Hi Secret Pal, Read This One! :)

Oh yes, it's that time again. When I get to buy treats for someone special and I get to use my secret e-mail address and snoop around someone's blog to figure out what they like. I think I should maybe change career tracks and become a spy, no? Perhaps most exciting of all, I get mail! Just for me!
What is this wonderful arrangement, you ask? Secret Pal 8, running now through August. Get ready for a summer of surprises!
First surprise - it's me with glasses and messed up hair and a Halloween shirt for Self-Portrait Tuesday. Now you all know what I REALLY look like. hahaha

Secret Pal! Don't run away! I'm not normally that scary! Plus the skull and crossbones shirt says "Hugs and Kisses". See? Friendly.

And now, I have to answer the questionnaire:

NOTE - for those who don't want to slog through the whole thing, I'll let you know now that there is no other substance to the post once you get through the questionnaire. Just to save you some scroll button action. :)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
My favorite yarn is sock yarn! Any kind, any color! Probably because I like socks. Generally I enjoy using wool, wool blends, and cotton. Angora (though it is oh-so-soft-and-wonderful) makes me sneeze. Also fun fur that looks like dead muppets is not the greatest.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a Mary Engelbreit printed wine canister thingie that I got at Michaels. I also keep an empty Nutella (yummmm) jar on my desk to hold the most frequently used crochet hooks, scissors, and sock needles.
3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for just over 5 years! I learned from a few friends in my first year of college, and I haven't been able to stop since. I'm advanced enough to follow any pattern, I think, but I tend to stick to "intermediate" projects. Complicated knitting that requires long periods of intense concentration just does not like to co-exist with complicated homework that requires even longer periods of intense concentration. You understand :)
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Ayup. Here's a link to my Froogle list.
5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Fruit of any kind. I especially like citrus scents for anything I'm going to be putting on myself. Lavender is nice for candles. Ooh and I have to tell you I just bought this lotion that smells like cake batter, and it is a very good thing there is a little warning written on the bottle: "This product smells good enough to eat, but it is not edible." Seriously, if they hadn't put that there, that lotion was about to get spread right on top of a cupcake.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Why yes! I have a sweet tooth. And it is made of caramel-covered custard. It also enjoys chocolate-peanut butter candies of all sorts.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I also like to draw with markers, crochet, sew (er, I will once I get my machine out to Chicago. It's back home in CA probably pining after me), and I've just started spinning. I still kind of suck at it, but it's really fun!
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
My CD player is my computer, so it is super talented, and probably understands MP3s way better than I do. That is not really saying much. Anyway, I like lots of different kinds of music and I'm always excited about hearing new stuff. A random selection of things I enjoy: John Mayer, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, Tonic, Jamie Cullum.
9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Oh dear. This question is so hard for me. I really like color combinations instead of individual colors. My favorites are Blue(Light, Medium, Navy), White, and Khaki/Brown, Pink and Green (anything from baby pink and lime green to burgundy and forest green), and Purple and Grey. Yeah, that probably wasn't very helpful. But I really really don't like yellow.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am the oldest of 4 kids (2 sisters and a brother), but Mom and Dad and the others are in California, and I'm going to grad school in Chicago. I live in a studio apartment by myself, and I don't (can't!) have any pets unless you want to count dust bunnies. Then I have too many pets. Eventually I want to have a cat. Or a rabbit. But this is in The Faraway Future (TM).
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, Yes, Yes, not so much. Chicago winters are cold, so warm accessories are always welcome.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks Socks Socks!!!!!
Okay, I like making armwarmers, too.
13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks. :) And a silk-linen blend camisole from Vintage Knits

and a halter type top from an online pattern. The pattern is in French, and I am having a bit of trouble. Everything I'm knitting at the current moment is brown.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Straight or circular depends on the project, but I do socks/gloves/mittens on DPNs, hats on circulars, and big pieces on straights if I have the right size. I love aluminum needles because they click.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope
17. How did you learn to knit?
At first I learned from some friends, but after that I turned to books for more guidance. Stitch 'n Bitch seriously gave me the courage to try all kinds of new things, from cables to intarsia to socks!
18. How old is your oldest UFO?
I have a pair of socks that I started last fall and never finished. Because I don't like them and I haven't thought of something better to do with the yarn. So I'll be ripping them eventually.
19. What is your favorite holiday?
Hmm... It's a toss up between Halloween and St. Patrick's Day (weird, right?) My family really goes all out with decorations and good food, and these holidays always make me feel like we are doing something special that not everyone else gets that excited about.
20. Is there anything that you collect?
Uh, books, mostly. For school. Right now I'm sort of collecting (amassing?) lots and lots of cool pairs of dangly earrings (some handmade, some shiny, some just fun).
21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I am aching to try Koigu for socks, and the yarn store I know of sort of close by doesn't carry it. Other than that I don't have any unbearable knitting urges. Actually, you know what is ridiculous? I only have one set of US3 DPNs for sock needles. Yes, you read that right, I knit all my socks on the same needles. Then again, maybe this is good, because I can only have one sock project going at a time. I will have to think about that. My aunt recently got me a subscription to Interweave Knits (hooray!).
22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Hmm. Um, I don't think so. I mean, I like to learn, but I don't have anything specific in mind.
23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Why yes! Yes I am. I have big feet (women's size 10), 10" long and about 9" around at the ball of my foot.
24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
12/15

Congrats! You made it through the tangles of the Q&A Jungle. 10 bonus points :)