Word verification

Para evitar spam, pu-la a funcionar. Não é um inconveniente grande para quem escreve, e evita os comentários de spam.

-----------------

To avoid spam comments, now this blog has word verification in comments.

Secret Pal 6 answers

(posta apenas em inglês, desculpem).

Almost a reposting from SP5, with some few modifications (in italic):

I will post this only in English, I don't feel like translating this into my mother-tongue.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

Of course I prefer higher quality, and mostly natural fibers. But I don't think of myself as a yarn snob. And as my budget is somewhat tight, I cannot be a snob. I have knitted with acrylic and found it satisfying (it was a good acrylic). I discovered some time ago that I don't usually like ribbon yarns, and I don't like splitty yarns either. Other than that, I have a slight skin problem. I cannot wear scratchy yarns, or my skin will get red and itchy. Please see the entry on allergies.

I also usually prefer yarns that knit with needles 3mm to 8 mm.
But still, I'm not picky. The most important thing is that the yarn shouldn't be rough on the skin. All the rest is secondary.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I crochet. I have one big crocheting project in hands. I don't usually crochet with wool, though. And I don't usually crochet clothes.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

I don't like the smell of smoke, but I'm not allergic to it. I have a skin problem (a mild one). So I cannot wear fibers which are not smooth. And I should prefer natural fibers, but I have found (trial and error) that some artificial fibers work great for me. The important thing is: they should be soft. Oh, and I remembered: they should not have a high percentage of angora. I have a sweater with 30% angora, and I can wear it with no problem (unless I'm having a severe skin crisis), but a 50% angora yarn might be troublesome to me.

4. How long have you been knitting?

I don't know. I learned when I was a child, but soon lost my interest. I got interested again more or less 5 years ago, I think.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Because of my skin problem, I must be careful with things I use on my skin. (If you wish to send me a bath product, choose it like it was to a baby sensitive skin). Anyway, I like vanilla, cinnamon, almond, apple, mint (but please no mint-smelling bath products: potentially aggressive to my skin), pine, lavender, frankincense, rosemary... I don't usually like strong, heady scents (oriental-like). Added: I also like honey, tea and anise smells. And also: my skin problem is only in my face, neck and upper torso. In the rest of my body I have normal, slightly dry, skin. So when I cannot use a product in my face and upper torso, usually I can use it in the rest of my skin.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Yes. In chocolate realm, I LOVE dark chocolate (the darker and the more bitter the better) and hate white chocolate. I like bittersweet and sour candy, also. I don't like excessively sweet things. I also love anise candy.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Cross-stitch, half cross-stitch, Arraiolos rug making (I have made 1 and a half small rugs... I wish I had more free time!). Added: I started making (very simple) bracelets and earrings with beads, because there are so many nice beads to use! I also will try dyeing some yarn, as soon as I can find some Kool-aid or other non-toxic colouring.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD)

Yes, my computer can play MP3. Added: Unfortunately, I recently had to send the CD/DVD drive to repair. It should come back till the end of this month. I don't own a stereo. My radio/CD player cannot play MP3, though.

I like classical music, especially choral. I love sacred music (ancient, medieval, gregorian chant, baroque...), and also some profane music from the same periods. I don't like the pop gregorian phenomena (sp?) though. I'm curious for byzantine and orthodox sacred music. I also like heavy metal, and rock. Some examples: I own all Metallica CDs prior to 1994 (I don't like their new style). I like the newest Rammstein albums (Mutter and Reise, Reise), but not the older ones. I LOVE Queen, every single album of them. But the safest bet is sacred choral music. Added: I like gospel, too.
And I'm starting to like soundtracks of movies (the orchestral ones, like LOTR or Star Wars).

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I usually prefer secondary, complex colors. But I also have some primary colors clothes. An example: I don't usually like orange, but I love rust color. And I have one orange T-shirt. Added: Colours I just can't stand? Bright fluorescent colours, I think. (English is not my mother-tongue, so I spell colour/color according to my mood).

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Single, sharing a house with 3 other girls (I would prefer living alone, but my budget does not allow it). I don't have pets, and will not have them until I can afford living alone.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Being happy. Building a family with someone that brings out the best of me, and bringing out the best of him. Finding a job that allows me not to share a house (the other girls are nice, but...) unless I choose to do that, and that I can wake up every day looking forward to another day at work. Making people happy around me. Being a better person, and a better Christian. Added: keeping the friends I have, and making new friends. Learning new things until I die.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Yarns that knit with 2.5 mm to 5 mm needles. Really, I prefer finer yarns!
But I still like yarns up to 8 mm needles... I don't usually like ribbon yarns, but once I knit a sample of a ribbon yarn I liked. Added: I recently tried merino (see this scarf) and loved it. It's so soft, and still not splitty!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Scratchy fibers. Splitty yarns. Added: I don't like most eyelash yarn, unless it is used only for a small detail, or if you are knitting a small furry animal ;) I also cannot imagine myself knitting very bulky yarns (yarns that knit with needles thicker than 10 mm). They scare me, and besides, I don't own needles thicker than 8 mm!

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

I don't think I have any.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Don't know. I'm knitting scarves now, because I'm very busy and not having time for bigger projects, but I like sweaters and cardigans as well. And I have plans to design and knit a simple top soon...

17. What are you knitting right now?
A scarf. And also Yarn of the Month samples and Elann samples :) Added: I frogged the samples and started a weird project with them. With all of them. It's called "Learning to accept" (quite philosophical) and I will post more about it as soon as I have time. Let's just say I decided to knit a potentially ugly object on purpose, just to teach myself some much needed virtues!
I have also enriched my stash (with the help of my SP5 and also while buying presents for Noo), so I have a lot of projects to knit when I have more time

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)

I cannot understand them. Nobody wears ponchos here since the 70s, anyway.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

I have never knitted with circular needles yet. In the special kind of needles I use they are harder to find. See below. Added: My lovely SP5 sent me some, so I will soon try them.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer aluminum coated with a greyish enamel. They are called INOX, I believe it's the brand name.
But I use an unusual kind of knitting needles: needles with a hook.

I knit the way everybody else does, but I use this kind of needles. I could not find a picture of straight knitting needles with hook, so I will illustrate with double pointed needles and a picture of the hook. Added: you can see more pictures in the posts about my SP5 packages.

My mother and my grandmother, and all my family knit with needles like these, and I cannot knit well with other kinds of needles. My mother owns DPN and circular ones, all with hooks in the ends.
So, please do not send me needles unless they have a hook like the ones above.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

No. My mother can knit socks, though, and as soon as I can, I will try. (Thanks, Filomena!)

22. How did you learn to knit?

My mother taught me, and I keep learning by reading online references.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

3 and a half years old, I think.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Favorite animal: cat. Favorite mythological animal: dragon. Favorite animated character: I don't know. Favorite movie character: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. I love his duality. I also love the Star Wars universe...

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Easter (I'm Christian!). But also Christmas Eve, a strong holiday in my country.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Coins. But I believe sending money in mail is forbidden. Illustrated postcards, written and unwritten.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None. (Tight budget...)

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Some good knitting reference books (any suggestions welcome!). The Star Wars books, also. Hard-core theology books, especially the ones from John Paul II/Karol Wojtyla (I know I'm weird...). I can read fluently in English. Added: I also like a good novel, but I'm not having the time to read now.(

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?
Well, some. Here are the links:
Hopeful (a very worthy cause, also), these 3 wonderful patterns (even though I'm not an experienced knitter, Ribby Cardy, Mrs. CB, Lo Tech, some cardigan which looks like this, OSW, Orangina, and also some patterns from Whitelies Design, such as: Bella,Shelley, Angelina, (with a very different yarn, less shiny) Heather, and even (with some small adaptations to make a more modest summer top that I can wear outside my house!) Rita Mae and Alene. I really love their designs! I also like these tall stockings, which would have to wait till I learn how to knit socks!
(It seems I decided to make a bookmarking list of all the patterns I like!)
30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
Good question. Let me see: 22,5 cm long, 21,5 cm perimeter (measured just below the smaller toe), 25,5 cm around the thinner part of the ankle, 42,5 cm around the fatter part of the calf. Maybe you don't need all those measurements, but I have never knitted socks, so I don't know! I like socks which are soft. I have never worn hand-knitted socks since I was a toddler (then, my mother knitted me some wonderful lace socks, in wool and in cotton. She still has a pair of them somewhere), so I don't know, really. As long as they are pretty, of a colour I like and not scratchy, I think I like all socks! I wear commercial socks, a lot of them stripy and coloured (those I wear with trousers), and maybe one day, when I'm experient enough, I will knit tall socks to wear with a skirt!


I have already contacted my SP and my SP-r, and I'm looking forward to this exchange!

Secret Pal 5 :)

Chegou o pacote em que a minha SP5 se revela! Ela é a Filomena do Tricot e tal. Já dei uma olhadela no blogue, e posso dizer que quando for grande quero tirar fotografias como as dela...

Quanto aos presentes, são excelentes! Ela excedeu-se em generosidade, e só posso dizer que contribuiu para melhorar muito o meu dia! Aqui fica a foto-reportagem possível (desculpem a má qualidade das minhas fotos, ainda me falta comer muita sopinha para tirar fotos decentes...)

Um beijo enorme à Filomena, e muito, muito obrigada!

-------------------

Today I received a new SP package, and the mistery is finally revealed! She is Filomena from Tricot e tal. I have checked her blog, and when I grow up I want to take pictures as she does...

And her presents are excellent! She exceeded herself in generosity, and made my day much happier!
This is an amateur photo-report (excuse me for my blurry photos, I will have to eat a lot of soup and vegetables to grow up and take good pictures...)

A huge kiss to Filomena, and thanks!
=============================


O pacote fechado/The closed package


O pacote aberto e a carta em que ela se revela/The open package and the letter in which she reveals herself


Muitos presentes!/A lot of presents!


Mais postais/More postcards


Lã para meias... Que vontade de aprender a fazer meias e usá-las à mostra, com uma saia de ganga!/Sock yarn... How I wish to learn how to knit socks and wear them with a skirt, so that everybody can see them!


Lã branca para tingir / White wool yarn to dye


Muitas agulhas de tricotar, e uma seringa para tingir lãs (numa foto invertida).../A lot of knitting needles, and a syringe to dye yarn (in an inverted photo)...


E/And CDs!

E para a minha Secret Pal

(As my Secret Pal 5 is Portuguese, this post is in Portuguese only).

Um beijinho muito grande e obrigada pelo postal virtual! Estou muito curiosa por que te reveles!



(O postal virtual que a minha SP me enviou: "Tricotadeira Adormecida", porque estou cansada devido à tese.../The virtual postcard my SP sent me: an Asleep Knitter, because I'm tired from my thesis...)

To my SP-r

(Em inglês, porque a minha SP-r é inglesa).

I have been Secret Pal to Noo, from Spitting Yarn.
It's been a pleasure to be exchanging emails with you, and giving you craft-related gifts. I loved watching you receive the presents, and you already knit one wonderful shrug from one of the yarns! By the way, you take much better photos than me... And your blog has a "cleaner" look, which made me decide to change this blog's template, as soon as I have a little free time.

Now, borrowing this idea from several knitterly blogs: Google Images I get when I search for:

My birthplace:


Porto, Portugal

The place I live in:


Lisboa, Portugal

I don't have time to search for more pictures. Still, I love both my cities. :)

Voltei / I'm back

Voltei de pseudo-férias. A tese ainda não está pronta e não tive tempo para tricotar quase nada.

Deixo-vos duas sugestões, por ordem cronológica:

- Apoiar as vítimas dos incêndios em Portugal, e/ou os bombeiros que precisam de se re-equipar;

- Apoiar às vítimas do Katrina, por meio da Cruz Vermelha dos EUA;

---------

I'm back from my pseudo-holidays.

Two suggestions, in chronological order:

- Help the victims of forest fires in Portugal, and/or the firefighters, which need to replace damaged material;

- Help the victims of Katrina hurricane, helping the local Red Cross;