Gimme Some Needles Questionnaire

The needle exchange has begun! This is going to be fun, both giving and receiving. For my secret needle pal, here are the answers to the questionnaire:

• What do you like to knit or crochet?
  Lately, socks. I'm totally addicted. Other than that I knit sweaters and the occasional scarf. I felted a purse for the first time this year and have another one on the needles. I just started to crochet, too, which tickles me to no end.


• What fibers do you like?
  Soft wool like merino but because it's so hot where I live I don't often wear it. Cotton blends are what I've been knitting lately and I'm excited about bamboo and soy silk because they have the same cool, crisp properties as plant fibers.


• What type of needles do you use most often?
  Addi Turbos and any wood needles - bamboo or birch. I am interested in Bryspuns or the Ponys because they seem to be a faster alternative than wood but not as slick as metal.


• Do you like to knit in the round?
  I like to, but for whatever reason I haven't. However, I use circulars almost exclusively.


• Do you use a magic loop method or any other we should know about? Are you interested in learning a new method?
  Oooh. What a timely question since I started knitting socks. I'm very interested in trying out Magic Loop. I've also tried using 2 circulars for socks and it's a blast.


• Do you have a favorite place that you shop online?
  I guess my favorites would be Elann, Knitpicks and Little Knits. There are so many out there, though, that's it's really hard to go wrong. I'm just waiting for an excuse to try new places!


• Do you want to be surprised?
  Of course! Life should be full of surprises.

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I've spent most of my time indoors this weekend with the shades closed working on photos and writing a trip report. I haven't decided how to publish the pictures and the trip...I may create another blog, there's just so much. However, I want to end this with some photos that coincide with the answers to the quiz. This is a view from Lake Lucerne, in Switzerland. The town is surrounded by mountains and on a clear day the scenery must be spectacular.

It rained at least once a day while we were in Europe but they were relatively quick showers. In Lucerne we stayed at a lovely hotel overlooking the river. The swans were everywhere. Karl took this picture of me on the patio having a kaffe while we were waiting for others to return. (BTW, my hair looks terrible! The hard water in their pipes meant dull, lifeless locks.)

Schloss Neuschwanstein was built for King Ludwig and is the model for the castle in Disney's Magic Kingdom. The castle is a testament to all things ornate, medieval and romantic. It is only partially finished and Ludwig only lived in it for 117 days. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures inside. There is another castle across the valley called Hohenschwangau where Ludwig spent most of his time. Kind of nice to be able to own 2 schlosses, eh? Actually Ludwig had several, along with other monstrous buildings. He was a funny little man who was obsessed with the works of Wagner. There are some indications that he might have been gay.

The first afternoon in Prague, we skipped across the Old Town, the Charles Bridge and hiked up a cobblestoned hill to Prague Castle, complete with guards. Because we first saw it in the evening there was hardly anyone there and were able to view the exterior in peace. We observed a solemn changing of the guards twice. Then we went back the next day to see the church and the place was just mobbed. Prague was the busiest city we visited with throngs of tourists.

It's also one of the largest cities in Europe. The Prague Castle is situated on the highest hill and affords beautiful views of the rooftops, church spires and other historical monuments. I wish you could see the river and bridges from here, but they will be posted later. If you could only visit one European city that would be "typical", historic and new at the same time, Prague is it. Amazingly, it was not damaged during WWII because Hitler had planned to make it his home base.

And lastly, I do not have a picture of the town of Schweinfurt but I decided to include a photo of the mighty wild schwein in something close to its element. Schweinfurt has a wildlife park that houses several indigenous animals including their lucky one. Not exactly pet material.

Well, I didn't get any knitting done this weekend. Is it the heat? It was 104 degrees today.

Until the next day in the life....