Secret Pal 11: Contest #1

Sometimes, I think the best part of the Secret Pal exchange is the way we are given writing prompts for those days (er, weeks, months...) when I can't be bothered to photograph FOs. For the first contest, we were asked the following questions:

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
There are a lot of knitting accessories I tend to do without. I use scrap yarn instead of stitch holders, and rubber bands or yarn for stitch markers. I got into these habits in the early days of knitting, when I couldn't afford all the paraphernalia suggested for new knitters, and just haven't changed my ways yet. From a practical point of view, I'd be inclined to say my scissors or tape measure, but that rather lacks imagination. I suppose it is a tie between my Lantern Moon needle case, which makes it so much easier to bring knitting with me on holiday, and a jewelry box I've converted into a knitting organiser. Knowing where everything is makes it much easier to work on projects.

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If
so, how much and what type of project?
It depends on the sort of holiday. If it's a mini-break, then no. I want to cram as much exploring as possible into that weekend! For longer holidays, I usually bring whatever I'm working on at the moment, assuming it's not too big. I've worked on Sahara and Wisp on recent holidays.

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
This is impossible to answer. Istanbul would be very high on the list, but I also loved Prague and Venice. However, I also occasionally need to get far away from cities, and for that nothing beats the mountains, Lake Tahoe in particular.

4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
For basic instructions, I still go back to Stitch 'n' Bitch over and over again, though I still haven't made any of the patterns. I also love looking through the stitch dictionary in the big Vogue Knitting book. I own both those books. I'm currently in love with the patterns in Knitting Lingerie Style, Romantic Hand Knits and Knitting Classic Style. Sadly, I don't own those three at the moment, but they are definitely on the list.

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
I don't listen to any knitting podcasts. For me, knitting is something that should be seen and, ideally, felt. Hearing about it just isn't the same! I do listen to Coverville (an all-covers podcast) and, of course, Tim Gunn's Project Runway podcast, but that's about it at the moment. I'm afraid that's a very dull answer.

Perhaps this week I will gussy myself up enough to take a photo of the tunic. I'm not thrilled with the fit, but I suppose I should at least post photos as a warning to others with a similar body type.