30 things about me

G'day all!

Blame this on Kerrie from Hipknits. Cos she is turning 30, I am blogging 30 things about me.

1. I started knitting when I was 9 or 10.
   
2. My first jumper was in a thick and thin yarn called Country made by Cleckheaton. It was white yarn with a blue stripe. The jumper had cables and I wore it to death. Gosh I loved that jumper.
   
3. Mum tried to teach me crochet too, but it never took. I finally realised why when I looked in a book (a year ago) and discovered that I crochet with the wrong hand and was winding the yarn around the hook in the wrong direction.
   
4. I started spinning less than two years ago, when I bought a spindle to ply up some yarn.... Now I have two wheels, four spindles (rarely used these days), and two large plastic boxes (like goodly sized chests) of tops and yummy things to spin, plus several fleeces and some alpaca to spin up. Ooops.
   
5. One of this month's goals is to set up my yarn for sale page :-) Whether anyone wants it is another matter....
   
6. I have always lived in Melbourne, Australia.
   
7. I have been to four other countries (not including the stopover in Singapore on the way home from the UK) - USA, UK and NZ. I spent 10 days in Madison, WI and fell in love with the blue moon icecream flavour from the icecreamery on the main street (is that still there - the icecreamery?)(this was when I could still eat dairy). I stayed with a friend from here who was there for a year. The enormous bookshops were great, though the bread from Wholefood was not. The differences between Oz and the US caused a weird sort of disconnect - it was like being in a dream. I spent a day in Chicago (after staying in THE WORST HOSTEL EVER! It smelt like it had been a homeless men's home. We couldn't even hire sheets for the disgusting mattresses) and a day in NYC. The NYC part was interesting, though I think I disappointed my host a bit because I was not impressed by Chinatown and the Italian District (mainly cos my city has a Chinatown and an Italian area, plus is the largest Greek city outside Greece and either the 2nd or 3rd largest Greek city full stop). My other host showed me Central Park and also demonstrated how to get through a crowd of Noo yukkers walking the other way (elbows up and keep on going!)) I spent two weeks in the UK, staying with one net friend in London, then another near Blackpool and the last one in Rugby (ha ha - very funny cos I am an Aussie Rules girl...). I saw so much fantastic stuff in England - stone circles, tombs - loved it!
   
8. I've also been to NZ. I want to go back there and see it as a true adult, not a love struck 20 year old... or was it 21 year old? Anyway, most people can't stand the smell of Rotorua (hot spings, mudpools, geysers - very sulphurous) and say it makes them nauseous but I spent the whole time I was there absolutely ravenous!
   
9. There is nothing better than an open road and no time limits on being anyplace in particular. Except maybe a good mountain drive - nice and curvy - on a clear day.
   
10. I go stir crazy in traffic when I am driving (if I am not driving I can knit and admire the scenery/houses/whatever).
    
11. I love growing plants. Got that from my father.
    
12. I have bendy fingers - I can creep people out with the way they move and bend. hehehehehehehe.
    
13. When I was young, my favourite sandwich was a Salada sandwich - a local dry cracker stuck between two bits of bread. (I could eat wheat then)
    
14. I used to eat the crusts of the bread (my hair never went curly) and then roll the middle soft bit up and scrunch it right up and gnaw on it.
    
15. Speaking of food I can't eat anything with dairy products or gluten (wheat, rye, barley and possibly oats) in it - makes me crook as a dog. I've always had a dodgy gut.
    
16. Oddly enough I can eat lactose - it is the milk protein (casein) that I can't tolerate.
    
17. I have a PhD. I may be silly and a bit wrong somehow but I'm not stupid.
    
18. I'm a cat person. I think I've been catless for about 5 years of my life in total.
    
19. I'm not very keen on dogs or babies - please don't hold that against me. They are very interesting to watch though.
    
20. I like doing crafts - I always have liked making things
    
21. This knitting bug has lasted five years now, and was spurred by a colleague wearing a ratty old scarf that both of us loved
    
22. I have too many novelty yarns (some of which I will try to sell through my yarn pages, or maybe on ebay)
    
23. I now have 3 or so lots of yarn in my stash that I could knit a whole garment out of, like a garment in the same yarn. This has not happened for a looooong time. Never had a stash at home, only leftover balls of yarn.
    
24. I loved doing picture knits in the 80s. I really must take a few pics of them cos I still have most of them.
    
25. I have difficulty throwing things out that I've made.
    
26. I have difficulty throwing things out that I think I might use.
    
27. I have difficulty wearing out my favourite clothes - I have 10 year old tops I won't wear cos I love them too much and can't replace them.
    
28. Most wools, including buttery soft merino and even lion and lamb from LL, make me itch if I wear them against my skin, particularly around my neck and decolletage. This is annoying cos I like knitting with wool more than cotton.
    
29. I like geeks - I married one after only ever going out with geeks. Geeks can be inept on occasion but they are sincere.
    
30. I run ubuntu flavour linux on a mac. I am subversive :-)
    

Here's your obligatory, but not very good, cat picture - Nutmeg smooching on the tall fence over the side gate. That fence's days are numbered.


anon!
PS. Don't expect *mumble* things about me when I turn *mumble*