Secret Pal 4 Questionaire

The secret pals 4 button is one of those that I can't manage to get onto my sidebar, but I am SO EXCITED to be participating. I've already heard from my sender, (who is a fan of Jane Austen as well), and I've written to my recipient. I'm really going to enjoy this. I love sending and receiving gifts!
OK, secret pal. Here's a little more info about me:


1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Yep, a definite yarn and fabric snob. I only like natural fibers. My biggest pet peeve is 'pilling', which is infamous with acrylics.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I do know how to Crochet, although I only like to use it for trims and baby blankets. I really want to learn to spin. I can't imagine the satisfaction of knitting with yarn that I spun myself.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I'm very alergic to dust, and therefore tend to be a bit of a 'clean' freak. I suspect that I've developed an allergy to cats, which is a real bummer, because I like them, and promised my animal loving daughter that we would get one when our house remodel is finished.
4. How long have you been knitting? 5 years
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Hmmm, no, but that's a great idea!
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)Freesia or plumeria
Flowery, fruity stuff.
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, it's my downfall. Actually, it's not a real 'sweet' tooth. It's a 'chocolate' tooth. I can bypass other sweets with ease.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I had the quilting bug for quite a while, and managed to accumulate more fabric than I will ever actually use. I'm trying to be more disciplined in my yarn purchasing, but it's hard!
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Classical and contemporary Christian music. I don't have anything to play MP3's on.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I love autumn and spring colors. The one thing I just can't seem to make myself like is 'loud' colors. Fuschia, lime green, etc. I don't like to be next to colors that clash with my hair ;-)
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? No pets. 5 great children instead.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
I want to be a great mother, which requires that I become less and less selfish. I've given up all of my old career aspirations to devote myself to raising the best human beings I know how to produce. (That's one of the main reasons we have so many. I want to have as many children as I can, and raise them well.) I figure that there's nothing else that I can spend my time on that will reap such long lasting results. OK, I would like to own a yarn/fabric shop as well, so maybe one day!
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? So far wool, but I'd really like to try silk one day as well. I like soft yarn with a nice 'sheen' to it.
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Acrylic, polyester, nylon. I'm also not into novelty yarns.
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Yarn, LOL. I wish I could knit faster, so that I could have an excuse to buy at a faster rate. I'm pretty well rounded as far as trying different things.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Don't really have a favorite. I like variety.
17. What are you knitting right now? Banff (pattern from Knitty.com), I'm finishing up a sweater/hat combo for 2 yo daughter. I'm also making one pair of socks for myself before starting my Sockapalooz sock. I used to only keep one thing on the needles at the time. I have so many unfinished quilting and cross stitch projects. I don't want to start doing that with my knitting!
18. What do you think about ponchos? I don't see myself making one. I dont' like to spend my time making something will be out of style in a season or two.
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Only Circular
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I learned on Bamboo. I've just transitioned to aluminum. I have a general distaste for anything plastic. I'd like to try rosewood or birch needles.
21. Are you a sock knitter? Yes, but not addicted to them.
22. How did you learn to knit? At a knitting class at my LYS. I had wanted to learn for years, and had no one to teach me. Hubby enrolled me in a 6 week class for my birthday. I knew how to crochet, but trying to learn to hold 2 needles, plus the thread nearly killed me! It was more challanging to me than anything else I've ever tried to learn. I was so sad, because I hated it, and hubby had spent so much money to enroll me. If he hadn't spent so much money, I never would have stuck with it, so I'm glad he did. By the end of the 6 weeks. I was hooked!
23. How old is your oldest UFO? I'm trying not to have those with my knitting. I do have a few things that need fixing, but my oldest thing on the needles is my Banff and it has only been there for 2 weeks. Don't ask how many projects I've bought yarn for!
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Not into animated charaters AT ALL.
25. What is your favorite holiday? I'd have to say Christmas, although I like any excuse for a celebration.
26. Is there anything that you collect? Mostly yarn, fabric and books, but I know that's not the point. I do like floral things. I'm a romantic at heart.

First completed project of 2005

This is a little hat that I made for my nephew's birthday. I have made this pattern for my children a few times, and his Mommy liked them, so he's receiving one for his 2nd birthday. I was hoping to get some little mittens done to match, but that'll probably have to wait for next year. The brim of the hat is pretty stretchy, (one of the things that I love about this design) so I think it'll fit him for a couple of years yet.

Why, oh Why am I so computer illiterate????

Granted, I've had to be drug by my hubby into every new thing that I've done with my computer. It took him years to get me to use email, and the internet. Of course, now I'm firmly addicted, but I hate the learning process that I comes along with figuring out how to do new things with the computer. Usually I don't bother to learn them, I just let hubby do the work for me until I decide at some point that I want to get something done, and I CAN'T WAIT! Then I call hubby at work, and beg him to walk me through whatever I'm trying to do over the phone. At that point, I can do it myself in the future, and I wonder why I delayed so long in just figuring out how to do it myself.
Well, now I'm in a pickle. I've got tons of stuff that I want to share on my blog. For the first time in history, I'm doing something new on the computer before hubby has done it (he doesn't have a blog) so, he can't walk me through it over the phone. (He did spend about an hour last week showing me how to upload pics, Bless his patient soul.)Now, I want to add links (buttons) to my sidebar that show which fun things I'm participating in (like Secret pals 4)but I can't figure out how to do it! (screaming now). I actually figured out by myself how to save the images to my own server so that I'm not stealing bandwidth (can you see me puffing up with pride?). But after that, I'm lost. I've neglected my house for an hour and a half now trying to figure this out, but to no avail. I won't see much of hubby for the next 2 days, so I guess my fun links will have to wait.

CreateWithMe

CreateWithMe
A new place to go on and on about my knitting and other crafts! What fun!
An introduction to me:
My name is Wendi, and I am a SAHM/WAHM to 5 wonderful, adorable children! I homeschool my children, so I get the pleasure of actually watching them grow up! Now that my oldest is 13 (Yep, I started young) I'm really glad that I didn't farm them out to school. It just goes by too fast to miss out on the enjoyment of their company for most of their waking hours!
I don't know where I got the gene for enjoying needlework, because my mother, her 2 sisters and my grandmother all consider needlework to be akin to torture. I, on the other hand, can hardly bear to sit still unless I have something in my hands to work on. I think it may have come from reading the "Little House on the Prarie" books a few too many times as a child :-)
I've mostly been known to do cross-stitch, rug hooking (the old fashioned kind...not latch hook), needlepoint, quilting and knitting. My favorite loves are the quilting and knitting, but you may see a splash of some other creative output thrown in here every now and then!
Also, my oldest daughter (8 years old) usually has some sort of project going, so I'm sure I'll give a peek at her creations too.
I love being inspired by what I see on other blogs. Hopefully I'll be able to add a little inspiration as well!

A recent photo of me.