Lace and cables...

I have been obsessed with lace for a while. But now, thanks to my cubicle neighbour and her really really cute 7-year-old WIP cable knit for her fiancé, now I'm looking at cables in a whole new light.

Soft small cables in subtle merino brushed wool...all twisty and geometric. Sigh. I need this like I need a hole in the head. I know what this is about. I haven't cast on anything new recently because I am DETERMINED to finish some stuff FIRST.

Without further ado...I have to fill out a questionnaire for the Spinning Roving Swap. So here it is.

1) How long have you been spinning?

Since April.

2) Are you a beginner, novice, or experienced spinner?

Sigh..still very much a beginner - as in, I'm happy if I have yarn that looks relatively even when I'm done.

3) Do you spin on a drop spindle or wheel, or both?

Both although I prefer my wheel.

4) What types and weights of drop spindles (or what type of spinning wheel(s) ) do you currently own?

I have a couple of student spindles - very basic and I have NO idea what weight they are. My wheel is an Ashford Joy.

5) What type of fibers have you spun with before?

I've spun a lot of merino and South African top. I participated in a workshop where I had the opportunity to spin all different types of silk and some alpaca.

6) What fibers do you prefer to spin with?

Right now I'm more comfortable with animal fibers with a relatively long staple length.

7) What fibers do you dislike?

Never met a fiber I didn't like! Although I struggled mightily with a cashmere silk blend recently.

8) Do you prefer natural colored fibers, or handpainted/dyed fiber?

I mostly buy natural in lighter colours that I can dye myself because it is cheaper. This isn't a preference as much as a necessity.

9) Would you prefer all one type of roving or smaller amounts of different types to sample?

Tough question and I'm not going to commit to an answer. Either one would be wonderful.

10) What are you favorite colors?

I tend to wear a lot of black but I'm always drawn to bright colours - flowers, tropical fish and birds...anything in jewel tones. And reds...love reds.

11) What colors do you dislike?

Really earthy tones - particularly with a lot of yellow or brown.

12) What would you like to do with your handspun yarn, or what do you plan to do with it? (pattern clarification here)

Right now I'm really spinning for the sake of spinning. If its an appropriate fiber, I'd want to make a hat or maybe some socks. Mind you, we're about to start a good 'ole Canadian winter so mittens are also a possibility.

13) What spinning projects are you currently working on?

I spent the last few months dyeing lots of primary colours in various saturations and mixes to see what colours I could get and am keeping a record of the results. Since the records don't need more than a few tufts of dyed wool, I have a LOT of roving in solid tones hanging around. My next project is to handcard the different tones into rolags to get some subtle variations in single hues. In the end I'll probably have an enormous amount of spun 2-ply around and I'll have to start planning what to do with it. I also JUST mastered the long draw (so very very proud of myself!) so I'm having fun with that although my spinning is still really uneven.

14) Do you have a wishlist?

Yes! I really would like to have a solid amount of merino/silk blend in my stash.

15) What are your other favorite hobbies?

Light reading with the occasional delving into heavier literature, some cooking. With raising two kids and working full time, knitting and spinning are pretty much consuming the time I have left. I do tend to collect patterns and knitting/spinning books.

16) Do you have any allergies (pet, smoke, food, fiber,etc...)?

Some pet and smoke allergies, but not enough to warrant special treatment.

17) What is your preferred shipping method (USPS, UPS, FedEx)?

USPS...UPS likes to rip off Canadians by charging a brokerage fee that is astronomical. I'm patient enough to wait for the postal service to deliver ;-)