I lied, no pictures today

So I joined yet another swap. The Monkey Sock Swap. And I can justify it. It's August. In 4 1/2 months all the knitters that I know of will be pulling out their hair, trying to make Christmas gifting deadlines. I will not. You see, I don't do Christmas knitting. There is a good reason too. For a few years I made sweaters for Jem. Sweaters he picked out. Yarn he picked out. And the last Christmas he chose one, it turned out to be an electric blue and green striped sweater with a big prancing tiger on the front. One of which he's only worn twice. But get this, I made him two more sweaters since then. Sweaters he chose! (He picked the pattern and the yarn combination and begged me to make them now.) He hasn't worn either except for me to take a 5.5 second picture in. They all sit in a Rubbermaid container. Hopefully they will hold some memories for him when I kick him out, with the 1/2 dozen sweaters that he needed. Mainly by Christmas.

Instead of making a scarf for Grandma, and socks for Mom, and a sweater for Fiancee, and matching mittens for Children, I bake. I shop and I bake. And I knit for me. When I first started to knit, I knit unselfishly. Everything I knit I gave away. It's only been in the past 2 years or so that I actually started knitting for me too. Not just baby afghans for people my mom knew were having babies, (mind you I never met them). No more knitting double stranded, queen sized, ugly brown afghans for friends. (Even if you get paid, it's not worth it sometimes.) No more scarves I'll never wear because let's face it, I live in Southern California where the weather goes from warm, warmer, hot, hot as hell.

This is why I don't do knitting for Christmas. Instead, I will be a part of the Secret Pal 11 Swap, the Hogwarts Sock Swap 2, the Sock It To Me Swap and now the Monkey Sock Swap.

So here's my Monkey Swap Questionnaire:


The basics:

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? Intermediate/Advanced. I've been knitting socks since March, so I'm not a pro, but I've knit enough socks to know what I'm doing.


The measurements:
Shoe Size: 9-91/2

Foot circumference: 9.5-9 3/4" (I have a high instep, wide foot)
Foot length: 9.5"

Yarn Preferences:

What colors do you love? Blue, Buttercup Yellow, Chocolate Brown (dark)
Do you prefer solids or variegated? Depends on the yarn, but overall I really like solids
Do you prefer wool, cotton or acrylic yarn? Superwash Wool (I don't have much time for handwashing my knits)
What colors would you never wear? No orange socks. Not too into purple either.
What are your favorite brands of yarn? Koigu KPPPM, Socks That Rock, Tofutsies
Are there any new brands you would like to try? Louet Gems, Yarntini, Sundara, Chewy Spaghetti

Cookie A. Patterns: Which of her patterns have you already knit? I just bought her Rhiannon, but I haven't started it yet. Not sure what color I want to do yet.
Which pattern(s) would you like to knit and don’t already own? German Stocking or Twisted Flower

Other pertinent information:

Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US? Anywhere is fine by me.
Do you have any allergies? Nothing that I know of.
Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? No and yes. I have two cats, but they don't get into my yarn. (I bag everything.)
Are you on Ravelry yet? If you don’t mind having new friends, what is your Ravelry name? Just got my invite yesterday! My id is BluEyedPenny.