Secret Pal Questionnaire

Here are my answers to the One Skein Secret Pal questionnaire. Hi secret pal!

1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)? Probably a multi-colored handspun handpainted variegated yarn made from many different fibers. I love a lot of variety and love to make things from scratch.

2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with? I love teal, blues and greens in a variegated blend and I also love pink blends. I work with many other colors but I'm always drawn to these first.

3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns? Yes, love them, especially the handpainted variegated yarns.

4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns? I favor natural fibers, love wool, cotton, silk. Have recently discovered alpaca and think it's lovely. Would like to try cashmere someday.

5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn? Probably center-pull but it's all good.

6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them? Would love to try some.

7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year? Haven't counted, maybe thirty-ish?

8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year? I'm not really a knitter, more of a crocheter. Will definitely crochet some gifts.

9. What is your favorite one skein project? I like making the scarves, purses and pouches that use a skein. They're fast and you get something really functional and nice.

10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it? I have quite a bit of a stash that I keep in plastic storage boxes. Maybe 3-4 boxes.

11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it? Not really. At times I have loved some handpainted skeins I made and didn't want to use it but then I get over it and am really glad because it's even nicer when worked, and even better when it's gifted and someone else loves it.

12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer? I tend to crochet with more wool in the winter and cotton in the warmer months.

13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)? I belong to Crochetville and sometimes check-out Knitty.

One Skein Secret Swap

I signed up for the One Skein Secret Swap. I've never done a yarn/knit/crochet swap before, it sounds like fun. The folks at Interweave Press have put together a swap based upon the book, One Skein. Basically, it works like this: you are assigned a secret pal in May, then you send your pal one skein of yarn in June, another skein of yarn in July, and then in August you send your pal something you made from one skein of yarn (it doesn't have to be something from the book). In the meantime, someone else has been assigned your name and is sending you stuff. There is a big reveal at the end. I'm still not sure what's secret but the whole thing promises to be exciting.

Crocheted Cable Purse

I've seen some nice knitted cable purses lately but couldn't find a crochet pattern anywhere. A few weeks went by and I still wanted one of those cute purses and I got to thinking about what stitches might work, so finally one day I picked up a couple of skeins of Bernat Cottontots and decided to come up with my own pattern. It took a bit of rework but I kept at it and this is the finished purse. I lined it with some cotton broadcloth and it makes a great new purse for spring.

Pattern available here. (Edited to add.)

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