. Do you knit or crochet?
I can do both but am mainly a knitter.

2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with?
I work with most anything as it depends on what I am knitting. BUT I do love soft squishy yarns, sock, lace weight yarns, and those natural alpaca, and cashmere yarns.

3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now?
A bag, several pair of socks, a few shawls and some projects that are secret.

4. What are your favorite colors in yarns?
PINK PINK and more PINK. I also like blues, reds, purple, some greens, black, white and variegated colors.

What about those that you'd never find in your stash?
Orange, yellow and probably lime green but sometimes you have to knit something for someone else. I do have some orange Jojoland sock merino yarn I received in a swap. YOU WILL NEVER FIND PENTEX IN MY STASH as it is only good for scrubbies or slippers to soften your feet over the next 20 years since it never wears out. I am not sure if I care for neon colors. I like cool colors the best.


5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest?
I love my bamboo DPNs and would love one day to get a couple of sets of the Knit Picks Harmony DPN needles as I tend to knit two socks at the same time on the DPNs. I also like the Bryspun DPNs I have. Sometimes it is necessary to use metal DPNs so it is good to have some of those. I also love my Denise needles. A second set of those would be great to have also. I don't know much about crochet hooks.

6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan?
Notions tend to disappear into a black hole in my apt along with knitting needles. I could use another chibi as I only have two (LOL). A pink one, of course. HEE HEE I don't think a knitter can ever have enough stitch markers since so many sizes are needed. For one of my recent projects I needed those tiny round plastic stitch markers as the nice ones kept getting caught in the yarn. I went through several packages and I continually dropped them and lost them in the black hole in my apt. I believe every knitter at least me anyway should have a notion bag with every knitting project in every bag filled with all the needed items for a project so you don't have to take from one bag to another and then loose them in that black hole while transferring them to the current knitting project.

7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going. The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated, a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and springy in your hands, a soft, worsted weight wool like Malabrigo, and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with?
Is this some kind of trick question. Only pick one item. Can't I choose all of the above and multiply that so I can get various color ways. Can I put the rest on my VISA or how about if I ask if I can work for some of the yarn in a barter. I could sort, touch the yarn and tell it how nice it is in turn to get a few extra skeins. BUT I guess if I have to choose it would be the squishy and springy sock yarn as I am a sucker for sock yarn.

Spring

1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are?
It is trying but there is a lot of dirty mountains of snow and cold and icy puddles of water. The temperatures are still very low and with the wind gloves are needed yet. Every time we get a "nice" day we get several cold ones after. Old Man Winter just doesn't want to let go yet. There aren't any buds on the trees either.

2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one?
I like daffodils as when they appear popping up throught the ice and dirt it means that spring is here or will be here soon. I also like Lilly of the Valley since they smell so nice. I think I remember them being spring flowers. Tulips are nice also. A pretty arrangement of all these flowers on my coffee table would be wonderful. I certainly know Solara would love them also and enjoy a little nibble here and there if they were on the table.

3. What do you most look forward to about springtime?
No more scarves, gloves, jackets, or boots. Wearing my sandals and open shoes, shorts and carpi pants. The smell of the flowers, the new leaves on the trees and the green grass.

4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day?
I would love to spend it on my deck or patio knitting or in my garden if I had one but alas I don't so it would be knitting the park while there are no mosquitoes or bugs or inside with the window open knitting and the breeze blowing into my apartment.

5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? What helps cheer you up?
I might be a little sad especially with the previous day being so glorious but I would just curl up on my couch and knit some more while watching TV or listening to some music or play on the computer if there is was no thundering and lightening. If it is thundering and lightening I would be under the covers. Receiving a package would be a wonderful way to cheer me up. I guess a visit from a friend would work also if there was no package.

Odds n Ends

1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles?
I collect angels, cats, fairies, patterns, tassels, buttons especially old ones, cookbooks, cobalt blue items and for some reason people keep giving me teddy bears so I have a ton of them I don't know how to display or what to do with anymore.

2. Are you allergic to anything?
Wasps but I doubt anyone is going to send me those. I can't handle cigarette or cigar smoke anymore. I absolutely abhor black licorice. Apparently it is an acquired taste which I never acquired.

3. Do you have pets?
YES Solara my feline furchild who was two earlier this month of March. She helps me put love into all I knit.

4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in?
I am an old pro. I was in the Knitters Scavenger Hunt Swap, Debs Crochetaholic February Swap and Whoduknit Mystery Ball swap. I was also in the Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap. I am now in the Sockamaniac Surprise Sock Swap and Monkey Swap 4 which is a closed swap only for those who participated previously and played nice.

5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.
Maybe I can do this later. This is a hard one to answer.