Thoughts of a man drowning in wool

I saw this meme - a questionnaire for hubbies of knitters - over at Annalea's blog, the passionate mind, (thanks for your comment yesterday, Annalea - I wouldn't have found your blog otherwise - it's good reading) and I just had to subject my darling hubby to it. In the interests of free speech and an unedited response, I went out shopping and let him fill it in. What do you think?

1)What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
That it makes you happy - which makes me happy. Also, that you don't notice when I switch the tv over from 'Pride and Prejudice' or some other girly trash to 'top gear' because you are engrossed in some complicated piece of knitting. When you do look up and wonder what has happened, you seem to be happy with an explanation that it has finished, saying to yourself that
"Time does fly when you are knitting lace." (Rotter! I thought something was up...)

2)What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Being woken up to be shown the latest bit of knitting, and having to fein delight. I love that you knit, I love that it makes you happy, I love that you enjoy showing it to people, but please wait until I've had at least the first cup of coffee - then you might get something more reasoned than "It's lovely dear... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" (yes, but I have to share the excitement with someone, and the cat can't even manage this response!)

3)What is something I have knitted, that you recall is good?
That multi-coloured jumper (with the bands of colour going across it) that you spent months cursing, un-picking and re-doing just because the 'colour wasn't quite right'. I have to say that it's beautiful now, but it looked exactly the same before. Also, that really weird piece of knitting that you did that looked a bit like a star-fish, until you folded it just right, and a baby jumper kind of emerged - wow. (BSJ - Elizabeth Zimmerman)

4)Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Knitters - no. You - yes. My mother is a knitter, and it isn't an expensive hobby for her - she loves acrylic. Why do you need all of those books presumably telling you how to knit something, and then you pretty much make it up from the top of your head anyway? What is so special about merino and angora anyway? (If you don't know, I can't tell you. Philistine.)

5)Do you have a stash of any kind?
Only pornography (I joke, I joke.....) (And the 6 billion nuts, bolts, rivets, drills, taps, dies, and other assorted stuff in the garage to go with the pillar drill and 2 lathes and 6 different types of hammer don't count, I suppose? To say nothing of the guns, ammunition, reloading kit, lead pot...)

6)Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Never - I quite like it actually. I love it when people get used to you doing 'girly' hobbies like knitting, and then find out that you are good at other things, like welding and shooting. The fact that you come with me to places that are quite male-dominated, like shooting clubs, and sit knitting is great - especially when you shoot better than the men who have been gently ribbing you about the knitting. :-D

7) Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Lots? You showed me some yarn a while ago, and said that it was wonderful. You said that it was incredibly soft, but I couldn't tell the difference between it and all of the other types you have. You seem to be quite taken with merino, but you mentioned something the other day about 'combing a yak', or 'shaving a rabbit' or something - I wasn't really listening. Apparently you can only get it on the internet, and I need to sign a loan application so that you can get some. (Quiviut - the hair of the arctic musk ox. I'm staying well away, in case I develop an addiction, and we end up living under a bridge...)

8) Can you name another blog?
We have the 'Yarn Harlot's guide to the land of knitting' book in the bathroom at the moment, which is quite funny. I keep on leaving it open at the 'How to weed your stash' or 'five ways you can tell your stash has gone too far' pages, but you pretend not to notice. (Technically that's a book, but she has a blog, so we'll let you have that one)

9)Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
Not really - it means that you can't complain when I want to go into a tool shop. One thing though - please stop being offended when I don't want to come in. If I say that I want to stay in the car and listen to the radio that's exactly what I mean. I don't secretly mean that I don't want you to go - it's just that I feel a little lost and out of place in them - it must be the yarn fumes. (OK - but you do understand that then you can't complain about how much I spend?)

10) Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Not really - apparently it's something that you knit before getting started with the thing you actually want to knit. I think that it's designed to remove all of the enthusiasm for the real project out of you before you start. You knitted one once, and spent ages measuring it muttering things like 'can't possibly be right' and 'printing mistake' before throwing it away in disgust and getting on with knitting the jumper. Now I think about it, i've never actually seen that jumper - where is it? I do remember that we could both fit into it though. (This is a scandalous falsehood - I never finished it, it was obvious it was the wrong size when I ran out of wool the second time!)

11) Do you read my blog?
Every now and again - I like it.

12) If I didn't knit, what would be different?
I would be able to get into your room without wading through yarn; the house wouldn't be full of small pointy sticks; we could afford a new car; you would be as miserable as sin - on the whole, i'm pretty glad that you knit really. :-D (And I've got it in writing!!)

13) Anything you would like to add?
May I get back to work now? Thanks.

Shall I let him off, or prod him with some of my very many pointed sticks? Hmmmmmm...

Oh, and Annalea: to answer your question from yesterday, the new sock is in Colinette Jitterbug yarn in colour 85, 'Jay'. I love this stuff, use it all the time. It's soft, and gorgeous colours, easily gets a pair of socks for my large feet out of one skein, and is superwash so can even be machine washed, if you're careful - not that I do, I hand-wash them with all my other handknits. It's coming along: progress pic later.