1. First name? Kristen
2. Were you named after anyone? Heck no. My parents were trying to be all creative at the time. Ha!
3. When did you last cry? Night before last. I’m like that.
4. Do you like your handwriting? I do. I secretly love to write things out.
5. What is your favorite lunchmeat? I *LOATHE* lunchmeat of all sorts.
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Sure.
7. Do you have a journal? I’m not a journaler- I’m not even a particularly good blogger.
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.
9. Would you bungee jump? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Leave the death-defying stuff to others, thanks.
10. What is your favorite cereal? Golden Grahams, God help me.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I never, ever, ever wear laced shoes. I can barely tie my shoes properly.
12. Do you think you’re strong? Are we talking about emotionally? I think so, with some noticeable lapses here and there.
13. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Good vanilla ice cream, with fresh berries… or the occasional mint chocolate chip.
14. Shoe size? 10.5/European 41. What a PITA!
15. Red or pink? BOTH, even at once.
16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I’m such a drama queen. Plus I can be sharp-tongued when provoked.
17. Who do you miss the most? My dad. Every day.
18. What color pants, shirt and shoes are you wearing? Chocolate brown shirt, blue jeans, pink socks, shoeless.
19. Do you want everyone to send this back to you? You mean do it too? Absolutely!
20. Last thing you ate? A red pear and a cup of strong coffee.
21. What are you listening to right now? National Public Radio - on morning noon and night in my house.
22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I would be one of those fat rainbow crayons. Or something with glitter in it.
23. Favorite smell? Ginger ale, grapefruit, old roses, lilacs, cakes baking, gin and tonic.
24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My big sister.
25. The first thing you notice about people you are attracted to? Funny. Always funny.
26. Do you like the person you stole this from? Yes!
27. Favorite drink?ccooooofffffeeeeeeeee.
28. Favorite sport? What do you mean Favorite? There’s only one true sport - BASEBALL.
29. Eye color? Blue with a hint of grey.
30. Hat size? Enormous.
31. Do you wear contacts? No. I’ve tried and they freak the hell out of me.
32. Favorite food? An obscure Swedish potato dumpling stuffed with bacon called Kroppkakor.
33. Scary movies or happy endings? Oh happy for sure. I’m not a scary person.
34. Summer or winter? Spring.
35. Hugs or kisses? Both!
36. Favorite dessert? Homemade strawberry shortcake.
37. Who is most likely to respond? Alison.
38. Least likely to respond? If you mean to do this, that would be my husband.
39. What books are you reading? Songs of My Father by Barack Obama, about 200 back issues of the New Yorker.
40. What’s on your mouse pad? Mouse pad? What is this mouse pad thing? Do they come on laptops?
41. What did you watch last night on TV? I don’t have TV, but I watched the movie Art School Confidential and some Daily Show & Ali G & Colbert Report clips on You Tube.
42. Favorite sounds? Cats purring, coffee brewing, my husband breathing when he’s asleep.
43. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles, the Stones are yucky.
44. The furthest you’ve been from home? 7,800 miles (Hong Kong is a looong way away.)
45. What is your special talent? Sloth.
46. Where were you born? In the benighted ‘burbs of Chicago.
47. Who sent this to you? I saw it on Theresa’s blog.

Folks, the cloud of pestilence hanging over the Kitchener Bitch household seems (knock on wood) to have finally gone on its way, and I’m back to post of more adventures in spinning and knitting. Have you ever had something just knock you down for a month? That’s how it seems to be around here - all sorts of stuff happening, and me tucked into bed.In knitting news, I don’t have as many finished objects as I’d like to be able to show, but at least there are some notable works in progress, and it’s my first-ever participation in Yarn & Fiber Pron Fridays! The Argyle of Doom is progressing… sloooowly. It would probably be done if I hadn’t seriously messed up one side and had to start over THREE TIMES (hey! Cold medicine is powerful stuff!) but alas, I am still on attempt #3 of the second side. This time I haven’t lost the chart or used the wrong needle, so hopefully I’ll have some better progress to show for it soon. I’d intended to have this sweater done for the Secret Squirrel project, but since it didn’t happen, I’ll be contented to finish it before it gets too warm again to wear it. Is that setting the bar too low? The way this sweater is going, I fear that I will get the urge to set it alight before I’m done.Speaking of fire, last week my laptop quite literally BURST INTO FLAMES - yes that’s right, actual flames - whilst sitting in my actual lap. It was quite a scary incident, but it led to a happy ending - buying a new laptop! I’m typing on her as we speak and she’s a beauty… I have to come up with a good name for her, because right now she’s named Mabel after the cat and she’s certainly a good deal more intelligent than my dear but dim little kitten.Spinning has been good. There’s this lovely colored Merino from Louet, which I must say has been the most pleasant stuff I’ve spun so far. It’s cloud-soft, and it spins up into a wonderful lofty yarn. I spun three bobbins of woolen singles. The two larger skeins are a three-ply DK/light worsted, and the little mini-skein was Navajo plied out of the remains. This was a great lesson as before I did this, I had no idea that Navajo ply had a harder, firmer texture than a regular three-ply. The regular three ply is just softer and loftier.

Here’s a skein of lovely 50/50 camel/silk - this stuff is a dream to work with:

And here’s a little skein of this beautifully dyed purple Romney roving, which I can’t wait to finish spinning.

Alas it has to take a back seat to the yarn needed to complete the Blanket of Procrastination:

I’ve spun up a good deal of grey Corriedale, brown Shetland, and white Bluefaced Leicester to meet the blanket’s fast-growing demands (never underestimate the power of prodigious procrastination.) …Call it therapeutic. It actually feels great to make progress on the BOP, because the argyle is moving SO slowly, and there’s something really gratifying about making a blanket so huge that you can actually use it as a lap throw while you knit it. I actually ran through everything I’d spun up that fit the color scheme - at least 1,000 yards of BFL, Corriedale, Shetland, Romney, Merino, and Suffolk - and I’m now working on spinning up a few more panels’ worth of the Leicester. After today, I’ll be thankfully free of a deadline that’s been making me procrastinate quite a bit, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to devote some more time to the almighty spin.

It’s funny, I know that I’m incredibly lucky to be able to be at home, but somehow I’ve felt unbelievably pressed in the last few weeks. Maybe it’s having been sick for so long, but I have had the sensation that I was trying to pass the Bar exam for about a month. Hopefully I’ll be able to relax relatively soon, and bask in the glow of my argyle accomplishments… that is, after I figure out where the hell to get more yarn for the sleeves. Argh.

A few thanks and a few promises of more details in the future: First, a giant thank you to the lovely Seiding, my Spinning SP. She sent me not only camel down (which I LOVE working with - so soft and fluffy, and much easier than yak!) and gorgeous Ashland Bay merino/tussah, but also PYGORA! The wool of the elusive Pygora, which is a cross between a Pygmy goat and an Angora goat, feels a lot more like cashmere than it does mohair. More to the point, it’s soft as a kitten. I also got all kinds of other wonderful goodies from Seiding, and a series of very funny notes and posts. Thanks dear! I loved being your downstream secret pal!

And also a huge and deeply belated thank you to Waterbaby3, my SP7 upstream. I had a wonderful time and was given some gorgeous things - including a huge pile of vintage patterns that you’ll be seeing plenty of shortly! Waterbaby gave me some absolutely beautiful things, including a cute felted bowl and a mess of Koigu, and she was great fun to correspond with. Thanks, Waterbaby!

And finally - I’ve gone over on Knittyboard to being the Kitchener Bitch, plain and simple. No more Purrl! That’ll confuse the hell out of people for a few weeks. Heh.