Sock It To Me Questionnaire

So, without further delay here's my Sock It To Me Questionnaire:

1. What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.)
*this information has been updated and corrected.
My feet appear to be square - 9.75 inches long and 9.75 inches around! Or maybe they're cubed since I wear a size 9 (North American) shoe. they're just square... not cubed afterall!

2. How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)
I've been knitting for about 30 years. I'm a self taught lefty. I'm going to say that I'm an "advanced" knitter but that's only because I'm not always bright enough to realize how hard something is...

3. What is your favorite color? Your least favorite color?
I like colour generally - particularly pinks, purples, greens and blues. I'm not a big fan of either brown or most yellows.

4. Do you have a favorite fiber? What type?
I like natural fibres - wool, cotton, silk, soy, bamboo - but after the accidental felting of a pair of Pomatomus socks, machine washable (even if it's on gentle) is probably the best way to go.

5. Do you have any allergies to certain fibers? None.

6. Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.)
No - I don't.

7. What techniques, if any, would you like to learn?
Nothing comes to mind, but if something occurs to me, I'll come back and add it. 'kay?

8. Do you have a sweet tooth? What are your favorite snacks?
I don't really have a sweet tooth. I tend to prefer things that are salty - and crunchy! With candies, I'm very fond of all sorts of sours, but I detest, repeat detest, black licorice. Blech!

9. What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.)
Married (almost 13 years), 2 sons - 11 and 7, 1 cat (kitten really - he's about 8 months old) and 2 gerbils. Just me and the guys... All of the pets are, or were, male.

10. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood?
For me it depends on the project and on the yarn. I don't really have a strong preference. The one big advantage of the circs for me is that I can't loose them quite so easily. (I knit while I commute and a dropped dpn on the bus could be a disaster.)

11. Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit?
I enjoy knitting bags, scarves, hats, sweaters - oh, heck - I'll knit just about anything. I once knit an Elvis wig for a friend for a karoake contest. And then she was too embarassed to wear it!

12. Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try?
I've just ordered 3 of the Noni bags patterns from the Knitting Zone. I'm awaiting them impatiently...!!!

13. Do you like to read? What are you reading currently?
I do like to read, but I have to read quite a bit for work, so don't always have something on the go here at home. That's the case right now. I finished "Kit's Law" last week. A very good book and Canlit to boot!

14. Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.)
A rather tentative yes to that one... I received a Sony Walkman for my birthday, but with work and such, haven't got it all figured out. Part of my weekend plans.

15. What kind of music do you listen to?
I would describe my tastes as ecclectic. I'm not a big fan of either country or classical music, but otherwise pretty well anything goes.

16. Is there anything you collect?
Aside from the obvious - yarns, knitting patterns - I have a collection of Madeline dolls. Edit: I like beads and buttons, too. I don't think that I plan to collect them, but I do it anyways!

17. What are your hobbies, aside from knitting?
I sew, cross stitch, cook, play with the kids... Is laundry a hobby? I do lots of that! I'm even thinking of trying crochet... Those Amigurumis are sucking me in.

18. Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs?
Just finished the Spring Felted Bag Exchange, and am in the midst of Sockapalooza 4 and the Virtual Vacation Swap.

19. Do you have a favorite scent?
I really like the scents of jasmine and lavendar.

20. When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL.)
July 4, 1964. Hopefully that gives some context to the Sony Walkman that I'm still working on.

Any questions, please feel free to ask - ask me anything - I'm not shy! And I'll come back and add the rest of the links to this later... There's a thunderstorm brewing and I need to shut down the computer.

Edit: Links added and spelling errors corrected. It was quite spectacular light show here yesterday evening. We didn't loose our power, but I think that we were lucky!