A Yarn Swap & More! (no acrylic)

Handknit or crocheted ornaments might be a cool handmade item to include if you're so inclined to make something for your partner. You can find free patterns online by searching for "free knit ornament patterns" or "free crochet ornament patterns", or however you'd like to phrase the search. One of my favorites is a miniature crocheted hat and mitten set.

Miniature hat and mittens

1. i love all types of yarn. My absolute favorite is cotton and alpaca wool i make dish cloths and scrubbies from plastic canvas cord and netting.
2. My favorite color is purple however i love all colors especially bright colors.
3. straight or circular needles are fine i use both and aluminum is the best for me.
4. i have been crocheting and knitting for 35 years so i guess i would be intermediate or advanced,
5. i wear scarves and a hat once in a while.
6. my favorite item to crochet and knit are dish cloths and scrubbies. I also like to make little stuffed animals when i have time. I am working on and angry birds stuffed toy now. lol
7. I am making an angry birds stuffed toy and a zen jacket for my daughters friend and a pair of socks.
8. i havent seen a book in a while as i search the web for patterns. sock yarn is good with size 3 double pointed needles as i have taken an interest in this and so far is very easy.
9. I used to receive creative knitting however i never renued it. i also used to receive annies attic crochet magazones. 10.any crochet or knit magazine would make me happy i am not picky.

this should be fun!!

1. What is your favorite yarn to crochet/knit with? merino/soft wool, silk, cashmere, alpaca What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? acrylic, acrylic blends (other than in sock yarn), cotton, mohair, angora

2. What is your favorite color(s)? cool -- blues, green, purples, pinks. What colors do you not care for? warm - orange, orange-reds

3. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I do not use straights -- only circular (ADDIs or Knit Picks or similar). I use both bamboo/wood and metal.

4. How long have you been crocheting/knitting? Would you consider yourself to be a beginner, intermediate or advanced crocheter/knitter? Intermediate heading into advanced. I've been knitting for several years

5. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I love mittens, gloves, mitts, fingerless gloves.

6. What is your favorite item(s) to crochet/knit? I usually only KNIT. My fave thing to knit are SOCKS, berets, mittens/gloves, other accessories

7. What are you crocheting/knitting right now? socks

8. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? **I can always use more ADDIs, especially Lace in sock knitting sizes (knit Picks would be great, too)

9. What crochet/knit magazine subscriptions do you have? Interweave Knits, Piecework, Knitting Today, Knit Simple

10. What crochet/knit magazine would you like to have? **I like Knit Scene and special issues of Interweave Knits (though I have the current Holiday one already).

It's 12:45 am. Having trouble connecting to internet, but going to check everyone's profile who have signed up while I've got access, and then I will make assignments. Stay tuned!

Hi, Here are my answers:

1. What is your favorite yarn to crochet/knit with? What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? I like wool or bamboo most of all. I'm not a huge fan of cotton except for baby items.

2. What is your favorite color(s)? What colors do you not care for? I like black, brown, charcoal gray, peacock, deep plum, red, and avocado green.

3. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I use straight, circular, and double point needles depending on the project. I like metal needles or wood. I found that I eventually split the ends of the bamboo needles.

4. How long have you been crocheting/knitting? Would you consider yourself to be a beginner, intermediate or advanced crocheter/knitter? I've been knitting and crocheting for about 50 years, so I would guess that I'm better than the average knitter.

5.Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear hats, cowls, but not socks or mittens.

6.What is your favorite item(s) to crochet/knit? I knit hats, tea cozies and knit/felt wool purses

1. What are you crocheting/knitting right now? Crocheting tea pot cozies in crocodile stitch.

2. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? I love old vintage patterns for hats, stitch pattern books, and knitting reference books like with tips and ideas in it.

3. What crochet/knit magazine subscriptions do you have? None.

4. What crochet/knit magazine would you like to have? Crochet Today

A little about me:

What is your favorite yarn to crochet/knit with? What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? -I just graduated from grad school, so money is tight....I usually use craft store yarn. I like Stitch Nation or Lions Brand yarn. I'm not a huge fan of fancy fur or red heart, that stuff is so itchy!

What is your favorite color(s)? What colors do you not care for? I like pinks, purples, neutrals, greens, jewel tones. I'm not a big fan of pastels.

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I totally not picky, my aluminum crochet hooks work fine. :)

How long have you been crocheting/knitting? Would you consider yourself to be a beginner, intermediate or advanced crocheter/knitter? I taught myself to crochet while in college...so I've been crocheting for about 3 years now. I'd considered myself somewhere in between advanced beginner and intermediate.

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I live in New Hampshire, so scarves, hats, and mittens are definitely necessary!

What is your favorite item(s) to crochet/knit? I tend to mostly make gifts: dishcloths, hats,scarves, baby toys, holiday decorations.

What are you crocheting/knitting right now? I am almost done working on a scarf for myself, but ran out of yarn which I think is now discontinued. oops! I'm also finishing up a floppy, pillow-pet type puppy for a baby gift.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Once the holidays pass I'm looking forward to making my first afghan that will be just for me. Looking for a pattern that doesn't call for 30 skeins of yarn and won't take me a year to finish.

What crochet/knit magazine subscriptions do you have? I've been a subscriber to Crochet Today for almost 2 years, I always look forward to the new issue!

What crochet/knit magazine would you like to have? There aren't too many crochet mags out there, but I'm content with what I have currently.

Here are my answers:

1. My favorite yarn to knit with is probably...just about any. I love Koigu, Araucania, Noro, Madelinetosh, etc., etc., etc. I'm not a huge fan of the old fashioned, Red Heart acrylics, but some of the new man-made fibers aren't half bad!!

2. My favorite color is periwinkle blue. You know, that color that isn't quite purple and isn't quite blue--it's somewhere in-between? I also like the more muted colors of purple (not bright), Autumnal muted oranges and reds when mixed together, and red alone with a blue undertone.

3. I prefer circular needles, either addi turbo metal or bryspun plastics. The bryspuns are lovely if you've never used them!

4. 43 years. I'd consider myself advanced. I've been knitting since I was 6!

5. I wear scarves if they're not scratchy and ponchos.

6. I've about 15 things going at once, but I'm actively knitting an infinity scarf.

7. My favorite things to knit right now seem to be scarves. I'll go in spurts and seem to do a certain thing for a while.

8. Any and all! Just went to the Stitch London Halloween Party/knit up, and the founder of Stitch London has a book of patterns out. I'm coveting that, actually.

9. Vogue Knitting.

10. Any from the UK.

Thanks, in advance, for everything!

1. What is your favorite yarn to crochet/knit with? Alpaca - hands down! I also love great sock yarns, silk blends and most wools. Heathered tones are great, as are blended fibers-this is the one acrylic/nylon exception for me.

2. What fibers do you absolutely NOT like? Acrylic, Nylon or anything with a rough texture. I'm also not a big fan of the specialty yarns like fun fur.

3. What is your favorite color(s)? I lean heavily toward warm and cool tones and earthy tones. All colors have left their footprints in my crafting though.

4. What colors do you not care for? Neons in most cases, except for specialty projects.

5. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular 90% of the time, #1 - Rosewood, #2 - Knit Picks Harmony interchangeable (I only have sizes 8 and 9 so far :) ) or Harmony circular. #3 are Knit Picks nickel plated circulars.

6. How long have you been crocheting/knitting? I have been crocheting since I was 3, knitting only for the last 3 years.

7. Would you consider yourself to be a beginner, intermediate or advanced crocheter/knitter? Ironically-crocheter intermediate; knitter advanced. I write my own patterns with both.

8. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Not much. I like fingerless gloves and have been looking at cape patterns lately for a heavy fall/spring cape.

9. What is your favorite item(s) to crochet/knit? New ones, patterns I havn't tried before. Helen's Favorite Sock pattern almost exclusively and the zig zag pram blanket pattern found on Ravelry.

10. What are you crocheting/knitting right now? I keep 8-15 projects going at all times. Right now I have on the needles: The Blue Elephant project, a scarf, Rachel's Wrap #2 (custom pattern), 3 pair of socks, owlettes cat toys, 2 sweaters, a shawl and a mobius wrap. I am also starting a major cross stitch project in the next 3 weeks that I have started twice before and didn't like the way it looked. I'm upgrading to a custom hand-dyed linen fabric with silk and alpaca threads for stitching to give it a 3D effect.

11. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? I'm interested in knowing what your favorite projects are.

12. What crochet/knit magazine subscriptions do you have? None.

13. What crochet/knit magazine would you like to have? None. Almost everything is available online.

I'm a big sucker for great yarns :)

Thank you all for participating! We had only one flaker, @videolady2150 I am in the process of Angel-ing her partner. I'm sorry, @Jillgill that you got a partner who didn't fulfill her part of the swap. I hope everyone else had fun, though. And, Jillgill, you'll get your fun package, too!